Kia Soul is known as a crossover SUV. It is a four-cylinder subcompact car designed in California and manufactured in South Korea for worldwide export. This diesel engine-powered car also has an electric variant known as Soul EV.
In today’s article, we will discuss the functionalities of the Kia soul.
Can Kia Soul go off-road?
Kia soul wasn’t designed to drive in off-roading conditions. This subcompact SUV was designed to drive in cities. It has a huge cargo space and interiors are specially designed for passengers to ensure maximum comfort. However, you can still drive this SUV on light off-roading terrains.
The Kia soul was built to perform as a subcompact hatchback SUV that you can drive in cities or plain terrain. The Kia Soul lacks enough ground clearance and four-wheel driving capabilities that are required for an off-roading experience.
The amount of ground clearance it provides can help you drive through minimum offroad conditions. The Kia Soul focuses on comfort, modern technology, and cargo capabilities combined to make your driving experience smoother.
There are two types of engine options that Kia Soul offers. The first one is a standard 147 horsepower 2 liter 4 cylinder direct injection engine, and the other one is a turbocharged 201 horsepower 1.6 liter 4 cylinder engine.
This car uses 16 inches alloy wheel rims and it has 6.7 inches of ground clearance which is not enough to consider itself as an off-road car. Apart from that, the suspension of the Kia Soul SUV is not able to provide a smooth off-road driving experience.
This car was made considering the comfort of passengers and spacious cargo, that is the reason why it won’t be able to provide the best performance as an off-road car.
The manufacturer company suggests a different type of driving terrain for this car such as cities and highways. The Kia Soul has a 6-speed manual or automatic gearbox which provides you with better fuel economy.
It lacks proper engine output which is required to become an off-road car. Moreover, the Kia Soul is a front-wheel-drive car whereas all the off-roading car is required to be all-wheel driving car.
Is a Kia soul good for off-road trips? Is the Kia Soul X-Line Good for offroading?
Since the Kia Soul has a lower ground clearance and engine output, it will prevent you from driving through off-road terrains. Moreover, the suspension that Kia Soul offers is not capable of driving off-road.
So, in case you want to take your Kia Soul on an off-road trip, it is not 100% confirmed if it can provide you the best performance as an off-road car. It was designed to drive through plain roads so that it can provide maximum comfort.
The Kia Soul comes in different specifications. Their X line is considered as the offered inspired car. But still, it has not yet managed to provide the efficiency and performance of an off-road car.
It uses 18-inch alloy wheels and tuned suspensions. Although the X line provides the same drivetrain as the other versions of Kia soul.
This one is also an active front-wheel drive-only car. So, it can be declared that the X line cannot be considered best for off-road driving.
3 reasons why Kia soul cannot go off-road
The main reason why Kia soul can’t go offroad is that the car was not made considering rough terrain conditions. Besides, the car lacks the performance capabilities of an offroad car.
It has a small underpowered engine that is not enough powerful to push the car through rough terrain conditions. Besides, the car has a lower ground clearance compared to an offroad car, which will cause serious damage to the car’s body if driven in offroad areas.
And finally, the car doesn’t have a powerful suspension that is capable of absorbing the shocks of offroad terrain. The main reasons why Kia soul cannot go offroad is mentioned below:
Underpowered engine:
The Kia soul has a 2 liter 4 cylinder turbocharged engine which was called “offroad inspired”. But it lacks off-roading capabilities.
The engine can produce 147 to 201 horsepower which is somehow not able to pull up the car in offroad terrain. That is why it cannot be considered as the ideal option to drive offroad.
Lower ground clearance:
The car has a lower ground clearance of 6.7 inches which is not adequate considering an offroad driving car ground clearance.
Generally, it takes around 7 to 11 inches of ground clearance for a car to consider as an offroad performing car.
Weaker suspension:
The Kia Soul is built with a suspension that cannot absorb the pressure of offroad terrains. It was built to ensure maximum comfort for the passenger and spacious cargo.
As a result, the car has a weaker suspension which cannot perform well in rough terrains.
Does Kia Soul have good ground clearance? How much ground clearance does a Kia Soul have?
The Kia soul has a ground clearance which is considered good for a regular use subcompact crossover SUV. The Kia soul was built to drive through cities or highways, a plain terrain.
The car is built to ensure comfort, smooth driving, and a passenger-friendly environment that is why it has such low ground clearance compared to any other off-road car.
The ground clearance of the Kia soul SUV is 6.7 inches. This is very lowered considered to be an offroad car. Generally, an SUV should have a 7 to 11 inches ground clearance to achieve offroad driving capability.
This is why 6.7 inches of ground clearance is not enough for Kia soul to go offroad. It is also made using the type of suspension that is required to go through a plain drivetrain.
The ground clearance that Kia soul has is pretty comfortable for the people when getting out of the car.
Does the Kia Soul have traction control?
The Kia soul contains traction control systems in it to control the traction when assistance is needed. It is a safety feature that checks if there are any unusual rotations in one of the four wheels and controls it using computerized programs.
Once the abnormal rotation of a wheel is detected, the computerized system activates the anti-lock braking system and reduces the engine output on that specific wheel. This works great against slippery road conditions.
In case you are driving in snow, your wheels won’t be able to rotate together. Since the Kia soul is a front-wheel-drive car, the frontal wheels might be spinning abnormally. So, the traction control system will come in handy in this situation.
The traction control system of Kia soul is controlled by a button that is activated by pressing it. So, it is a good feature of Kia’s soul.
Does Kia Make an Off-Road Vehicle?
Kia makes some good off-road vehicles. The main requirement to consider a car as off-road capable is to become an all-wheel-drive vehicle. Some of the most popular and convenient Kia off-road vehicles are Kia Sportage, Kia Sorento, Kia Telluride, etc.
These cars are capable of performing off-road driving and they have good ground clearance. The Kia telluride has a 3.6L V8 engine which produces 291 horsepower engine output and is available in AWD.
This car also has 8 inches of ground clearance. These cars also have traction control systems enabled in them which help them prevent skidding in snow and rough terrain conditions.
Moreover, the Kia SUVs ensure comfort and a smooth experience when driving. The Kia SUV is good for mountains and the rough surface where you need maximum traction control.
So, the traction control feature helps you control the car with smoothness and ease.
Is Kia Soul good in the snow?
Some handy features make the Kia soul a good performing car in the snow when driving. Some of the features help the car to control itself on the slippery surface of the snow to prevent skidding.
The car comes with a built-in traction control system, electronic stability control, and vehicle stability management system that enables the car to perform well on a snow drivetrain.
The traction control system is an automatic feature that detects unusual wheel rotation in the car.
In case you are driving the Kia Soul in the snow, it will automatically detect the abnormal and unusual rotation in one of the four wheels and immediately activate the Anti-lock brake system in the car.
Sometimes, when you are driving through snow, you can also turn on traction control by pressing the button of traction control. This is why the Kia soul is a good performing car for snow and the traction control system makes it more reliable to drive in snow.
Final Thoughts
The Kia soul lineup was built for passenger comfort and cargo space which makes it ideal as a city-driven car. The car has a lower ground clearance of 6.7 inches which makes it unable to achieve an offroad driving experience. The suspension is also not capable of performing offroad driving.
I am an automotive enthusiast and have been interested in cars since I was a little kid. I have worked in the automotive industry for many years and have extensive knowledge of vehicles and their engines. I am a father of two and I love spending time with my family.
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