Motor Trend - USA (2020-05)

VOLKSWAGEN

ATLAS

VOLVO

XC 60

SUBARU

ASCENT

UPDATE

NISSAN

KICKS

UPDATE

MAZDA 3 RAM

1500 LARAMIE

UPDATE

JEEP

WRANGLER

VOLVO S 60

UPDATE

CHRYSLER

PACIFICA

HONDA

BMW X 2 INSIGHT

UPDATE

HYUNDAI

KONA

MAY 2020 MOTORTREND.COM 75

“The Soul doesn’t scream ‘I made it,’

but I still like the COTY finalist enough

to stunt on them haters.” Robin Trajano

Service life:

2 mo/3,784 mi • Avg Fuel Econ: 26.7 mpg

Avg CO2 0.73 lb/mi Energy cons 125 kW-hr/100 mi Unresolved

problems None Maintenance cost $0 Normal-wear cost $0

Base price $23,685 As-tested $25,755 EPA City/Hwy/Comb

Fuel Econ 27/33/30 mpg Real MPG 23.5/36.2/27.9 mpg

2020 Kia Soul

trim kinda gives off Range

Rover Sport vibes.

Finally, it has a lot of cargo

room with the second row

folded—62.2 cubic feet, almost

an exact match for my old

BMW X3’s 62.7 cubes.

Things I Don’t Like Lots of NVH,

especially under hard accel-

eration. The noise that fills the

cabin when you mash the gas

pedal makes it clear you’re

driving an economy car.

It only has 24.2 cubic feet

of cargo volume with the

second-row seats up; if you’re

transporting much stuff at

once, you’ll need to fold the

seats down to make room.

The small cargo opening

makes it hard to shoot out

of the hatch, and there's no

sunroof to shoot out of. But

these are very specific prob-

lems for photographers.

The short wheelbase paired

with the lower-profile 18-inch

wheels and tires make for a

choppy ride. And I want more

power. Give me the turbo!

These early impressions

may change as I get to know

the Soul more. Stay tuned.

I

started off my year in the

2020 Kia Soul EX with a

lot of feelings. Sadness,

confusion, and a little bit of

hope. After some time with it,

I’ve learned a few things about

it that I like and some things I

don’t. Let’s start with former.

Things I Like The IVT (Intelligent

Variable Transmission) is intel-

ligently tuned. It uses the little

available power to make the

car feel peppier in real-world

situations. This is a pleasant

surprise because in my experi-

ence, other CVTs feel like they

suck the life out of engines. The

Soul is still slow off the line, but

once you’re moving, it responds

quickly to throttle changes.

Kia’s infotainment system is

intuitive and responsive, and it

has features you really use. For

example, it tells you what wiper

setting you’re in so you don’t

have to squint behind the wheel

in the dark to try to read the

wiper stalk.

The exterior styling is sharp

and stands out in the oversatu-

rated subcompact segment. I’m

glad Kia decided to retain the

Soul’s boxy figure. The GT-Line

2020 Kia Telluride S V 6 Vehicle Layout Front-engine, FWD,
8-pass, 4-door SUV Engine 3.8L/291-hp/262-lb-ft DOHC
24-valve V-6 Transmission 8-speed automatic
Wheelbase 114.2 in 0-60 MPH 7.2 sec (est) Energy Consumption,
City/Hwy 169/130 kW-hr/100 miles CO2 Emissions 0.87 lb/mile

GENESIS G 70

TOYOTA

RAV 4

UPDATE

in Sport mode, it will light
up the front tires if you give
it too much throttle from a
standstill, or so I have been
told. Sure, a little more torque
would be great, and I’d prefer
to have the optional AWD,
but overall the engine and
transmission are really well
matched to the chassis.
The Telluride is a pleasure
to drive. During our SUV of
the Year evaluation, many
of this year’s judges sang its
praises for comfort, quietness,
and refinement compared to
the rest of the class. My first
impression is that when it
comes to ride and handling,
the Telluride is in a different
league than the Atlas.
Looking around from the
comfortable black Sofino
leatherette driver’s seat, the
Telluride’s interior is pretty
nice. We opted for the $100
eight-seater option, which
replaces the second-row

captain’s chairs with a 60/40

split-folding bench seat.

The captain’s chairs have a

premium look and makes

access to the third-row easier,

but a bench is more useful,

and my dog hammock only

works with a bench. Getting

us to that reasonable $36,015

price tag, we added carpeted

floormats, a cargo cover, a

cargo tray, and an auto-dim-

ming rearview mirror with

a HomeLink garage door

opener and compass.

With the Telluride starting

off strong with an SUV of

the Year and a Big Test win,

I have reason to hope that

my year with the three-row

Kia should be pleasant.

Maintaining much of

the utility offered by the

gargantuan VW Atlas but in

a more refined package, the

Telluride is already giving me

a more positive outlook for

the 12 months to come.

UPDATE

KIA SOUL

Our S trim doesn’t get the 10.3-inch
screen and fancy dash of the EX and
SX, but it’s still a nice place to be.

ARRIVAL

KIA TELLURIDE

Length 196.9”

Height 68.9”

Width 78. 3 ”