By RICHARD WILLIAMSON
Scripps Howard News Service
To create the new Soul, Kia Motors had to think outside the box.
That's because Kia didn't have a box. Now it does.
The Soul is Kia's answer to the Honda Element, Nissan Cube and Toyota xB, boxcars so flagrantly square that trend-resistant millennials find them downright irresistible.
To Kia's credit, designer Mike Torpey did repackage the parcel a bit, with a nice, solid character line that loops from tip to top, back down and all around. Torpey self-reportedly drew inspiration from the profile of a wild boar, not the mild bore of his quadrangular competition.
Let's concede that Korea's Kia has once again outdone its Japanese rivals by producing a more affordable and stylish version of a popular model. But Kia's claims of eschewing the cookie cutter must be taken with a grain of sodium chloride.
On the other hand, Soul's marketers deserve kudos for rhyming the car's name with the capital of its country.
Calling the Soul an urban passenger vehicle (i.e., wagon), Kia distinguishes versions of the car with various forms of punctuation and other gimmickry. If you want more than a simple Soul for $13,300, you can add options with the "plus" for $14,950. Or you can go wild with the "exclamation" for $16,950. The Sport version also sells for a base price of $16,950 and tops out at $18,600 with all available options.
The review car was a fully-loaded Sport clearly designed to beat anything on the road in terms of pricing, novelty and functionality. The coup de grace is Kia's decade-long powertrain warranty that exceeds any maker's other than parent Hyundai's.
Power is not exactly Soul's strong point.
The base Soul has a fuel-efficient, 1.6-liter 5-cylinder engine that sends 122 horses and 115 pound-feet of torque through a five-speed stick. The upper trim levels get a 2-liter version of the inline-4 with 142 horses and 137 foot-pounds of torque. On the higher-priced models, you can keep the stick or step up to a four-speed automatic transmission. In Edmunds.com testing, a Soul Sport with the manual went from zero to 60 mph in a reasonably brisk 8.8 seconds.
Fuel economy for the Sport is rated at 24 miles per gallon in the city and 30 on the highway for an estimated annual fuel bill of $2,368 -- if you happen to live where gasoline still costs $4.10 per gallon.
One of the reasons to love this category of econo-car is not just the level of equipment but the clever little extras that don't cost a fortune. The Soul, for example, can be equipped with mood lighting that can pulsate with the stereo. How cool is that?
And, of course, the stereo is outstanding, as young drivers would demand. The Sport's AM/FM/MP3 audio system comes with six speakers and a subwoofer. Kia even throws in three months of Sirius Satellite Radio, gratis.
And, on a Sirius note, the audio controls for the Satellite radio may be the most user-friendly of any maker. You can spin through the more than 100 stations without losing the one you're on, then listen to another that you land on by punching the selector knob. The stations and their numbers are easy to scan on large red LED readouts. A lot of luxury cars make their satellite radios much more difficult to navigate.
The tall interior is suitable for a long road trip, with 14 storage zones, including two cupholders and four bottle holders up front. Soul's passenger volume of 102.3 cubic feet exceeds the Scion xB's. Tall doors and a high roofline make entries and exits easy.
Buyers can adjust the brightness of their interiors with a nice array of patterns and colors. The review car came clad in red paint with brilliant red accents on the interior that contrasted sharply against a black background.
A clean dashboard with a three-dial instrument cluster, LCD illumination and floating center stack design add to the airy ambience.
Even at such bargain prices, Kia includes standard features that everyone wants: air conditioning, power windows/locks and mirrors, remote keyless entry, tilt steering, cargo lights and 12-volt power outlets.
The safety equipment is similarly generous with airbags not just on the front and side, but along the head line, as well.
Compared to competitors such as the Honda Element, the Kia might seem a little anemic under the hood. But, it might be hard to find a better offer for your Soul.
WHAT'S NEW: All new model.
PLUSES: Standard equipment, fuel economy, roominess, safety.
MINUSES: Performance, imitative design.
BOTTOM LINE: Square deal for young drivers.
E-mail Richard Williamson at motorfriend@sbcglobal.net
