2009 Kia Soul – First Steer
April 3, 2009 by David Twomey
Korean carmaker Kia, like its sibling Hyundai, is a company that’s on the move in the automotive world and whether some want to accept it or not it’s now a company making world-class products that are selling in huge numbers around the world.
After several years of making-do with dated product, yes there’s nothing more dated than the Rio but it still sells, the company has so far this year launched the all-new Cerato and now, if you will excuse the pun, its got Soul – at least as a brand name!
The product revolution for Kia doesn’t stop there, with the sporty, two-door Koup to come later in the year and heavily reworked versions of the Sportage and Sorento SUVs also in the pipeline.
A little over two years ago Kia went out and lured Peter Schreyer, the man who gave us the Audi TT and a whole range of related Volkswagen and Audi products, into its fold as Chief Design Officer.
Mr Schreyer is often given the somewhat overworked appellation of ‘design guru’, but the fact is he’s very good at his job and he understands brand identity.
Already the latest Kias feature the ‘Schreyer Line’ grille, a small step in giving the company’s products a unified look, and while he wasn’t involved in the original motor show concept of the Soul, from his office in Russelheim, Germany, he’s certainly exerted strong influence over its final form.
Soul has already been launched in Western Europe, the US, and the Korean home market before, yesterday, hitting the streets of Australia and in those other markets it is already selling very strongly.
So much so that Kia Motors Australia will have just 400 Souls to sell as its initial offering, although the company executives told CarAdvice at the Sydney-based launch that number could be increased to match demand.
One of the reasons for keeping the numbers small to start with, apparently, is the almost infinite customisation that’s possible with Soul.
After some quick number crunching the Kia people came up with a figure of more than 10,000 combinations of Soul, using the various engine, colour and accessory options that are available.
They certainly see this as a justification for their advertising slogan; “No two Souls are the same” and cite the customisation options of cars such as the Mini Cooper and the Fiat 500 as examples of a trend they say is important to their target buyers.
Those buyers? Well according to Kia Marketing Manager Steve Watt they are Generation Y coupled with ‘individualists’ of almost any age.
In line with this the company is making heavy use of the web and alternative media to promote the Soul and has launched a website where potential buyers can “assemble” their car, and cost it, before heading to a dealership to finalise the deal.
With pricing that starts at $20,990 the base Soul is squarely in the territory of small cars such as the Toyota Corolla and the Mazda3 but its 1.6-litre, four-cylinder, petrol engine, the latest version of Kia’s Gamma range, which produces an impressive 91kW and 156Nm, would seem more allied to the Light Car Segment.
The optional, at a somewhat hefty $3500 premium, diesel engine is the latest version of Kia’s 1.6-litre and it produces an even more impressive 94kW and a substantial 260Nm from just 1900rpm. The automatic transmission version only comes with a diesel particulate filter and all the engines are Euro4 compliant.
This engine is designated U2 and is a development of the diesel already found in the sibling Hyundai i30, while the petrol engine is expected to show up in the Hyundai i20 when it is released later this year.
Under the official ADR81/02 combined consumption test, the Soul diesel can achieve up to 5.2 litres/ per 100kms (manual transmission) and 5.9L/100kms (automatic).
This gives the diesel Soul a potential combined cycle range of up to 923kms from a single tank of diesel. Its CO2 emissions are just 137g/km with the standard five-speed manual gearbox and 155g/km with the optional four-speed automatic.
With the petrol engine emissions are an effective 154g/km and ADR81/02 combined economy is 6.5L/100kms for the manual, giving it a potential combined cycle range of up to 738kms from a single tank of 91RON unleaded petrol.
Because of its shape, almost a mini SUV in looks coupled with a hatchback configuration, Kia says the Soul defies classification, but accepts that it will be cast against small car competitors.
However, product manager Nick Reid suggested to us that it should also be seen against much more expensive offerings, particularly the Mini Cooper and the Fiat 500, because of its customisation, and against larger SUV offerings, such as the Nissan Dualis, because of its flexible use of space.
The fact is the Soul is a bit of everything, and on that it could either succeed or fail, although we are inclined to think it has strong appeal for its target market.
Soul comes in three models Soul, Soul2 (that’s Squared) and Soul3 (yes, that’s Cubed) and it offers varying combinations of the petrol and diesel engines already mentioned coupled to either a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission, although we’d expect the latter to be substituted for a six-speed, currently finalising development, in the not too distant future.
