Kia Crossover

The line between car, SUV and crossover continues to blur and determining exactly which vehicle qualifies as a Kia crossover is a little challenging. Because a crossover is meant to be the middleman between a car and an SUV, there are certainly a great number of vehicles you would think should fall into that category. The trick is that many vehicles could be crossovers or simply cars, such as a Toyota Scion. On the other hand, some could be crossovers or instead classified as mini SUVs or compact SUVs.

Whatever your definition, we found the two best and most likely candidates that meet the criteria of being a crossover. These two Kia crossovers are the Sportage and the Soul. Find out a little about each one, and it will help you make an informed choice for your driving needs. The main thing to know is that Kia, as a car manufacturer, has in the past few years really boomed into a reliable, sporty, affordable and popular brand. Just reviewing these two vehicles should demonstrate that fact.

The Kia Sportage

When considering a 2012 crossover and hearing of a starting Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of just $18,500, it is hard not to be intrigued. With a name like Sportage, you can also expect a vehicle that looks as sporty as it runs. Standard in all models of the Sportage is a 4 cylinder, six speed transmission that generates 176 horsepower. The SX enhancements means this model produces 260 horsepower. For fuel economy, the base Sportage gets 21 miles per gallon for city streets and 29 for the highway.

As for safety features, the obvious ones are in place such as airbags and front active headrests. You also get the Brake Assist System for improved safety when you need the brakes to perform optimally. The tire pressure monitoring system helps alert you to low pressure or even more dangerous things such as damaged tires. Side impact door beams help reinforce the shell of the car during side impact collisions.

The Kia Soul

When the 2011 Soul was first released, it was next to impossible to keep showrooms stocked with these crossover vehicles. What Toyota created with the Scion and Nissan matched with the Cube, Kia has done with the Soul. These types of boxy crossovers lack the seating capacity and storage larger crossovers have, but are still better in these areas than a standard car.

Powering the Soul crossover is a 1.6 liter, four cylinder, six speed transmission manual with overdrive and production of 138 horsepower for the base model. The Soul + and Soul ! Both have 2.0 liter versions with electronically controlled six speed automatic transmissions with overdrive and horsepower of 164. The base Soul gets a fuel efficiency of 27 city miles per gallon and 35 for the highway.

As with the Sportage, the safety features are somewhat basic for industry standard but there are some in place. You get things such as airbags and front active headrests. For exterior safety features, you can feel better with the tire pressure monitoring, Electronic Brake Force Distribution and Electronic Stability Control. It leaves a little to be desired, but that is part of how to keep such a low sticker price in place.

Reviews of the Sportage and Soul

For the Kia Sportage, the people have spoken and have had fairly good things to say. Unfortunately, some of the positive feedback is just about how sleek, stylish, modern and hip it looks. Also there is much praise for the high tech features that even come standard. The down side is that details that matter such as performance did not score as high. Another complaint about the Sportage is the poor visibility, lack of power and less than smooth ride you get.

The Soul got high marks for being unique and is also famous for being affordable. The 2012 model has been upgraded to offer more power. The feedback for the Soul notes the more powerful engine. The fuel economy is also a favorite feature for drivers. The roomy interior and impressive standards features list help the Soul get a good deal of praise. On the flip side, however, there were complaints about the interior having cheap interior plastic for too many places.

Making a decision to go with one of the crossovers available on the market by Kia is entirely up to you. If you are considering a crossover, however, you should give Kia a good look over. There are some cons sure, but there are also some serious pros that make these choices worth the affordable price sticker. Check out a Kia crossover today.

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