[Millerad1651]

I'm currently looking at a Kia Soul for my wife. She's in a 98 4Runner now, but its miles are slowly creeping up...she's at 308k now.

I've been looking at the Kia Soul since they came out, always liked them. Now that we are starting to look for a new vehicle for her, I'm really leaning toward them.

They get really good reviews online, and have really good crash test ratings. My wife likes them, so there's that hurdle.

Pros: Long warranty (100k powertrain) - loaded for under $20k, although we're looking at a used '12-'13 for around $12-13k - good gas mileage - ease of entry for my wife and daughter - interior is surprisingly large and comfortable - plenty of room for one kid, and the second one we'll have in the next couple years - 2.0 w/ 6 speed auto have decent power for the car...at least compared to the '98 she has

Cons: Top out with a 2.0 4cy - not 4WD and we live in Indiana where we do get decent amounts of snow - less cargo room than 4Runner

I would love to move up to a 4th gen for her, but to find one with low miles we would be going out of the budget...especially since we just bought a house. They most likely won't have much of a warranty left, and the gas mileage is significantly lower. I like to be able to pay for anything financed with one of our salaries. You never know what can happen and I don't want to be stuck with items we can't afford.

So, anyone have any insight into these?

Thanks ahead of time....