KIA Soul - Shaker 1.6
5-speed manual and SEVEN-year warranty
Top speed 110 mph
0-62mph 11 secs
Max power 124 bhp
Max torque 156 Nm
Combined MPG 43.5
CO2 emissions 153 – VED D £145
Price £12,495
JUST when you thought cars couldn't get any quirkier or unusual, along comes KIA and throws its new concept-based Soul into the arena. Building on KIA's current high quality agenda the Soul is a small five-door car.
It's not a hatchback and it's not an SUV, possibly something in between. It's so quirky that it may have created a segment all of its own. If a Mini and a Fiat Panda were to make babies, Soul could be the resulting offspring. It is an exciting new model - as interesting on the inside as it is on the outside. You will either really love it, or really hate it – there is no in-between.
What are the choices?
Available with a 1.6-litre petrol or a 1.6-litre diesel engine, Soul comes in two standard trims, Soul 1 and Soul 2, plus three individually styled models for drivers who want a bit more pizzazz - Samba, Shaker and Burner. Impressive standard features across the range include electric windows and remote central locking, air conditioning, electronic stability programme, ABS, EBD, six airbags, CD radio with MP3 compatibility, tilt-adjustable steering column and five-year unlimited mileage warranty.
As you creep up the range you get more stuff and with the top three you get individual features to give you a car to really make waves in. A choice of bright colours is available.
Does it have soul?
I reviewed the petrol-powered Shaker. This car is all about blending with its subtle Vanilla Shake exterior paintwork. Fancy 18-inch alloys and privacy glass polish off the luxury look and it's my favourite model of the top three. Tasty treats include a leather steering wheel with audio controls, electric sunroof and advanced reversing camera system with the LCD display in the rear-view mirror.
The two-tone cream and grey interior works well and I absolutely love the dashboard and centre console. They are chunky and bold and, despite the vast plastic, it all works really well in the cabin, which is spacious. I noticed that, although this car is Mini sized, it has far more interior space. Headroom is very impressive, particularly as the seating position is quite high. It's not as high as an MPV but it's better than many saloon cars.
Thanks to the deep glass windows and large windscreen visibility is superb. And although the car is not very long, legroom is impressive. The boot is where the space runs out. The boot door is enormous but it opens to reveal a very small space – just room for some groceries or maybe a small Yorkshire terrier.
How does it go?
As you can imagine, the Soul is not a cheap car. The fit and finish doesn't feel cheap and the driving experience doesn't feel cheap either. You get what you pay for with KIA, who has ditched the stack'em high, flog'em cheap philosophy, in favour of 'the quality is worth waiting for' philosophy – as demonstrated with the cee'd family.
My Shaker was powered by the 1.6-litre petrol engine, which suits the size of the car really well. It had plenty of power and the five-speed gearbox complimented the engine to give a smooth drive. Light power steering was just right for town driving. Out on the open road, handling was good although the ride was a bit bumpy.
I could feel all the imperfections on the country roads and my body mass wobbled quite noticeably. The low profile tyres kicked up lots of road noise when I was on the motorway but driving at 70 with the sunroof open was surprisingly quiet. On the whole I enjoyed being in the Soul and enjoyed driving it
What's at the top?
Sticking as closely as possible to the original concept car (first revealed in Detroit in 2006) Soul Burner sits at the top of the range. It's powered by the torquey 1.6-litre CRDi diesel engine. Externally it has the same 'concept' dragon decals on the black paintwork, is trimmed with red and sports huge 18-inch red and black alloys.
The interior is also two-tone black and red (not everyone's cup of tea). The high-spec model will set you back a snip under £15k but is bursting with treats inside and out. In fact it's already been 'pimped'. Spec includes leather trimmed steering wheel with audio controls, iPod compatibility, PowerBass sub-woofer in rear, adjustable red LED mood lighting in front door speakers, to name just a few.
What is the concept?
Revealed at motor shows around the world 'the concept' is a showcase for its creators' newest technology and style.
It reveals an insight into the future plans of the company and the one-off car will have cost gazillions of pounds, thus creating the 'dream car', the 'greenest car', the 'people's car' or the 'perfect car'; and the techies and designers will be harvesting all the feedback from the viewing public and competition to see whether they got it right or got it wrong.
Rarely does a concept make it onto the roads en-masse with very little tweaking to deliver the car everyone swooned but in KIA's case, a mere 30 months from its first unveiling, the Soul is about to arrive on UK roads. And, it's not a bad recreation of the original concept.
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