The first Kia I drove, about 11 years ago, was so miserable that I advised buyers to consider a used car instead. Owning a Kia then would have been like trading in an Armani suit for a flour sack.
Back then, Kia was an inexpensive car that never let you forget how little you paid for it. Sure, you might flip burgers for a living, but you don't want to be constantly reminded of the fact.
Kia is still a cheap ride, but its products have improved markedly.
Like finalists on "American Idol," today's Kias are almost unrecognizable from their humble beginnings, even if being a good value is still their most noticeable trait.
But the 2010 Kia Soul is a game changer for the brand. No longer just a vehicle for those with thin wallets, the Soul is chic in a way Kias never have been, and it makes no apologies for what it is.
Credit for the transformation goes to Kia's new design chief, Peter Schreyer, who was lured away from Volkswagen just more than two years ago. At VW, Schreyer sculpted many notable Audi models, including the TT roadster and 1997 A6. At Kia, the German designer has endowed the brand with personality, something lacking at many Asian automakers.
Sure, the Soul's cubist form takes its lead from the Scion xB and Nissan Cube. But from there, the Kia is its own cubicle.
Walk around it, and take in the side view. Wheel arches and a strong horizontal crease below the windows visually plant the Soul to the ground, while vertical tail lamps and strong window shapes play a carefully orchestrated counterpoint.
In the rear, a simple Kia logo is placed above the latch opening. Its elegance proves an essential mantra: Good design doesn't cost any more than bad design.
Inside, the smart design continues. No, you won't be blown away by opulence, but there are few reasons to be ashamed.
Open up the glovebox or sunglass holder, and you'll see their interiors are flaming red. The speaker grilles are lined with LED lights that pulse along with the music. Call it a tacky, novel or interesting idea, but it is new, and its inclusion speaks to the thought invested in the Soul's design.
The center of the instrument panel is angled so controls are within easy reach. No need to reach for the owners' manual; controls are easy to understand and operate. That is a luxury most luxury carmakers fail to understand.
There isn't a navigation system, but most of us know where we're going, right?
However, there is air conditioning on all models, save the base model, along with satellite radio and power windows, mirrors and door locks.
A tilt steering wheel makes finding the perfect driving position easier, even though it doesn't telescope. The steering wheel contains controls for audio, cruise control and Bluetooth telephone. One caveat: The phone button is too easy to hit while cornering, but the thought is there.
Kia equips the Soul with a USB port and power point on the instrument panel, just above the center console. Perfect for your iPod.
As much soul as the Soul possesses, you'll find that, at its heart, it's an economical little hauler. It's meant to brighten the mundane tasks of transporting cargo, both animate and inanimate, and it does so surprisingly well. Designed to hold five people, four is the more practical limit.
Base Souls (now that sounds judgmental) have a 122-horsepower, 1.6-liter, four-cylinder wheezer up-front. Leave that one on the lot and opt for the Plus, Exclaim or Sport models, which get a 142-horsepower, 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine.
A five-speed manual or four-speed automatic is offered. Try the manual before you buy, but the automatic might be the better choice.
Certainly this little box has more than enough moxie to muscle down city streets and suburban parkways, although you'll have to flog the hamsters under the hood a bit to extract the needed juice. When you do, you'll find they complain vocally, which adds to occasional road and tire noise.
Surprisingly, you won't feel as if you're driving something that transports large appliances. The Soul feels like a car, because its front-wheel-drive platform is derived from the Kia Rio.
Body motions are mostly controlled when the roads turn rough, but the back end does the macadam mambo on the worst of them, hopping a bit.
And the rear-view mirror wobbled loosely over the harshest bumps.
Still, the Soul has a cheeky, cheerful feel that makes you forgive its worst transgressions.
Seats are high, firm and fairly comfy. The center console up-front makes long drives more tolerable; the lack of a rear center armrest in the rear seat makes it less so back there.
But legroom is abundant. Ditto cargo space, which ranges from 19 cubic feet with the seats up, about the same as the Cadillac DTS, to 58 cubic feet with the seats folded. That means it can swallow a lot of stuff.
But it won't swallow is a lot of fuel. The Soul is rated at 24 mpg in the city and 30 mpg on the highway. A test drive of mostly city and suburban driving returned 25 mpg.
And if that doesn't save some green at the pump, you'll save some green at the showroom. The test vehicle, a Plus model, included the aforementioned items along with a $400 audio system upgrade, $800 sunroof and $95 worth of carpeted floor mats and topped out at $17,890.
That's surprisingly cheap.
Lest you think that I only fall for expensive vehicles, I can say that this Soul grabbed my heart.
It's a remarkable first step in branding a marque with an identity that goes beyond your bank balance.
By Larry Printz
The Virginian-Pilot
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