For a brand that has struggled to make cars that people want to buy rather than cars that people end up having to buy… the Soul has been a god-sent. Since January 2009, Kia’s new subcompact crossover has sold more than 5,000 units. That’s 13 percent higher than Kia’s executives anticipated.

The raw numbers: 1,334 cars were delivered in January, while keys for a further 1,485 cars were handed to customers in February and an additional 2,172 Souls found their way out of Kia dealer showrooms in March.