Kia Soul 2 1.6 CDRI

We've had our Kia Soul for 11 months now and done just over 20,000 miles.

The car has been great. It generates a lot of interest - strangers keep coming up and asking out it! The engine is great - once loosened up the diesel is a real joy. It is very torquey and lively. At 1.6 it is the smallest engine I've ever owned, but it performs well. Much much better than the petrol. The £1000 premium is worth it for the low down grunt regardless of the extra mpg. We get 55mpg per tank. Drive it hard and it will drop to 45mpg.

It has been 100% reliable too. The first service cost £150. It needs two front tyres too, but the rears have hardly worn.

The only downside is that the suspension is terrible when you hit potholes. We have the early model with the original 'Asian' setup. Later models (from about August 2009) have the 'Lotus tweak' UK setup which has revised dampers and bump stops which is probably better.

Also, the stereo could be better at high volume.

But overall I am very pleased and Kia's moto of "power to surprise" is spot on. I'm now looking at buying a second Kia and replacing our Saab 95.