ROAD TEST
Kia Soul 1.6 D Street
Johannesburg - Kia's new Soul is cubist, non-conformist and all that and if the ad is to be believed, its target buyers are superstars of sorts. But what really stood out for me was what I found inside this funky box.
It's no secret that modern-day South Korean cars tend to have acceptable interiors, yet the Soul's cabin goes way beyond goodenufski. It exudes a real premium vibe with stitched leather on the instrument binnacle joining the glossy black inlays and squishy soft plastics on the dashboard. You're also bombarded with oval shapes and unique garnishes such as 'floating' tweeters either side of the dash top. There's a certain 'California cool' at play here and you can really see that the Soul is a creation of Kia's West Coast design centre in the US.
The Soul's exterior isn’t as big a departure, but then it's clear the design team didn't want to mess with a successful formula. But don't be fooled by its familiarity, as Kia's second attempt at Soul is a completely new vehicle that's built on an entirely new platform, spawned from the seed of the European-market Cee'd hatch.
The redesign process has seen it grow 20mm in length and 15mm in width and that translates into an extra 4mm of rear legroom and 7mm more shoulder room. And boy is it spacious, with ample head room and seemingly acres of stretching space in the back - as much as I'd expect in larger SUVs.
ON THE STREET
So, it's cool, classy and practical. But are its mechanical innards up to the game?
The steering is certainly an improvement over previous Kia models, many of which felt and reacted like gaming consoles. Thankfully, this Soul's steering system feels comparatively normal.
While the basic suspension design, with MacPherson struts up front and a coupled torsion beam at the back, remains as before, Kia says its engineers have made some improvements. Yet while the ride quality is compliant enough over most surfaces, it still feels slightly stiffer than this type of vehicle should ideally be. Otherwise, on-road refinement and overall quietness are impressive and Kia's 'NVH measures' seem to have paid off.
Diesel-heads will be pleased to see that the Soul is now offered with a force-fed oil burner, this being a 1.6-litre unit with 94kW and 260Nm on command. I wouldn't say it's enjoyably brisk, given that the diesel versions weigh about 1400kg, yet performance is certainly decent enough for around-town sprinting and open-road overtaking. You'll be buying this for its economy, and to that end my test car sipped 7.9 litres per 100km on an almost entirely urban route.
You might say that's the funky Soul's natural habitat and to keep it looking trendy in those concrete and barbed-wire jungles of ours, Kia is giving Soul customers some colourful style choices, as three of the 11 available colours can be had with a contrasting roof colour.
All models are packed with features and the mid-spec 'Street', featured here, leaves little wanting, with leather seats, keyless start, automatic climate control, rear parking sensors, six-speaker audio system, Bluetooth, six airbags, ESP and 18-inch alloys all included in the deal, along with that peachy five-year or 150 000km warranty and four-year or 90 000km service plan.
VERDICT
As with the Nissan Juke, the Soul may or may not be your kind of flavour. Yet if you are hip enough to be square or square enough to be hip, you might just be surprised by how refined and neatly finished it really is.
FACTS
Kia Soul 1.6 D Street
Engine: 1.6-litre, four-cylinder turbodiesel
Gearbox: Six-speed manual
Power: 94kW @ 4000rpm
Torque: 260Nm @ 1900 - 2750rpm
0-100km/h (claimed): 10.8 seconds
Top speed (claimed): 180km/h
Consumption (Urban, tested): 7.9 litres per 100km
Price: R304 995
Warranty: Five-year/150 000km
Service plan: Four-year/90 000km