For the starting money you get a Soul with the 1.6-litre petrol engine, five-speed manual transmission, six airbags, 15-inch steel wheels and air-conditioning and the automatic adds $2000 to the price.
If your prepared to be Squared then Soul2 will get you stability control, 16-inch alloys and roof rails as standard equipment, for a starting price of $23,990.
Electronic Stability Program (ESP) is standard on Soul2 and Soul3, but is not available on the base Soul, while cruise control will be included on all diesel models from August production.
Get Cubed and Soul3 includes 18-inch alloys and automatic transmission as standard, but actually deletes roof rails, although they can be added as a option – go figure – for a starting price of $27,390. A space-saver spare wheel is standard across the range.
Mr Reid says that while the Soul3 is automatic only, in line with the customisation concept it can be ordered from the factory with the five-speed manual, and you will get a $2000 reduction on the price.
Although the pricing puts the Kia Soul in the heart of Australian small cars it is not quite that clear as far as market segments go.
Overseas it has similar competitors such as Toyota’s Scion and the Nissan Cube, but here the closest competitor is probably the Suzuki SX4, which is short in wheelbase but 50mm longer overall.
Inside the soul is heavily slanted towards its Gen Y market with strong influence on the likes of audio systems, an eight-speaker system with a sub-woofer is an option, along with illuminated speakers that can be adjusted to pulse with your favourite music!
Design and layout of the dash is consistent with that recently seen on the Cerato and the Soul also features Kia’s new ‘corporate” steering wheel, all of which can be customised with colours and features.
Plastics on the inside are a little hard, but the look and feel is generally good, with nice textures and good fit and finish. Upholstery continues the customising theme with colours and options that have to been seen.
Add to that a range of 11 exterior paints, coupled with body garnishes, graphics and colours, interior trims and appointments, sports pedals and door scuff plates, and a reversing camera.
The Soul is based on an all-new front-wheel-drive platform; expect to see it underpinning future models, with strut front and torsion beam rear suspension. The wheelbase is 2550mm, overall length 4105mm, height 1610mm and width 1785mm.
There’s plenty of room inside for four, and five at a squeeze, with luggage space that’s more tall than deep, but does in some models include a useful ‘wet’ storage tray under the boot floor.
Our drive in the Kia Soul almost had us thinking of ingenuous puns such as a “bunch of lost souls” when it all went a little awry part way through due to an unexpected road closure – the result of a fatal accident – that meant we had to make our own way to the midway point of the planned route.
That also meant in CarAdvice’s case that we didn’t get to drive the petrol engine/manual transmission combination, instead doing two stints in diesel/autos with different trim levels.
Overall impressions are that the diesel is a sweet performer, the transmission would do better with more cogs in the box but is adequate for the job given the 260Nm of torque that is on hand.
We spent much of our time driving on freeways, in heavy traffic and in incredibly heavy rain (a complete novelty for Melbourne based motoring journalists) so a definitive appraisal of ride and handling will wait until we get our hands on a car for a week in the near future.
What we can say is that the ride is smooth, even on the 18-inch alloy wheels and tyres that the cars we drove sported. The cabin noise is well controlled, although given the power of the audio system it would be possible to drown out the tyre noises from a B-Double we suspect.
Turn in, we did experience a few nice corners, is crisp and accurate and the power from the diesel can be fed in nice and early to haul you out of a corner.
The diesel engine is strong and responsive and the automatic manages to get the gears right most of the time, given that it’s probably short at least one cog.
In the end this is a car that will polarise buyers, but we suspect that the target market won’t be looking too closely at what’s under the bonnet but more at just how much power the audio system has and where does the iPod connector go, yes in true Kia/Hyundai fashion the Soul is tuned in the Apple’s demon music machine.
We suspect that Kia will have quite a lot of Soul in its future.
Print it: 
Probably a little pricey for what you get but it definitely looks like a winner.
Put a 2 litre in for the same money and you would steal sales from the Corolla and Mazda3
Congrats To Kia for launching something new and exciting in the small car range!
I Myself work in a Ford Dealer and Hyundai, but have to admit this Soul is something else! And good at that!
Perfect clown-mobile. Does Kia give discounts to circus staff?
LOL! If I could describe this car with one word, it would have to be ‘fugly’.
surfers and other ‘lifestylers’ will love it.
All these new names coming out of nowhere praising this car…
No way is this a competitor to the mini or the fiat 500 ,their in a style class above this zone, more the skoda roomster , and that may be a good car but again fugly and no sales .
