I recently acquired a 2013 Soul. Its a + (trim level), 2.0, 6 spd. Rare combo, not that anyone cares. But importantly, all the manual transmission Souls 2014 and later are 1.6s and the power difference is significant.
This car will replace my 2019 Veloster. Spiritually, its the successor to my 1998 Saturn which I retired in 2019 (and still kind miss because I'm dumb):
One note to start with: It fits perfectly in the first 50% of the garage with the door closed :)
I have an immediate list of things I need to address for it:
1) bleed the clutch because it releases at the floor. I took care of this today I believe. It still releases close to the floor, but the pressure and modulation feel much more like a normal clutch.
2) Possibly a motor mount, but #1 may have been exaggerating engine 'flop' during shifting.
3) Trailer hitch. I haven't ordered one yet, but I will soon. I want to hack it up to try and tuck it up as high as possible because I have an unnatural hatred of low-hanging trailer hitches, but I also dont want to create an unnecessary project so... who knows?
4) Roof rack. I have some bolt-in rails on the way. A company called SSD makes rails for this that are simple steel tubes that go all the way from the front to back of the roof, which is nice compared to most cars. I think 67" of length is what they list. Like this:
stupid ideas:
5) Intake because its very hard to hear the engine and it makes rev-matching difficult sometimes
6) 18x7.5 wheels from a more recent Soul can be found fairly cheap with decent tires.
7) Lowering springs. This is the first daily I have ever owned that wouldn't meet autox dont-roll-over requirements. It makes me nervous and I just don't love the feeling. I will never autox it.
I'm glad you wrote about this Kia Soul. You've briefly mentioned it around the board but glad to it getting it's own.
When I was making hitch decisions for my wife's Grand Caravan I was amazed that eTrailer has very detailed videos. Videos about Soul hitches and videos about Soul hitch instal and Soul wiring.
Yeah, their videos are good. I think both of the hitch producers are getting better, but their options for a 2013 Soul are not inspiring. Ideally the reciever would come out right where the license plate is (even with the frame rails), but then I don't know where the plate would go.
So is this still the beta 2.0 or a Nu 2.0? I loved the beta but it's not exactly a powerhouse. Geared correctly that could make a decent daily, just not quick
Its the MPFI Nu. 164hp. Still definitely not a powerhouse lol.
In reply to ProDarwin :
maybe not a powerhouse but at least no timing belt changes every 60k.
We had a Soul with a manual for a few years, worst transmission I ever had. It steadfastly refused to downshift into any gear at any time, and upshifting to second was hit or miss. If you drove like you were in a MPG competition, you could kinda make it work, but it was painful. It was a 1st Gen, base model. A friend has the new Turbo and it is actually quite fun to drive. The interior improved 1,000% in one generation, pretty impressive.
In reply to pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) :
If it was the 5-spd, that was a transmission that dated back to 1996. Minor updates over the years and they added an additional synchro ring to first but those things HATED downshifting and if you didn't refresh the fluid ever 30k it only got worse. I will say the gamma/6-spd is an absolute joy to shift. I can't remember a transmission so willing to shift into first gear while moving in my life.
If you need the T-connector trailer wiring I have one. I could probably give it to you for the price of shipping.
bobzilla said:In reply to pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) :
If it was the 5-spd, that was a transmission that dated back to 1996. Minor updates over the years and they added an additional synchro ring to first but those things HATED downshifting and if you didn't refresh the fluid ever 30k it only got worse. I will say the gamma/6-spd is an absolute joy to shift. I can't remember a transmission so willing to shift into first gear while moving in my life.
Honestly, I wish I could agree with this. My Veloster transmission is fantastic 30% of the time. The other 70% it is terrible. Its been to the dealer twice for it, but both times they say it is "working as designed". When its in a bad mood its super berkeleying notchy like it has gravel in it. Hard to get into gear, you have to be super patient. Sucks all the fun out of having a fun turbo motor. Now, I am 99.9% sure this is a one-off issue, but it really pisses me off that Hyundai won't do E36 M3 about it. The car will be gone soon anyway, so no big deal.
In reply to ProDarwin :
the only manual turbo car I have drivenhad the short shifter installed. I do not like those. Too much effort, too weird feeling.
