commuter/3rd car: used Scion xB or Kia Soul?

[glenn1]

I'm likely to be accepting a position at a new employer soon which will change my commuting arrangements from metro train to driving. The wifey seems to really like the Kia Soul and seemed impressed test driving one. I'm a bit more leery of the Kia make and think we might be better off with the roughly equivalent Scion xB since I trust the parent company Toyota over parent company Hyundai.

Anyone who has experience buying either used, whether certified pre-owned or from a private party? Looking mostly at reliability, expected repair costs, and total cost of ownership differences between the two. Future resale isn't really an issue since whatever we get will be kept until dead. If a specific generation of either is to be avoided I'd like to know that as well. TIA!

 

[Kelvrick]

I had a rental once. Was pretty cheap inside, but peppy around town. Highway MPG was horrible considering the class of car. Jeez, I just looked up the XB. Is it the horrible aerodynamics of the cars that make them so bad?

Are you guys set on those two box car designs or will something like a mazda3/focus hatch do?

 

[glenn1]

I had a rental once. Was pretty cheap inside, but peppy around town. Highway MPG was horrible considering the class of car. Jeez, I just looked up the XB. Is it the horrible aerodynamics of the cars that make them so bad?

Are you guys set on those two box car designs or will something like a mazda3/focus hatch do?

<shrug> I personally don't care what brand or body style. We currently have a Honda Odyssey and Honda Fit so the box car design admittedly would fill a niche between those two. My main qualifications are in rough order of importance:

1. Be able to fit two adults in the front seat comfortably with two car seats in back. That's impossible currently with the Fit, neither driver seat nor passenger seat is comfortable and merely getting into the passenger seat requires me to do 5 minutes of body contortions besides being unsafe as hell once I'm in.

2. Be an acceptable alternative for the wife on the days she would need to drive it. As it is the Soul/xB is already a compromise from the BMW 5-series which she suggested which kinda defeats the entire premise of getting an economical/disposable 3rd car.

3. Be as "set and forget" as possible. I'm not a car guy, I would gladly sacrifice amenities and performance for reliability and lower repair costs. I don't want to be dealing with crap like the VW electrical issues no matter how good the car is otherwise. I'm looking for an experience like my former 1993 Integra I bought used in 2001 where all it ever needed was oil changes, replacement of expendables like wiper blades and tires, and routine stuff like brakes.

 

[NutBucket]

Rear facing or front facing car seats?

 

[glenn1]

Rear facing or front facing car seats?

One each. Trying to keep the little guy rear-facing as long as possible. It's safer but the downside is that rear facing requires about six extra inches of depth. Which makes a huge deal in a car like a Honda Fit when you're in the front seat.

 

[NutBucket]

I know your pain. Our rear facing seat doesn't even allow a front passenger period in our wrx. We have a Diono Rainier.

Anyhow, I don't think the Soul is a bad choice but I would definitely try out your seats to see how the fit.

 

[Kelvrick]

How about a mazda 5?

 

[Zor Prime]

Well, here's two extra options.

2nd Gen Honda Insight. 10-11 year models are pretty iron clad. My '11 got totaled at 180k miles, the only thing that went wrong was the gas cap strap. 40+ MPG in the summer even when driving it like a maniac. Having owned one, I greatly respect it. Best part, they're dirt cheap with gas prices being low. Well, dirt cheap 'comparatively speaking.' Chose it over the Honda Fit originally, glad we did.

Lexus CT200h which is what we replaced the totaled Insight with. Still gets 40+ MPG. Seats are to-die-for (opinion). Lose a little bit of hatch space compared to the Insight (so I think so far), but gain it everywhere else. It looks great. It has Prius innards, so you know it's reliable. Got it used. Don't show your wife unless you're seriously considering it, or you'll be getting one.

 

[bamx2]

Toyota Matrix ?

 

[tortillasoup]

Mazda2? If you have a lot of city traffic or stop & go traffic, I recommend a hybrid.

 

[NutBucket]

Rear facing kid seats will render the 2nd Gen insight too small. The CT200H is laughably small inside and I'm guessing a Mazda 2 wouldn't be much different.

 

[Jumpem]

Something from these lists: http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/TSP-List

The Soul looks to be on there depending on the year.