Yep the CLOWN CAR .
I hope I am not behind one of these cars in traffic; how can you concentrate behind a rear like that.
I don’t understand this car at all.
Perhaps an attempt to ‘look’ expensive.
This car is worth 13000 dollars at the most.
Which fool would buy a Kia with anaemic 1.6 L with nothing to excite and nothing to protect at the base model – for a hefty 20000 (plus on roads etc)? It’s a big joke. Just making a Kia look bizarre won’t add any value to it.
They think it can sell coz there is no competition??
Oh yeah. Perhaps they are targetting all the scizophrenic, wannabe – look -unique pathos and so on. A sane person won’t buy a camel like that.
Just what is the justification to price it almost more than corolla, mazda3, Lancer, focus — which are way more powerful, better and safer than this ugly box which has no power but all of its weight sits high making it easy to roll over.
It will be a stark and spectacular failure. But, well, they have a bit of the wit on their as* – they are making only a few kg of this junk. Well, that may sell out – and there will be their hurrah — all SOLD OUT.
I’m beginning to think this is the wrong car for the wrong country.
It will do well in the US where it is tipped against the Scion XB and Nissan Cube and there is quite a large following of people who are too “hip” to buy a Corolla… however here? Where the market has been proven to be fairly conservative?
The Scion and Cube are ex-Japanese market exports and I suspect their popularity is largely an effect of an overactive marketting department which Kia won’t be able to afford.
A few other things… no 2.0 litre petrol? Is that correct? Because in other countries the 1.6 is the base engine and every other level gets the 2.0 petrol.
About choice… I think right now the best model is the 1.6 CRDi manual… so there’s only one model that has it… the $26,500 Soul 2? So much for ‘customisation’.
A curiousity… it looks like an SUV but it isn’t an SUV. Why didn’t they put the option of a part time 4wd? I mean they charge the same as other companies that actually have 4wd…
This car will do very well in the US no doubt but I suspect it’ll be one of those rare curiousities on the road in a few years time.
Ravith, what an amazing assessment of a car that hasn’t even been released yet. How do you know all this stuff?
Chad said
“this Soul is something else!”
Yes, you are right, This is what soul should be
http://www.topgear.com/au/car-.....2009-04-01
As I posted at other Kia article,
Why they need to add extra information for “First Steer” review?
I think three fourth of this article is not actual review.
They are probably from somewhere their catalog or web site which we don’t want to see or don’t care about it.
We seriously want to know how good driving this car at busy city or how fun to drive….
Just like you did for New Falcon or Mazda or some 4WD utes…
This article is not good, actually crap.
So I must ask again Davide, do you receive some money from Kia to wrote this review?
supercujo, this car has been and gone overseas… it’s been extensively reviewed by most major magazines, online and print.
More words of wisdom on this car Dan?
Ravith go buy a Corolla instead, U know u want too.LOL.
I’m 18 and looking to purchase a car, something eye-catching and different but not a “chick’s hatch”. This would suit me perfectly cause it combines some great elements into a unique but functional package. So, being the age that I am means that I’m in Kia’s target market, and I quite like the Soul so that can only be taken as a positive sign by Kia. Unfortunately this car is slightly out of reach for me in terms of pricing – maybe if the entry price was a couple of grand lower I would seriously consider purchasing it. Given that Kia is supposedly known for “value”, it’s disappointing to see what I consider to be quite unreasonable pricing across the range.
I think Kia still has a terrible image problem in Australia, and it’ll be a while yet before that begins to change. It’s quite sad how they’re still relying on the “DRIVE AWAY, NO MORE TO PAY!” phrase in order to sell cars – Hyundai moved away from this years ago. Hopefully the new Cerato and the Soul will assist in improving the brand’s image.
It’s a bloody shame the c’eed isn’t available here, cause I reckon that car would’ve gone a LONG way in lifting people’s perceptions of Kia in this country, (just look at what the i30 has done for Hyundai)…
Ravith, “no power but all of its weight sits high making it easy to roll over.”
-
Right, because you would know exactly how its built and where the weight is. Also, it says 94kw and 91kw, clearly theres some power. Do you even know its power to weight?
How about to some research before posting such stupid comments.
-
What the hell is everyones problem? You don’t like it, don’t read it, don’t post. Is it so difficult? or are some of you just plain stupid? I don’t go and post rubbish towards other cars if I don’t like it, show the same damn respect.
-
And for the love of god, why is whenever CA post anything positive about KIA, people have to criticize them of being paid. Get over yourselves seriously.
