2010 Kia Soul

You may have noticed Kias ad campaign on TV. Its called “Peer Into A Soul” and features three different situations with people staring into the camera with quizzical looks on their faces. One scenario involves a hitchhiker looking for a ride at a backwoods diner the other a couple of characters straight out of The Sopranos and the third a Friday The 13th Jason type of character wearing a plastic mask. Kind of creepy but definitely attentiongetting.

And thats precisely the point according to Kias national marketing manager Greg Hardy. “We are struggling with our brand equity in Canada” he conceded at the launch of the new 2010 Soul. “And we dont want this model to go niche. The Soul is a departure from what you would normally expect from Kia.”

A cynic might remark that Kias ad campaign stars paranoid drifters wiseguys and psychotic killers but it is definitely a departure for this Korean company and is certainly different. Hardy claims that the Peer Into A Soul website has generated over 200000 visitors since it was put up earlier this month.

Based on the Rio platform the Soul is also one of the new breed of stubby compact “urban crossover” wagons that seem to be the new flavour of the month. The Honda Element was probably the first of this breed although its in a slightly different market and the soontobereleased Nissan Cube and Toyota Scion xB are also direct competitors….or will be when they arrive in Canadian showrooms later this year. Interestingly Kia is also targeting the Dodge Caliber and Suzuki SX4 as rivals. You could toss in the Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix while youre at it but according to Greg Hardy the Soul will have this market pretty much all to itself when it hits the pavement in March.

In order to stand out from the crowd and establish a new brand identity Kia stylists have incorporated what they call a “tiger nose” front grille with integrated “repeater” turn signals into the Souls body. Apparently this is a theme that well be seeing on future Kia products and is already in evidence on the new Magentis sedan.

Two engines will be offered both fourbangers. The 1.6 litre version develops 122 horsepower while the 2.0 litre is good for 142 horses. You can choose from either a fourspeed automatic or fivespeed manual transmission but the manual gearbox will only come with the smaller engine. Kia expects the automatic transmission to be the best selling drivetrain and all things considered likely to be the most appealing choice for the “Generation Y” market its being aimed at.

High on the cuteness scale the Soul does have a practical side. Fold down the back seats and you get some 546 litres of cargo space and there is actually an abundance of rear legroom and headroom throughout the vehicle. I made a point of riding in the back seat at the product launch and didnt feel confined or trapped which is not often the case with these kinds of puddlejumpers. I could even see the Soul being used as a taxi as long as passengers dont have any

luggage because behind the back seats things get kind of snug. Nonetheless both on the highway and around town the Soul surprised with its reserve power nimbleness and in particular its lack of rattles looseness or mysterious noises. Kia has kind of a checkered history when it comes to things like assembly quality but the Soul seems to be as tight as a drum.

Four versions will be offered: 2U 4U 4U Retro and 4U Burner. Depending upon the model you can order things like larger wheels and tires sportier suspension upgraded stereo sunroof different coloured interior trim air conditioning and stereo speakers that have a mood lamp feature. Crank up the tunes and they glow red in time to the music…..what Kia calls a “club effect”. You can also choose upholstery that glows in the dark albeit temporarily To paraphrase Michael J. Fox in Back To The Future older buyers may not care about these little extras but their kids are gonna love em. My 25year old daughter would buy one for these two items alone. Standard equipment includes the usual roster of modcons such as power door locks heated mirrors Bluetooth capability USB ports and heated front seats. This last feature is an excellent idea and should be standard issue on all cars sold in Canada. I just returned a new Chevy Traverse that despite its 53000plus price tag did not have heated front seats. No wonder GM is in trouble. As time goes on Kia will also offer a range of performance upgrades that will include highflow air filter tuned exhaust and highperformance air intake. These gofast goodies are currently “in development” according to Greg Hardy.

Base price for the Soul will be 15495 but even loaded with all the goodies it will still be under 21000 although not by much.

About the writer:  Ted is a famous writer who writes on the topics related to motorcycles reviews mountain bike reviews new car reviews for Driverseat.

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