Kia is launching a few new and interesting products this year, including the new Soul. They call it an urban passenger vehicle, we call it a cute-ute.
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| The squared-off butt of the Soul looks rather peculiar, but it works nonetheless. |
Targeting a young and young-at-heart clientele, the Soul is a compact five-passenger trucklet that is available in five trim levels and offers a long list of standard features and accessories to personalize it.
Our tester is a 4u Burner model that offers some distinct features, but is it enough to convince buyers that they should consider it instead of a Nissan cube or a Scion xB, the latter which will be offered in Canada next year? Let’s see how my soul considers this Soul.
Pinch those cheeks
The Soul is cute. My soul: “Define cute...” Well, you’ll want to squeeze those cheeks, er, front fenders and pinch them until the Kia shouts “Ow! Whadyou do that for?”
This Molten Red Burner sports 18-inch wheels on 225/45R18 tires and a tiny black spoiler mounted on the hatch. The squared-off butt of the Soul looks rather peculiar, but it works nonetheless.
Like the cube, a list of accessories is available for the Soul to personalize it. My soul: “How can a spoiler kit and body decals make a Soul unique if everyone buys the same thing?” Well, I dunno.
Average performance
With a 0-100 km/h time of 10.4 seconds, the Soul 4u Burner with the 4-speed automatic doesn’t actually burn; while the young-at-heart probably won’t mind (My soul: “I don’t…”), the young might.
The 142-hp, 2.0-litre inline-4 doesn’t stir your soul, but it’s reasonably smooth and torquey. We just wish the transmission didn’t give a tug when downshifting at school-zone speeds. Fuel economy is fairly good, though, averaging 9.4 L/100 km.
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| With a 0-100 km/h time of 10.4 seconds, the Soul 4u Burner with the 4-speed automatic doesn’t actually burn. |
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