 As a "weekend warrior" gigging musician, I need to haul my music gear (guitars, cabinets/amps, PA system, etc.) I was excited to see a small hatchback/wagon available with a manual transmission that got 30+ miles per gallon.  Less than 1 year into ownership I had to trade it in for something else.  This car is SLOW...yeah, I know you can't expect much from a 1.6L engine but I have owned and driven many manual transmission cars/trucks in my 30+ years of driving and this one by far has been the worst.  The acceleration is very poor.  It seems the transmission is not paired well to this engine.  It's as if it is geared for gas mileage only.  It got hairy a few times when trying to merge onto the highway.  In all the cars that I have owned in my lifetime, this is the only car that I have to "Floor It" all the time to speed up.  There is a switch you can disable on the clutch pedal but then you get warning lights on the dash.  If you don't believe me, check out the Soul forums and it's all there on how to bypass/replace this switch.  The suspension also creaked and moaned like an old lady getting out of bed in the mornings, not a good sign for the long run.   It's a fine little commuter car with plenty of storage and decent MPG, just don't expect to get there quickly.