Successful crossover
Since it was launched in 2009 the talk about the Kia Soul has been concentrated on the car’s quirky design and its superlative practical advantages. Now for next year’s model there have been some small changes to the look and the much needed new 140 horsepower (103 kW) petrol engine has been introduced. Now that there is this power plant as well as the popular common rail diesel there should be new buyers tempted into the showrooms. Benny Oeyen, vice-president for marketing and product planning for Kia Motors Europe says “The Kia Soul is so successful that we are having difficulty in producing enough units to satisfy demand.” This, of course, ignores the fact that until now the demand was limited to that of buyers who appreciate diesel. But finally the South Korean manufacturer is able to offer its highly successful model with six-speed gearbox and as an option with a six-stage automatic transmission.
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- The little car can score pointsin the city, where its far-from-sporty suspension allows bumps to be well cushioned. On longer autobahn outings the Soul is still vulnerable to the effects of wind, and this is not helped by the light feel of the steering.
Not so sporty
The Kia Soul 1.6 GDI… priced from 13,900 Euros… will be available at three different equipment levels, unlike the diesel variant. The little car can score pointsin the city, where its far-from-sporty suspension allows bumps to be well cushioned. On longer autobahn outings the Soul is still vulnerable to the effects of wind, and this is not helped by the light feel of the steering. The driver might also wish for a better response from the brakes. In spite of the 140 horsepower (103 kW) and 166 Nm of torque the Soul 1.6 GDI… offered only with front-wheel-drive… is quite nippy although a bit more sluggish than might have been expected. The car powered by a four-cylinder direct injection engine weighs 1,245 kilos and takes 10.4 seconds to hit the hundred mark. However in second or third gear it is still possible to change lanes swiftly in city traffic. The top speed the Kia Soul can achieve is a modest 180 kilometres per hour. At autobahn speeds it becomes clear that Kia have considerably improved the sound insulation. Averaged fuel consumption is given as about 6.4 litres per hundred kilometres driven.
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- The Kia Soul 1.6 GDI… priced from 13,900 Euros… will be available at three different equipment levels, unlike the diesel variant.
Utilitarian
Even at the basic equipment level the Soul comes with
air conditioning, audio system, onboard computer and daytime running lights.
Standard, too, is a ‘hill start assist’ system but the rear-view camera is an
option only for the top equipped Soul variants. There is also ESP, six airbags and a
specially reinforced passenger cell. But for the Kia Soul no further assistant systems
are made available. In spite of its compact proportions and an overall length
of 4.12 metres the Kia Soul can carry 1,256 litres of load when the rear seats
are folded down and can tow up to 1.3 tons of weight. Assets of the Kia Soul
are the good basic equipment level and a roomy interior and the Soul 1.6 GDI
also impresses with a warranty for seven years or 150 thousand driven
kilometres, a guarantee which remains in force even if the auto changes hands
in the meantime.
