Americans already have heartily embraced the extreme boxiness of Toyota's Scion xB, and now two similar vehicles have joined the xB in the marketplace -- the 2010 Kia Soul and Nissan Cube.
The Soul arrived first, going on sale in March, but the Cube is right on its heels.
While the two are quite different in their styling, the concept is the same: a small box on wheels, with lots of interior space, that doesn't leave a big footprint (like one of those SUVs that people love to hate these days).
For this report, we tested the Soul, which one of my colleagues took one look at and declared it to be a "clown car." He even started humming a circus song.
The Soul does have a clownish look about it, but that's a huge part of its charm.
Kia's ads call it "A new way to roll," and the automaker says the Soul "playfully stands out in a sea of sameness."
Even with the xB and Cube around, there's still nothing that looks quite like the Soul.
For one thing, the roofline is sloped down from front to rear, while the belt line rises to meet it. That gives it almost trapezoidal side windows.
The rounded nose with its large headlights adds to the car's comical look, created by Kia's Southern California design team. The vehicle is "aimed toward the young and young-at-heart," Kia says.
As with the xB, this car will appeal to a young crowd, for sure, but also will be embraced by lots of us who are much older. Kia's not as afraid of that as Toyota was with the xB, which was intended for young audiences only. Toyota created the Scion models to bring young buyers into the brand, then seemed somewhat shocked that older folks were buying the xB and loving it.
A redesign of the xB two years ago made it larger and less boxy, however, so now it's really in a different category from the Soul and Cube. Many fans of the original xB don't care much for the new one, and these consumers just might be the best prospects for the Soul and Cube.
The xB now seems to be competing more with the larger and more expensive Honda Element, while the Soul and Cube are in a class that includes such entries as the Suzuki SX4, Scion xD (and similar Toyota Yaris five-door), and maybe even the redesigned Honda Fit and the new Mini Cooper Clubman. Other competitors could include the Dodge Caliber and Jeep Compass.
Prices begin at $13,300 (plus $695 freight) for the Soul base model with a 122-horsepower, 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine and five-speed manual gearbox. No automatic transmission is offered with the base engine, though.
The other three Soul trim levels -- Plus, Exclaim and Sport -- come with a 142-horsepower, 2.0-liter four cylinder and a choice of the five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic.
Prices range as high as $18,900 for the Sport version with all available options.
Our tester was the Exclaim model with automatic transmission ($17,900 plus freight). It came in a funky color Kia calls "Alien green." It looks like it just rolled in from Roswell, N.M., after departing from the Mother Ship.
Other available exterior colors include three shades of white (are there really different shades of white?) called Dune, Clear and Ghost; Denim blue; "flame-emulating" Ignition; "coffee-inspired" Java; "red-hot" Molten; and three metallic tones, Shadow, Titanium and Bright Silver.
Standard features on the base model include a chrome grille, auto-off headlights, solar glass, black door handles and side mirrors, air conditioning, tilt steering column, power door locks, power windows with driver's side auto-down, external temperature display and digital clock in the radio, dual-level glove box, rear-window defroster, cargo area light, body-color front and rear fascias with black inserts, black side molding, rear wiper/washer, variable intermittent front wipers and 15-inch steel wheels.
Moving up to the Plus model brings cruise control with steering-wheel-mounted controls, Bluetooth phone connection, dual 12-volt power outlets, tweeter speakers, dual visor vanity mirrors, dual map lights, keyless remote entry, privacy glass, body-color door handles and (power) side mirrors and 16-inch alloy wheels. Options include fog lights and a power sunroof.
With our Exclaim model came the sunroof and fog lights, along with quite nice 18-inch alloy wheels that helped exaggerate the clownish look.
The Sport version adds side sills, a rear spoiler, and unique front and rear fascias.
Inside, this car won me over from the start. The large, high doors allow for easy entry and exit, something I enjoyed immensely after a week of trying to fold myself into and out of the Saturn Sky roadster.
Once inside, this car that seems so small on the outside is quite cavernous. The front bucket seats were as comfortable as I've found in a car that sells for under $40,000, and the interior layout was designed with practicality and usefulness in mind.
Where with the Sky I never found a place to put my cell phone, the Soul had lots of cubbies and cup holders that were perfect for my assortment of traveling electronic companions, including my PDA phone, iPod Touch, classic 80-gigabyte iPod, backup phone and the ever-present pocket-size Sony digital camcorder (you never know when you might need that at a moment's notice).
The phone and iPods fit nicely in a compartment just below the top of the dash. It has a door that swings up when opened and can be closed to hide the gadgets from view while the vehicle is parked.
The little camcorder fit nicely in one of the cup holders, but when I needed both of those (with a passenger on board), the camera went into a nice, square tray just in front of the shifter.
My iPod Touch was plugged into the auxiliary jack on the front of the audio system so I could hear my tunes through the car's speakers. There was also a USB port there that allowed me to control and to play the classic iPod through the audio system. But the audio system was not compatible with the Touch, which means it won't be with the iPhone, either.
Sirius satellite radio and a CD player were part of the audio system, which in my car had six speakers. My only complaint was that I couldn't crank the volume as high as I like to have it sometimes.
The dash is stylishly sloped, and the analog gauges are large and easy to read.
Rear passengers have easy access through the large rear doors, and there is plenty of head- and legroom. Three can sit back there quite comfortably, which is unusual for a car this small.
Access to the cargo area is through a rear hatch that rises in one piece. There is enough room for a couple of suitcases or sports gear even with the rear seatbacks in place, but the cargo space can be expanded to 53 cubic feet by lowering the 60/40 split seatbacks.
While I haven't driven the 122-horsepower base model, I found the 142-horsepower engine to be more than adequate for most of my driving, while riding alone or with a front-seat passenger. Occasionally, the Soul struggled to get up to freeway speed on uphill on-ramps, but it wasn't a real problem.
The automatic transmission shifts quite smoothly, but could use an extra gear to help with fuel economy. Even so, our tester was EPA rated at 24 miles per gallon city/30 highway, not bad for a car with this much carrying capacity. The smaller engine has mileage ratings of 26 city/31 highway.
Standard safety features include anti-lock brakes, active front headrests, front seat-mounted side air bags, roof-mounted side-curtain air bags for both rows, electronic stability and traction control, electronic brake-force distribution with brake assist and a tire-pressure monitoring system.
G. Chambers Williams III
MySA.com
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