Kia Soul You’re probably going to have trouble defining the word ‘soul’. But Kia reckon they’ve an easy route for you now with the launch of what they say is an “urban-crossover combining SUV looks with urban style”. The Soul does indeed have SUV height and, in an unusually up-front way, SUV looks too. Sensibly they’ve kept away from 4WD mechanicals with their associated expense and thirst, so SUV traditionalists – if such a quality is possible in a niche that is barely a decade old – might well say that this isn’t a real SUV. What’s more to the point however, is that it will do everything that all those so-called ‘real’ SUVs are asked to do by 99.9% of their owners on a daily basis. Kia cheerfully admits that the Soul is a ‘lifestyle statement’. Peter Schreyer, Kia’s Chief Design Officer, says “It will be our first car where customers check the colours and accessories before they check the price”. Well not quite all of them surely. But you get the idea, and the Soul’s model names give further clues to the marketing process. In addition to the basic 1 and 2 trim levels, there’s the Samba, the Shaker and the Burner. Now here’s the interesting bit. Those upper three model names will be ‘refreshed’ every year or so, and the precise range of equipment which they represent can therefore be shifted to suit the whims of buyers. Whichever model you consider however, for the moment it will be powered by one of two engines: the 1.6 petrol and the 1.6 diesel. Despite the squareness of its basic outline, the Soul’s body actually looks pretty cuddly thanks to the rounded edges. The upright sides and rear do of course make for good visibility and easy parking, though like so many cars the rear quarters aren’t blessed with too much glass. We started our Oxfordshire test drive with the petrol model. So refined is this one at idle that you really have to check the rev counter to see whether it’s still going. On the road it’s genteel until you reach motorway speed when it becomes audible, but not annoyingly so. Before that point one becomes more aware of the suspension, which may be good for the Soul, but is a tad hard for the body unless you’ve loaded your car with a few bags of cement or hefty passengers. In fact this Soul’s suspension set-up is unique to the UK market, and is the result of some attention by Lotus engineers. And to be fair, such is the state of roads in this neck of the woods that it’s difficult to drive any car without an accompaniment of thumps and rattles that are in reality down to local authority austerity measures rather than motor manufacturers’ intentions. The diesel, which has virtually the same power as the petrol but loads more torque, is naturally a bit easier to drive, as you can leave it in higher gears for much of the time. The petrol engine is geared quite low (roughly 20mph per 1000 revs in top) so on A-roads you’re quite often reaching for a non-existent sixth. Like the power outputs, performance of the two engines is again about equal, but in the real world of UK motoring, where heavy traffic is not an unknown quantity, the diesel is just that much easier on the brain and limbs. The Soul’s interior features stylish controls for heating/ventilation, but more to the point they’re really easy to understand and operate – it’s something to do with simplicity. The funky chunky look of the exterior is carried over successfully into the cabin, where the whole feel is of solid no-nonsense design. There are plenty of storage areas for those knick-knacks we can’t do without, but on some models you’ll need to prepare yourself for the colour that whacks you in the eye when you open the glove box. Leg room is ample wherever you sit, and the boot’s a reasonable size too – 340 litres before you fold the rear seat, though that figure is actually only relevant to the two base models which don’t have the removable floor fitted in the boot; if you’ve got a Samba or one of the others with the floor in as standard it’s obviously less, though of course you’ve got a secret storage compartment underneath. With the floor in you get an almost flat area when the rear seat back (asymmetrical split) is folded. Without it you get a much deeper boot. Kia expects sales to be concentrated on the Soul 2, which is well equipped: six airbags, air con, remote locking, ESP, alloy wheels, electric windows front and rear, a six-speaker audio system with AUX and USB ports, and a load more choice of body colour than the base model offers. The three named models – each of which has its own body dramas as well as more equipment – are expected to take 25% of sales, and if they’re not individual enough you can then go for option packs on top. It’s a good car this, with sufficient quirkiness to attract new young converts (the target age group is apparently 18-39), but not so much that it would alienate the traditional Kia buyer.   Size:                              4.11m x 1.79m Engines:                        Petrol: 1.6 litre – 124bhp                                       Diesel: 1.6 litre – 126bhp Gearbox:                       5-speed front drive Best consumption:        1.6 diesel – 54.3mpg official   combined Price at launch:             £10,495 to £14,995   Peter Cracknell – Feb ’09 MotorsvilleUK Video of the Soul - watch it here l l l l Home New Models Industry Green News Odds n’Ends