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2016 Kia Soul facelift spy photos: Will it come to Australia?

A facelift for the second-generation Kia Soul has been spotted by spy photographers in Europe.


In production since 2013, the current Soul has a few years of life left in it yet, but Kia is keen to keep things fresh until a new generation version is ready in either 2018 or 2019.

It's likely that this facelift will feature the usual complement of new headlights, tailights, bumpers, grilles, and alloy wheels.

Given that there's body cladding on every panel of this prototype vehicle, except the roof, it's possible that Kia is working on something a little dramatic for this update.

A close inspection of these spy photos suggests that Kia has also eliminated the fake vent in the Soul's front fender.

Will the Soul continue in Australia?

Driven on by its eye-catching looks and hamster-led advertising, the Soul is a hugely popular in overseas markets. In the States, for example, Kia sold 147,133 Souls last year, making the tall hatch responsible for 23.5 percent of all Kia sales there last year.

Despite its success overseas, the Soul has never been a huge seller in Australia. The company's chief operating officer, Damien Meredith, told CarAdvice in July last year that it would work to boost the Soul's appeal for buyers - but, instead of improving, sales went backwards in 2015.

Just 178 examples of the Soul found new Australian homes in 2015, down from 259 in 2014 - account for just 0.5 per cent of all local Kia sales.

If the Soul's time in Australia is coming to an end, count on the timing of this facelift to set the date.

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