THE Kia Soul is a good looking two wheel drive SUV that comes in at lower prices than most competitors.

A friend of mine wanted a car with best reliability, and because it came near the top of the list and he liked the look of it, he bought one.

In four years, it has not missed a beat and the only thing he's had to replace is two lightbulbs!

He still has the remainder of the superb warranty but he doesn't think he'll ever need it.

The Soul is basically a chunky medium five door family estate with either 1.6 124bhp petrol engine or a 126bhp 1.6 turbo diesel.

The smooth petrol has to be revved to get the best from it, but when you do it flies and there is plenty of verve for overtaking. The diesel is even quicker and obviously, is the one to go for because of its better economy. But it will come more expensive.

Handling and roadholding are very good, with little roll, and it even rides comfortably both on poor surfaces at speed and in town, making it an excellent all-rounder.

There's plenty of legroom front and rear for four, and even five for shorter journeys. The dash design is good looking, equipment very generous and storage excellent.

It is well-built and solid and although there are some hard plastics inside, they do look good. The boot is a fair size and it has USB and aux inputs for music.

FAST FACTS  

Kia Soul 1.6 petrol

Price: Pay about £4,700 for a ’10 10-reg ‘2’, or £8,750 for a ’13 13-reg Quantum

Mechanical: 124bhp, 1,591cc, 4 cylinder petrol driving the front wheels via a 5/6 speed manual gearbox

Max speed: 110mph

0-62mph: 10.6 seconds

Combined mpg: 43

Insurance group: 15

CO2 emissions: 153g/km