We review the Kia Soul from price to economy and all its features
GETTING the right name is a key part of any car.
And Kia have come up with a corker — Soul. It is a seriously cool name and, fortunately for Kia, their newest model is pretty cool as well.
Kia's answer to the Mini ... Soul
They have put some Soul into the world of family motoring and they are hoping it goes straight to the top of the sales hit parade.
This is the first Korean car with a rebellious streak in a funky design that sets a trend rather than following the herd.
And Kia are about to send the cars on a tour of the UK during the next few months to ensure the whole country gets some Soul.
Design boss Peter Schreyer believes the Soul will be a major breakthrough in changing the Kia image.
It is a family car with a personality. Think of it as Korea’s answer to the Mini — but cheaper and a lot more practical.
There are two traditional models — badged Soul 1 and Soul 2 — but if you want to show your extrovert side there is a range of what Kia call Original models named Samba, Shaker and Burner.
But even the £10,500 entry model makes a statement that it’s not the usual run-of-the-mill family hatchback.
It has an interesting shape — part 4x4 with a hint of a people carrier but far more interesting. It is macho but not too rugged and will appeal to both sexes.
The interior is the coolest thing to come out of Korea, full of interesting shapes, flowing lines and vivid colours, although you can still go for a safer option.
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It’s far more like the cockpit of a sports car than a family hatchback, with three main instruments tucked into a cowling straight in front of the driver and a chunky four-spoke steering wheel.
There is ample leg and head room for five adults, plus a useful high boot space, plus a handy under-floor compartment.
And as you might expect for a car called Soul, it gets a six-speaker radio with CD player and MP3 compatibility, together with steering wheel-mounted controls on the Soul 2.
In an attempt to be extra hip I tested the Soul Burner, which is the ultimate bling version in black metallic paint and a lipstick red front grille with matching door mirrors, finished off with a liberal sprinkling of graphics on the bodywork.
It’s great for younger buyers, who Kia are hoping to appeal to with the Soul — but a mate of mine rather harshly told me it was time I grew up!
Despite the Burner name, the 1.6litre diesel engine doesn’t burn up the Tarmac — but it’s pretty solid with 0-62mph in 11 seconds. The best figures, though, are 43.5mpg and 153g/km C02.
What impressed was how precise the Soul steering was and how comfortable the ride was — but then Kia told me that they had sent the car to Lotus to be tuned for handling British roads, which explained everything.
So the Soul looks good, drives well and, for an outlay of £10,495 to £14,995, you get a family car with the X factor, which is why I’m confident it will be the breakthrough model for Kia.
And for just one week, at the age of 57, I finally got some Soul!