Kia Loses Its Soul

October 8, 2025

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Kia will retire its near-iconic Soul subcompact car late this month
A budget automobile is nearly gone – there are only a few new automobiles left on the market below $25,000

The boxy little Kia Soul runabout will disappear on the finish of the 2025 mannequin 12 months. Late yesterday, Kia introduced that Soul manufacturing will finish this month.

Till not too long ago, the Soul was one of many final new automobiles obtainable in America for below $20,000. Its beginning value climbed to $21,885 in 2025, however it was nonetheless among the many most reasonably priced automobiles available on the market. Its chief virtues had been a low entry value, a 10-year powertrain guarantee, and an extremely environment friendly use of area in a tiny footprint.

Properly, these issues and the hamsters.

Gained Consideration With Cuteness, Saved It With Utility

Individuals first observed the Soul because of an advert marketing campaign that includes animated hamsters
However its endurance got here from its practicality

The Soul made its mark on tradition with one of many oddest promoting campaigns ever to catch on with the general public. Early advertisements featured animated hamsters (“ham-stars,” Kia insists) dancing, rapping, and singing well-liked songs in and round Kia’s boxy little hatchback.

They had been successful. Kia notes that the Madison Avenue Stroll of Fame named the hamsters the first-ever promoting “Rookie of the 12 months.”

Associated: The Sub-$20,000 Automotive Will Disappear This Summer season

The Soul debuted amid a development of little packing containers on wheels. It outlived the Nissan Dice, Scion xB, Honda Ingredientand different toaster-shaped subcompacts partially due to the rodentia and partially as a result of a low value and lengthy guarantee made it among the many most sensible purchases a automobile shopper might make.

Nonetheless a Good Deal Right now

Sellers have some left on gross sales heaps, they usually nonetheless make loads of monetary sense

That may stay true for a number of months longer. Sellers have a stockpile of Soul fashions on the market immediately. Even the most costly 2025 mannequin (the EX Soulmate Particular Version) stays properly below $30,000 absolutely geared up. The elements that make it go might nonetheless be below guarantee in 2035.

Sellers typically settle for decrease gives for discontinued automobiles, anxious to get them off the lot and fill that area with one thing nonetheless marketed.

Kia could also be Soulless quickly, however the angular design it kicked off is the guts of Kia immediately. The corporate calls the Soul “the primary manufacturing car in Kia’s design-led and historic transformation.”

You solely must look on the design-forward EV9 must be to see it. Sure, the EV9 is all fractals and planes. However its…we’ll restrain ourselves and name it “essence”… continues to be that of a stretched out Soul.

Kia’s general U.S. gross sales almost tripled throughout the Soul’s 15-year run.