[SilverStreak3]

Motor Trend recently compare the Venue with the Soul and based on the article the Venue seems to fall short to the Soul in terms of performance and ride quality. But the Venue is a couple of thousand dollars cheaper.

Here's their conclusion on the two cars:

Kia Soul Vs. Hyundai Venue: Which One Should You Buy?

Although the two cars' base prices are nearly equivalent, the as-tested Venue is more than two grand cheaper than the Soul. Divided up over five years of car payments, that $2,040 becomes an extra $34 a month (without interest) to get into the Soul. If you were to point-blank ask me, "Is the Kia Soul a few trips to Starbucks per month better than the Hyundai Venue?" my answer would be, without hesitation, yes.

However, most folks buy their first cars and (hopefully) migrate upward in short order. So if you're just starting out in your career and figure you'll own your Venue or Soul for just three years, then the monthly price gap grows to $65 a month. And for someone just starting out, that could be enough to swerve your decision to the less expensive Venue.

If anyone's interested, this is the link to the full article:

Soul Vs Venue: Which Small South Korean Hatch Is Best?

Though classified as small SUVs, the boxy Kia Soul and Hyundai Venue serve better duty when treated as hatchbacks.

www.motortrend.com

 

[Chicago Jake]

Interesting article; thanks for posting. The Soul was my second choice after the Venue, and I'm sure I would have been just as happy with it. But I chose the Venue because:

1. there were a million Souls on the road already and it seemed almost trite.
2. there were no Kia dealerships near me, but there is a nice close Hyundai dealer.
3. the Venue is a few inches shorter, which is important to me (easier to parallel park among other benefits).

 

[SilverStreak3]

Interesting article; thanks for posting. The Soul was my second choice after the Venue, and I'm sure I would have been just as happy with it. But I chose the Venue because:

1. there were a million Souls on the road already and it seemed almost trite.
2. there were no Kia dealerships near me, but there is a nice close Hyundai dealer.
3. the Venue is a few inches shorter, which is important to me (easier to parallel park among other benefits).

Did you try parallel parking the Soul? If so, was there a big difference?

 

[Chicago Jake]

Did you try parallel parking the Soul? If so, was there a big difference?

No, I didn't. I was just going by the dimensions. But I do admit this is a pretty minor issue these days. Backup cameras make almost any car easy to parallel park, as long as there is room for it.

 

[Trotsky]

Interesting article; thanks for posting. The Soul was my second choice after the Venue, and I'm sure I would have been just as happy with it. But I chose the Venue because:

1. there were a million Souls on the road already and it seemed almost trite.
2. there were no Kia dealerships near me, but there is a nice close Hyundai dealer.
3. the Venue is a few inches shorter, which is important to me (easier to parallel park among other benefits).

Price was a major consideration for me when I chose the venue. I test drove a soul at the Toyota Preowned lot. It had more pep but I still prefer the venue just based on size and cost.

 

[Chicago Jake]

Price was a major consideration for me when I chose the venue. I test drove a soul at the Toyota Preowned lot. It had more pep but I still prefer the venue just based on size and cost.

Another difference is you can only get the Soul with a manual transmission in a silver car. I hate silver cars! It looks like they forgot to paint it!

 

[Kwik_Shift]

I like the Soul for unique look and seating height, but not crazy about the bad reputation that the HyunKia 2.0 engine has.