I got to spend some face time with Kia’s Soul at the Portland Auto Show this weekend, and the more I see of it, the more I think it will be a solid hit. A slightly Americanized version of the Mk 1 Scion xB, the Soul seems to hit a small car sweet spot. It’s more spacious and flexible than an xD or Fit, without sacrificing style or efficiency (à la the current xB). And the quality will make you forget every bad Rio experience you’ve had. The only weak points to be found from a clamber around the stationary Soul are poor rear-quarter visibility (an epidemic problem among stylish small cars) and tiny, hard-to-read guages up front. Otherwise, it’s looking like small-car nirvana with houndstooth upholstery. Still, I’m not sure it means Kia should be seriously considering a production pickup version based on the Soulster Concept. And yet, according to Automotive News [sub], they are.
The Soul will be a hit. It’s far better looking than the xB, and at least as cool. The main weakness I can see: it’s not going to be quick.
The Soulster? If it does head into production I wouldn’t be surprised if it grows a second set of doors. A four-door would be cheaper to develop, and would sell in larger numbers.
TrueDelta’s page for the Soul, with specs, pricing, and soon also fuel economy and reliability:
http://www.truedelta.com/Soul.php
It’s a Jeep-like vehicle for the non off-road set and with Jeep going down with Chrysler Kia may have found a little niche they can occupy or takeover.
The Soulster? If it does head into production I wouldn’t be surprised if it grows a second set of doors. A four-door would be cheaper to develop, and would sell in larger numbers.
I would much rather have a vehicle closer to the A-BAT, with four doors, a real backseat, and a small (3.5′-4′) cargo bed. Something more like my uncle’s Subaru Baja but that looks a little more like a truck and a little less like a car.
But when the platform being used is as small as the Soul’s, that would mean that they’d either have a really small cargo area, or they’d have to lengthen it out considerably. At some point adding the extra two doors would negate the whole point of a pickup in the first place.
It’s more spacious and flexible than an xD or Fit, without sacrificing style or efficiency
More spacious and flexible than the Fit, based on what?
I’ve looked around for cargo space specs on the Kia Soul, and nobody seems to have them yet. The only thing I could find was this:
Kia hasn’t yet released cargo capacity figures for the 2010 Kia Soul, but we’re betting it won’t rival the big numbers of the Fit (57.3 cubic feet) or xB (69.9 cubic feet) due to its raised cargo floor, which resembles that of the Mini Clubman
(edmunds.com)
Anybody know the MPG’s on this thing, too?
fellswoop: Definitely a subjective statement. The Kia feels more spacious because of its boxy uprightness and stadium-style rear bench. Cargo probably isn’t up to Fit standard, but the overall feel is much less “small car” than the Fit. It almost certainly won’t be as efficient Fit either, due to the boxyness.
I really like the way it looks. Wouldn’t buy it without awd and at least a bit of offroad capability.
Was the one at Portland a diesel? The one I saw at the local show was. If Kia could somehow figure out how to get that engine past the CARB “ha ha, we changed the rules again” goons, they could fund the bailouts from Soul sales alone.