The marketing people always come up with some special message when it’s time to launch a new car and the team at Kia spared no effort when it came to launching their new “urban crossover”.
It’s a car that will win the hearts – and souls – of the young and young at heart, they say, so they called it the Soul. Many young and old people live in flats so it is therefore appropriate that the Soul should have all the shape and form of a small apartment block.
There are smooth cars, sharp ones, and blunt ones and the Soul manages to combine several elements with its corners, suitably rounded, and high window line.
Kia has styled the Soul with a hugely blunt front end eminently suitable for the huge radiator grille that is now the norm but has eschewed current convention by gracing it with an opening like a Victorian front door letterbox, although beneath this is an area designed to look like a soft feel budge bar.
The bonnet line is far higher than it needs to be but there are two reasons for it. The first is that the masses of space between engine and bonnet provides fantastic protection for any pedestrian unlucky enough to get too familiar with the letter box grille. The other is that the car would look as ridiculous as the Fiat Multipla from 1999 if it had its high rise body but much lower bonnet line.
The Soul is fairly new on UK roads and is true to the concept car looks that it bore when first revealed in 2006. But it wasn’t until I started to drive the test car that I realised there were other examples about. Less than six miles into our first journey we passed another and I saw several more during the week. You may find the style of the Soul an acquired taste but once you see a few, it grows on you.
Of course, all that stylish bodywork encloses a huge amount of space and that’s the real appeal of the Soul. There’s a lot of bang for your buck from some models if you are chasing real value.
But, naturally, it also looks good too although there are others that follow the format such as the Toyota Urban Cruiser, also new to our streets, and the two year old Daihatsu Materia. More conventional rivals include the Vauxhall Meriva, Ford Fusion, Nissan Note and Skoda Roomster but all, I suspect, will have a job to beat the Citroen C3 Picasso as Citroen is the master of MPV design and execution.
The test car was the Shaker, a name more preferred for styles of kitchen units these days from makers who want them to sound classy. It comes in at £13,495 when fitted with Kia’s 1.6 diesel engine, that’s £1,000 more than a 1.6 petrol, the only other choice. You can save a lot more by going for the base model with the petrol engine at £10,495 but most buyers will, I suspect, up the trim.
The car appeared to be giving some truly outstanding fuel consumption figures and after quite a few hundred miles the gauge was showing the 45 litre tank to be two thirds full. But a brimming revealed there was just nine litres of fuel remaining so the car had averaged only 47 mpg, which I thought disappointing.
The engine produces 126 bhp at 4,000 rpm and 192 lb ft of torque between 1,900 and 2,750 rpm, quite a bit higher than some other diesels these days. But despite this, and Kia only using a five speed gearbox, the car does not sound thrashy and travelling is pleasant most of the time.
Although it looks potentially to be a 4x4, the Soul is strictly a front wheel drive model so it tends to be show rather than go in this respect. But the chunky shape is skilfully broken up by careful styling lines and the wheel arches so while the car is big and boxy it is not slabby.
I can’t say I’d leap out and buy this car ahead of an estate car but anyone wanting to use it hard would be sorely tempted by both the capacity to carry five people easily and the unlimited mileage five year warranty. This alone makes great sense both for long term purchasers and those who realise it will make the car easier to sell.
Maurice Hardy
Kia recognises that these days car buyers tempted by models like the Soul often want to customise their cars so the Soul has plenty of options, both as individual price list items and also as great value option packs.
People want cars like this for versatility and often to suit a lifestyle that gets them away from an urban base so things like bike racks become part of the essential package for many.
I found the Soul quite a good car to drive – obviously tall models like this don’t have coupe handling but within the limitations of its high riding stance it is enjoyable enough. Far better is the sensible body, devoid of too many hidden bits when you’re parking once you get used to the limited rear view caused by thick C pillars and a small clear area in the rear window glass.
The loading lip for the tailgate is also very high and lesser models lack a flat boot floor as this is only an option. It means reaching down into the well to pull things back out, not easy if they are heavy.
And for all that space the glove box is still not very sensible, a definite minus in a car where owners are going to be big on demands for storage.
Annette Hardy
Car: Kia Soul Shaker 1.6 CRDi
Does it fit your ego?...
0-62 mph: 11.3 secs
Top speed: 113 mph
Bhp: 126 @ 4000 rpm
Torque: 192 lb ft @ 1900 - 2750 rpm
...and your wallet?...
Price: £13,495
Urban: 44.8 mpg
Extra urban: 61.4 mpg
Combined: 54.3 mpg
CO2 emissions: 137 g/km
Insurance Group: 5
Best bits: spacious; sensible; huge warranty.
