Like I know KIA's are pretty good cars, if you treat them like a car and take care of them. I drove past the KIA dealership here and saw 3 Mazda3's and a few Scion xB's so I pulled in to look at the Soul and the sales person told me that a lot of the people looking at the Soul have driven up in 3's. Which I can see because around here the 3 is a "starter" car so a lot of younger kids drive them.
I love my 3 but I was t-boned last year and I'm moving to Orlando soon and want to get a car that has side airbags and less miles. (I put on 52k on my '07 Mazda already.)
I was also looking at used Mazda CX-7's or Mitsu Outlanders (07 or newer) but for the price of those used I could get the KIA brand new. And I don't think it looks like a XD I think it looks like a baby Land Rover. My family is a Mazda family. CX9, 5, 3, 3(hatch), and MX-5.
Oh and I'm 20 going on 21 so I fit in the age group KIA is targeting.