Before you buy a Kia Soul in Uganda

by Edwin

Kia Soul

The Kia Soul is a front-engine, front-wheel-drive, five-door subcompactcrossover manufactured and marketed worldwide by Kia and now in its second generation.
Designed at Kia's design center in California, the Soul debuted at the 2008 Paris Motor Show and is manufactured in South Korea. Since 2014, Kia has marketed an electric variant as the Soul EV in North and Central America as well as Europe.

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Before you buy a Kia Soul in Uganda

The Kia Soul arrived in 2008 with looks that divided opinions, and the second generation Soul hasn’t done anything to significantly change that. However there’s no doubt the restyle has brought a bit more contemporary sparkle to the model, and it’s roomier and more practical too.

On the road the Soul offers decent handling, but sadly the engine line-up leaves a little to be desired. The petrol engine is thirsty, and the diesel clattery – two failings that rival crossover models have addressed much better. The Soul gives away a crash-test star to many of its rivals, too. Other than that, it makes an admirable compact crossover for our roads in Uganda.

Buying a foreign used Kia Soul from a car bond in Uganda

Buying a car from a car bond makes life a lot easier to acquire yourself a vehicle. There is basically no need to go to japan or order for the vehicle from japan or any other part of the world. In short one just walks to the car bond and arrange for a purchase and within a short time, the car is paid for and handled over to you as the owner.

However, you can also find that some cars have only cleared the cost, insurance and freight (CIF) fees only. So it would mean that if you want a Kia Soul then you will have to clear the rest of the taxes. You can find the CIF of the Kia Soul (that’s up Kampala from Japan) to be around $ 10,500to Mombasa or more for latest models if you want it delivered to Kampala Uganda.

However, the cost of the CIF can change due to year of manufacture, condition of the car, mileage and the dealer. Now the Kia Soul is more expensive as compared to most the cars we have discussed.

Click here to buy a Kia Soul in Uganda

Importing a foreign used Kia Soul from Japan

This is different from buying from car from the car bond here in Kampala. Some people prefer to import their own cars directly from Japan or from any other part of the world.

This means all the costs are going to be met by the owner of the car right from say Japan to Mombasa up to Uganda. Here one needs to determine the cost of the car while still in Japan from which the Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) are calculated.

After that, arrangements are made to ship the car to Kampala, Uganda. After arriving in Kampala, then the required taxes have to be cleared.

The taxes charged by the Uganda Revenue Authority include Import Duty, Value added (VAT), Withholding Tax, Environmental Levy, Infrastructure Levy, and Registration Fees. When all this is done, then you are free to drive home in your Kia Soul.

General KIA Soul reviews

Ok, now here is the thing. Buyers have a choice of petrol or diesel power - both are 1.6-litres in capacity. The petrol offers up 130bhp, while the diesel has 126bhp, and promises lower running costs.

About the Engines, performance and drive.Climb into the Kia Soul’s driving seat and a large windscreen, smaller A-Pillars and raised ride height give an excellent view out the front, and the wheel adjusts for reach and height – which gets things off to a good start.

The six-speed manual gearbox is easy to use and there’s the option of a 7-speed automated dual clutch transmission from Connect Plus trim onwards with the diesel engine. The ride, although not brilliant, is much improved over the outgoing model thanks to changes in the suspension setup. It’s comfortable on the motorway but it still fidgets about over sudden changes in the road surface.

Interior design and technology of the KIA Soul.The bluff front end features a false grille, and the air intakes have been moved down to the bumper. The combination of sharp angles and bulging wheel arch blisters gives it a bit of an SUV look.

At the back, large tail-lamps flank the upright tailgate with a flash of gloss black plastic connecting the lights, which makes it look similar to the Fiat Qubo, while the rear bumper sticks out awkwardly.

Up front in the Kia Soul, it’s easy to get comfortable as there’s plenty of seat and wheel adjustment, plus you get a wide range of storage options, including a deep glovebox, door bins, and a centre console cubby with cup-holders. Higher trim models come with handy features like a reversing camera, navigation and Bluetooth.

There’s only the one five-door body-style, but that boxy profile makes it a spacious car to ride in – five adults should be able to travel in relative comfort. You also sit quite high, and with a good-sized glass area visibility is excellent.

Click here to buy a Kia Soul in Uganda

Common complaints owners of the KIA Soulraise in Uganda

The soul has a very low ground clearance level. This makes it hard to move through ragged roads upcountry or even the enormous pot holes one may come across. This spoils the car at the bottom. Secondly, spares are a bit expensive. So it’s ideal if one buys a brand new Soul to avoid those major maintenance costs.

Other alternatives available in Uganda for the KIA Soul

The prominent competitor would be the Nissan Cube, Sianta, Mercedes-Benz A series and the Toyota Vitz here in Uganda.

Click here to buy a Kia Soul in Uganda

Conclusion

Just like every other model in the Kia range, the Kia Soul comes with a seven-year warranty, although it seems that you’re unlikely to need to get any work carried out in the first years of ownership, as the company’s cars are impressively reliable.

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