Danger, lots of roof-rack related rambling below:
Well, this is dumb. I'm dumb.
As I mentioned earlier, one goal is to have a bolt on roof rack. I want something sturdy for hardware store runs, carrying items that don't fit in the car, and just general utility. The SSD racks posted above looked sturdy.
I bought some, and the rails are very sturdy. The problem is the attachment they use is garbage. I understand why (no drilling required), but this spot is clearly not designed to carry any real load (its just a mount for a plastic clip to hold the gutter trim in place).
Note the disparity between that and the OEM roof rail mounts (not available in US):
So, I need to change plans. SSD rails cannot be returned, but honestly the rails themselves are great. Time to come up with my own attachment to the gutter that is more robust. I'm basically thinking of making my own version of this:
I'll try and remove the stock brackets then rivet in some new ones that pick up the existing roof rail holes, as well as drill 2 more. Since I only need 4, I am leaning toward machining them out of 6061 bar stock. I'll shave down the rivet areas appropriately, and just leave it full height where the holes (or studs?) are. Luckily the roof rails are sized perfectly for this anyway. Also good, this is a 2013 Kia Soul, so I am 100% ok breaking out the drill and putting holes in the roof 
Minor update:
Replaced the clutch hydraulics. Clutch is normal now. I wish I had done that immediately after purchase.
Still haven't addressed roof rack.
Ordered a hitch, its on the way. Not pleased with this either. I might cut it up and weld what I want, but more than likely I'll just deal with it.
Seems this failed both of my utility criteria for the next car (good hitch, good roof rack) lol. I might just hang on for a year or two then snag a Maverick if it turns out to be a decent vehicle.
Every berkeleying thing I do these days is 2 steps forward 1 step back.
I installed a trailer hitch. Its actually very solid. It went on pretty easily after I used a dead blow and a block of wood to manipulate some flange behind the rear bumper that had been bent at some point by something. Maybe minor rear-end damage, I don't know. Everything else under there looked fine.
Couple problems, but one of them is big:
Maybe trim handlebars like an inch then pool noodle pieces to stop the shakes?
This doesn't look all that close to me. Maybe some protective little piece of pool noodle to make a soft connection to the glass.
Or, how easy is it to loosen your headset/stem? If easy, cock-eye the handlebars for transport.
Not sure if this helps, but I have driven it like this from Florida to North Carolina multiple times without issue...
In reply to nakmuayfarang :
Is this yours? Safari Soul? The Jerry can on tailgate is a combination of hilarious and really cool looking.
That's definitely the vibe I was going for.
It used to belong to my mother in law and I purchased it from her estate when she passed.
I didn't really need another vehicle but my wife wanted to keep it around for sentimental reasons for a few years at least.
So, I decided to turn it into a dedicated mountain biking vehicle.
The orange jerry can looking thing on the tailgate is actually a Pax first aid kit.
The Soul has a surprisingly small fuel tank and I often find myself exploring gravel roads where there are no gas stations, so there are two jerry cans on the roof. There is also a waterport pressurized water tank up there for washing the mountain bikes after riding.
To the OP's concern with the SSD rails, I agree. However, the addition of the ladder, cross bars and roof basket definitely stiffened them up laterally and they have had no issues with multiple long distance trips supporting the jerry cans with five gallons, plus the water port filled to the brim along with a few waterproof bags of gear.
The Soul received new OE upgraded struts in front from a Soul !, kyb rear shocks and a one inch suspension lift. Those upgrades plus the oversized Falken Wildpeak tires give it a combined 2+ inches of lift without being wallow(y) and make it quite fun to do a tiny bit of off-roading if the opportunity presents itself while searching for new trails to mountain bike.
Also, since Apple Carplay is a must:
Forgot to mention, with that particular bike rack the hatch opens easily with the rack on the vehicle and in the folded up position.
Also, the rack tilts using a foot operated lever so you can open the hatch with the bike on the rack.
Oh, it's a 2013 but I backdated the tail lights because I prefer the pre facelift versions and they bolt right up with a bit of tweaking to the wiring.
You'll need to log in to post.
