Kia Soul running costs are about the same as a conventional small hatchback (with the same specification) to buy, but is bigger and arguably more stylish.

Fuel consumption is pretty average, with more than 40mpg typical for the petrol and close to 55mpg for the manual diesel. Insurance groups are quite low for a car of this size and servicing costs are modest.

The highest Kia Soul emissions are produced by the diesel automatic, with 155g/km of CO2. The petrol achieves 149g/km and the manual diesel reaches a commendable 129g/km.

These are all decent levels given the size of the car although the diesel automatic is a little disappointing. A better score would be possible if Kia had used a five-speed instead of a four-speed gearbox.

Kias tend to be mechanically strong, but the Soul was originally backed up by a five-year/unlimited mileage warranty, which offers extra reassurance.

This was made even better in January 2010 when the scheme was upped to seven years/100,000 miles. It’s a sure sign that the manufacturer is confident that Kia Soul reliability will prove trouble free.