Kia Put Their Heart and Soul Into New Car

The boxy Soul was the model that gave Kia, er, soul.

Until the funky family car arrived in 2009, the Koreans had simply churned out the normal hatchbacks, SUVs and MPVs.

It doesn’t seem long ago that Kia cars were just cheap and nasty, such as the Pride of the late 90s.

But they have made huge strides in recent years and that perhaps started with the funky and modern Soul.

I was one of the first UK journalists to drive the Soul in Korea six years ago and now I’ve had a drive of the most recent model in Scotland – and it’s better than ever.

The Soul proved Kia had a fun, dynamic edge and were not afraid to take risks. It remains a big player in their range and one of the most unusual models on UK roads.

It was also the only new car Kia released last year – yet the firm ended 2014 with yet another record performance in the car market – delivering 77,525 cars to customers during the year.

It also cemented the UK as Kia’s biggest-selling market in Europe.

Now the Koreans are in product over-drive. This year has already seen striking new versions of the Rio, Venga, Picanto and Sorento – there’s also a fresh Cee’d hatchback towards the latter end of 2015.

Next year will also see a new Sportage and cracking new Optima saloon and estate, which have been unveiled recently in New York and Geneva.

Kia sold a record 350,000 in Europe last year, and their top Euro boss Michael Cole told me they are now aiming for 500,000 by 2020. With style in abundance, and under the guidance of outstanding designer Peter Schreyer, you wouldn’t bet against them achieving that. But the Soul remains their quirkiest star, with prices starting at £12,800.

Kia have sensibly retained the distinctive styling but tweaked it just enough to make it fresh and more grown-up.

It gets bigger headlights with LED running lights, along with an even deeper, lower grille in black mesh.

New tall, upright, LED “halo” tail lights wrap around the rear to give it a more dynamic look.

Kia are offering far more personalisation, with three roof colours to go with 11 vibrant exterior hues, which suits the Soul’s quirky character.

One of the big failings of the original Soul was that it was a bit soulless to drive. Kia have addressed that with an all-new body chassis. It’s now a tad more fun to drive on A and B roads, with keener steering.

The ride is more refined and Kia have worked hard to improve interior noise levels with extra soundproofing. Although the 1.6-litre diesel I tested still felt a little gruff under hard acceleration, it’s quiet enough as soon as you are on the move.

Designers have stepped up the quality – from plastics with a softer touch to neat mock-aluminium trim and yellow stitching on the seats and steering wheel.

The new Soul is slightly bigger, with more leg and shoulder room for driver and passengers, as well as boot space increased to easily cope with three large suitcases.

I really love this foxy boxy machine. It’s got plenty of character and Soul.

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