1"+ more road clearance than the Sportswagon. 1.8L turbo-charged engine, using regular gasoline. More 2nd row leg room and luggage space than SUVs. 18" tires. Auto + paddle shifter.
No manual gear shift until may be 2018.
Very interesting car for the civilized and outdoorsmen!
Japanese car manufacturers can produce fast cars but with much lower resale value and may be even less longivity than German counterparts. Of course, much better than the Big Three's "muscle cars" which use gasoline thirsty big engines and chassis which can't turn corners!
Among all the reasonably priced vehicles, I like the Kia Soul the most. I was first exposed to it, may be 6 (10 may be?) years, I loved it the moment I saw it, although I have never owned one.