 

[tortillasoup]

If you want a smaller car, these cars suggested are fine. If you want a midsize car, a Prius or Camry Hybrid is the way to go. You can raise a family with a Camry Hybrid.

 

[Zor Prime]

Rear facing kid seats will render the 2nd Gen insight too small. The CT200H is laughably small inside and I'm guessing a Mazda 2 wouldn't be much different.

Uh ... not sure you've been in a CT200h. It has more space inside than an Insight, but perhaps not the hatch area. I think it sacrifices some hatch space for more passenger room, plus the thing is wider by a few inches. I'm 5'10" and can't reach the pedals with the front seats all the way back. It has a LOT of legroom in the front. There's more rear passenger space than the Insight as well, not by much, but it's noticeable. I've two teenagers and they agree as did a 6'2" passenger I stuck back there.

I don't know about rear facing kid seats, though.

 

[Kaido]

commuter/3rd car: used Scion xB or Kia Soul?

I've had two Kia Souls and have checked out the xB. I actually really liked the xB (fantastic Batmobile-esqe industrial interior), but the biggest turn-off was the horrendous blindspots. Also, the xB is discontinued, whereas the Souls are still in production.

I had pretty much zero problems with either of my Souls, they were fantastic, basically modern Saturns. I liked the extra ground clearance, both for sliding into the car without having to squat down, and also for going over bumps, like the dips at the end of parking lots that lower cars would scrap on if you didn't angle them.

I leased my first one & bought my second one, so I can't speak for buying used. Depending on your budget, you may want to consider a new Kia Soul. A basic $17k model puts you in at under $300/mo before taxes on a standard 60-month loan & gets you a phenomenal warranty:

http://www.kia.com/us/en/content/why-kia/quality/warranty

The Kia 10-year/100,000-mile warranty program* consists of:

10-year/100,000-mile limited powertrain warranty
5-year/60,000-mile limited basic warranty
5-year/100,000-mile limited anti-perforation warranty
5-year/60,000-mile roadside assistance plan

However, if you absolutely want to go used, they do have a nice CPO program:

http://www.kia.com/us/en/cpo/about

http://www.kia.com/us/en/cpo/about/warranty

10-year/100,000-mile Certified Pre-Owned Limited Powertrain Warranty

12 month/12,000 mile Platinum Coverage

Contrast that with my current car (Jeep Renegade), which only has a 3-year basic warranty (and has already broken down in the first 6 months of ownership more than both of my Souls combined). Anyway, I am a big fan of the Kia Souls. Would totally buy one again if they offered them in AWD (I live on a hill in snow country & wanted the extra drivetrain help).

 

[BurnItDwn]

a friend of mine has the 1st gen xB. He is like 6'5 so he wanted something with good headroom. Plenty of space in there for him. He also resells bass & guitar amps and such .. big trunk is good for his needs. The interior is similar in size to my 08 forester, though the xb is smaller on the outside.

In any case, its not pretty, but, he seems pleased with it. (He drove a Toyota Matrix before this)

 

[theknight571]

I have a 2016 Soul and like it so far.

Like Kaido, I like the seating position and the slightly higher ride.

However, if you live in a hilly area, make sure you test drive one on the hills. Mine has the base engine, and it's fine for everyday commuting in my area, but when we took it to the hills of Pennsylvania it struggled getting up some of the steeper grades.

I don't know if the bigger engine would have helped, on my test drive I couldn't tell the difference between the two.

 

[Kaido]

I have a 2016 Soul and like it so far.

Like Kaido, I like the seating position and the slightly higher ride.

However, if you live in a hilly area, make sure you test drive one on the hills. Mine has the base engine, and it's fine for everyday commuting in my area, but when we took it to the hills of Pennsylvania it struggled getting up some of the steeper grades.

I don't know if the bigger engine would have helped, on my test drive I couldn't tell the difference between the two.

The bigger one does help on hills (and regular stuff like passing & merging). My first one was the 2L automatic, my second was the 1.6L manual (164 vs. 130hp iirc). My sole complaint about my second one was that the engine felt simply adequate, and I really wanted more speed a lot of times, whereas my first one was decently zippy & I never felt like it lacked power during any standard driving maneuvers.