New Car Picks

I'd say neither. =D But if I had a choice between the two, I'd go with the Ford. My sister owned a brand new Kia and it was a nightmare. Even if they have a great warranty program, having it in the shop every week wouldn't make it worth the savings. On the other hand, my in-laws bought a Kia (not the Soul but a small SUV) and they love it. I'd still go for the Ford even though I'm mad at Ford right now because of our last vehicle problems (Ford Excursion). =)

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we are FORD all the way....for our family vehicle. It's just amazing & a relief to buy a product that we know will carry us for 200,000+ miles with very few repairs. Been buying FORDS for 30+ years now.

Oh, & as a disclaimer, we've also had excellent luck with our sons P.O.S. teen cars.....(this is where my total honesty comes in....I have to be honest & admit we have owned other makes....we just chose FORD for our main 2 cars.)

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My sister has has three Kia's and loves them.

I would take the car seats to the cars and see how they fit in for you - that's the only way you will be able to make a choice that works for you...that's what we did when we purchased our Grand Caravan...took the car seats and the stroller(s) and see how it fit - if I still had room, could get in and out of the car with relative ease - the car was mine.

I love my Grand Caravan - with the exception of the maintenance in the last 2 years...it's 11 years old...oh well...we'll be getting a new car soon...

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I will never buy a Kia. They have a bad rep with the mechanics. Even though they may have upgraded them the past few years, I will never own one.
Ford Escape would be my pick. :-)

I like Dodge Durango's! They're awesome! :-) Roomy too.

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Something in between would be the Hyundai Tucson listing for around $18K. My sister drives that brand (Elantra) and even their smallest car comes with 100K miles roadside assistance. Her last one lasted 11 years and still was OK but needing more parts replaced so she just bought a new one.
I am considering the Ford Taurus and Dodge Caliber or Challenger to replace my 11 year old Dodge Interpid. I would stick with American since in general it is cheaper to have your local gas station mechanic do the oil changes and scheduled maintenance on them, and they can get the parts easily.

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I have a 2006 Ford Escape, and while I like it a lot and trust Ford to make a higher-quality product than Kia (plus they're American), I am not sure it is big enough for 3 car seats in the back. TWO maybe, but that'd leave very little room for a 3rd butt in the back seat. I wouldn't consider mine "roomy" as far as leg space goes. My husband's friends always push the front seat all the way back, which means my son's feet touch the front seat when he sits in his carseat. I don't know what the Kia looks like, but I do like that the Escape is a hatch-back so that we can get into the trunk area w/o getting out of the car. I like that the seats fold down. I have moved 5 times with the help of my car and my husband's truck. It's a nice feature to be able to fold the seats down.

That's all I know.

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Ford.. they have an awesome track record with saftey features etc.. We have the Fusion, and a soccer mom van the Windstar. Love them both.. had Ford F150 before that, loved it ..

the Taurs X might be something you want to look at. I think they have up to 7 person seating..

Also.. look on Craigs list for a used one you could get a great deal..

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Kia Soul is a good looking spacious car. I dont own this but other than a soccer mom van like the Odyssey - we have a Kia Rio and I love this when I use it. I really hate the hugeness of the Odyssey but am stuck with it.

Kias' make you feel good after a purchase (ours was $15000 out the door in 2008) because you spent a lot less and believe me the Odyssey (new) cost us $34000 (2006) and you dont use half the features it comes with. We have two children and I have a carseat and a booster in both (yes even the Kia - no other peson can sit in this though while my Odyssey being an 8 seater can very easily fit 3 more). Go with the Kia you wont regret this.

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Love love love love LOVE my '12 Kia Sorento!!! We got the mid-range model (not the base and not the lux) and we needed AWD, so while ours was a little more than the prices you had listed for the others, I know they have models that are within that range. It has an optional 3rd row, awesome gas mileage and it doesn't look like a mini-van.

Good luck!

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My guy is an auto tech (mechanic)....for kia.
All I can say is...don't buy the Kia! I can't see putting multiple car seats in one either.
No clue about the Escape, other then my friend and his family loved theirs.
I'm also a Ford girl...all my Fords I have beat to hell and have always been able to fix them, and keep on driving. My 03 Focus is still running great...and I have sadly abused that car, lol.
Happy hunting! =)

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Are you serious? A soul will fit multiple car seats? And safely for the kids? I have never seen something so small. I had three small children and a fourth bigger kid and had to get in and out of the car all the time and sometimes sit back there with them. None of these cars seem to be practical for multiple small children. They are only small for a little while and then you can buy the "cool car". I'm sorry I am very practical and have done many road trips with small kids.

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If you're buying new you can not beat the 5 year bumper to bumper 10 year power train warranty on the Kia. I'd spend another grand to extend the bumper to bumper warranty out the full 10 years.

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Look at the new Kia Optima or Hyundia Sonata (we bought the Sonata). Both are LOADED with cool stuff and have excellent warranties and safety features.

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I just traded in my 2010 kia soul for a 2012 kia sportage... the kia had excellent gas mileage and was decent in the snow but thats about it... 3 passengers in the back?? tight fight! and cargo area, not even enough room after a big grocery shopping trip. Thats why i traded to go a bit bigger, and awd... i dont know much about the other vehicle you are asking about but thats my opinion of the soul :) gl

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I love my Ford Escape. It was my first brand new car, 2007, and it's still running great, no problems. My next car will be another Ford Escape!

My daughter had a Kia Sportage. It fell apart and needed constant repairs.

We have a Scion Xb. Love it!! Very roomy for carseats and lots of stuff in the back. We found a used 2010 for 16,000--totally loaded. Dvd in the headrests-all the goodies. Check them out!

I had a 2005 Ford Escape and LOVED IT!
are you sure on the price? I did notthink mine was that expensive but it was not loaded. I had a 4 cylinder great on gas, loved the fold down seats, easy to manuver wonderful overal

My parents just traded their Chevrolet Venture (minivan) for a Chevrolet Traverse (similar to the Acadia). The Traverse is a little longer and wider than the mini van and is a very nice vehicle! It's big but they say it drives great! My kids got to play around in it and want me to get one, LOL! I will probably get a Chevrolet Equinox as my next vehicle - I currently drive a 2002 Chevrolet Impala that I love! I have a booster and convertible car seat in there and can fit a 12 year old (5'4", 100lbs) or small adult in between.
I know someone who has a Kia Sorrento and has had nothing but problems with it. She really liked her other car but it was beginning to need things that were expensive so she decided to get rid of it and got the Kia. She's had a lot more problems with the Kia but with their warranty it hasn't cost her anything yet except for being stranded on the highway a few times (she travels for work).
Good Luck!
****just saw a Mazda 5 and remembered thinking they were kind of neat - 7 passenger I believe and they seemed pretty affordable. (mazda 7 and 9 are also cool!) Hope this helps!

I have a Ford Escape and absolutely Love it!

I can't say anything about the Kia Soul, but we have a 2005 Ford Escape and LOVE it. It's been a very solid ride, good storage, decent gas mileage for an SUV, and comfortable on long trips. My husband was sold on the Escape because of the crash test ratings.

I don't know how many kids you have or plan to have, but when we test drove a few different Kias, we couldn't even fit an infant seat in the back. With our Escape we could fit 1 car seat in the middle of the back and still have room for 2 adults to sit comfortably. Right now we have 2 carseats (1 booster and 1 convertible) and there is a little space in between but not enough for an adult.to ride.