I told her to place a visit to Kia and look at the Soul 2u AT. Get a fun car with heated seats, lots of back bench leg room, fold flat hatch, steering wheel volume control, traction and stability control, and a 5 yr comprehensive. Na no way, its ugly!! Thoughts?
The Soul is basically a compact with relatively lackluster fuel economy with the 2.0L (especially on the highway), and better fuel economy but awful acceleration with the 1.6L. I concur with your wife that it's ugly as hell. I don't think "fun car" is a title it can claim either and it's pricier than the Mazda2 you were looking at.
The biggest problem would be that it's a KIA. Now, I know the brand itself has become much better in recent times, and the brand itself is not what bothers me. It's the dealer network. Every KIA dealer I've seen looked a bit... well, let's just say they make used car sellers look good in comparison. I would try to know to get some feedback on customer service where you are before buying one.
As to the Mazda2 and Fiesta, personally despite the worse powertrain of the Mazda2, I might be tempted toward it more than the Fiesta. I did see the Fiesta in person and I found the interior room just plain awful. I couldn't find a really comfortable spot in the driver's seat, when the front seat was set for me, physics would prevent anyone from sitting behind me and the cargo room was also a deception. The Fiesta is a driver's subcompact (handling, suspension, etc...), and they've sacrificed versatility for it, the Mazda2 is supposedly a bit better despite being smaller in exterior dimensions. Then again, I'm 6-3, so adjust my observations for your own size.