Its refreshingly different, I personally wouldn’t own one but I can see it being a big hit with the ipod crowd. While it may lack the power and refinement of its competitors there sure are a lot of customers out there who care a lot more about customisable features and ‘uniqueness’ than vehicle dynamics. I wouldn’t underestimate the potential of this car
Nice concept, but since when don’t young people care about engine specifications?
That 5 speed manual / 4 speed auto combo is just atrocious. You ridicule the VE for still offering a 4 speed auto in the base model, but thats from a powerful v6, i really wouldn’t want to drive a 4 speed auto with under 100kw these days.
Otherwise nice going kia, it looks quirky. Hardly a mini competitor though, Kia has a long way to go before its ‘cool’
Yep comrade, looks a bit like it came out of the TRABANT factory .
Wheres your positive comments to balance our negatives , zero .
Its a clown car get over it , tell us why you love it so much , to bring the balance .
ComradeVodka: Sure mine were strongly worded. But the reality is there – Kia is sighting a bit of soft targets like highschool passers and early uni students who want to look different. Look at eight speakers but no ESP. Beware, this car may not be safer than daewoo Matiz. All it has a bit of funky look and that – as you are reading the posts here – disgusts most people. But look aside, young drivers should drive a safe car rather than those full of useless frills.
Well, I won’t comment on price this time coz it’s their car, they can price it more expensive than a Porsche. Who cares.
On behalf of all the clowns out there we would like to give thanks to KIA for finally recognizing us as a target market .
We particulaly like the “letter box slit grill ” very nice touch .
Also the ” david jones shopping bag ” upper seat upolstery and the back door vynal application is ,shall i say very chic .
But its the vast amounts of headroom that seals the deal , big hair is back .
Although i find the idea refreshing and the styling interesting, it really is too expensive. At the same price, you can buy a Corolla or Mazda3 hatchback, yet with a bigger 1.8 or 2.0L engine, not this 1.6L engine. The main reason i would buy a korean car is value for money, this doesn’t seem very good value for money to me. If anything, i find i30 or the new Cerato better choice for a korean small car with cheaper prices than this Soul.
Some people don’t care how fast or how well a car drives, as long as it looks ‘funky’.
Other people will have issue with a 1.6 litre 91kW 1,300kg block of cheese on wheels that debuts with a 4 spd auto and costs $23,000 in basic format.
Pass on this one son.
That Soul is going straight to Hell without redemption!
What’s with the “David Jones” styled seats?
Stuff ya’s then, I will go on all the car articles that are posted from this point on and give my comments on how terrible they are, fact is they all are. Also, how much I hate the lancer, And so on.
***That’s ‘Australian car, car articles…’
Alcoholic communist don’t like people having an opinion or a sense of humour!
Comradevodka: “And for the love of god, why is whenever CA post anything positive about KIA, people have to criticize them of being paid. Get over yourselves seriously.”
I am with comrade. Everytime there is a post about a new Kia Car, there are so many people who automatically jump on the diss Kia bandwagon and make negative comments having hardly any knowledge on the car. Aren’t we reading Car Advice becuase they do the reviews and they let us know what the cars are like? If we were all experts we would go and test drive one and make up our minds instead of reading Caradvice. I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion but when people make groundless derogatory comments like,
Ravith: “Beware, this car may not be safer than daewoo Matiz. All it has a bit of funky look and that – as you are reading the posts here – disgusts most people. But look aside, young drivers should drive a safe car rather than those full of useless frills.”
it just makes reflects the immaturity of some of the people who make comments. I am not saying we should not post negative comments on Kia. Let’s just be a bit more mature and have some evidence to support your arguments if you are making any claims about a car.
I was one of the first non-trade people to drive the Kia Soul diesel auto in Australia. After the drive, I ordered one immediately! Smooth with more than enough power for a 1600cc, I was really impressed. I like the style and it certainly is different from driving a boring family sedan!! Like most things, one man’s meat is another man’s poison, so if you don’t like it, don’t buy it. I love it, and it will be a big hit in this country – watch and weep you Kia haters!!!
Frenchie, I am nor a Communist or an alcoholic.
-
I have no problem with people posting opinions, it is when they become more outright slander toward KIA and false claims with no backup or evidence, is when its offensive, immature and disrespectful.
I like it. I look forward to taking one for a spin. I will be surprised if i like it more than the Sukuki SX4. But, I am definitely prepared to give it a chance.