The Soul: Kia’s power to surprise

The Soul for 2014 is bigger, but retains the first gen’s chunky, boxy silhouette, flat roof and angular lines. PHOTOS BY AIDA SEVILLA-MENDOZA

Does the rear end look like a backpack? The upright tailgate is flanked by large, stacked taillights plus a wide, black plastic bar connecting them.

In 2008, Kia Motors rolled out a new, garishly painted compact utility hatchback with a boxy silhouette, flat roof and upright tailgate. The funky Kia Soul did not look like anything on the road at the time, so what surprised almost everyone was that it was a big success, especially among the younger generation.

The Soul established Kia’s power to surprise and opened a new niche of small yet tallish urban crossovers like the Nissan Juke, which was introduced in 2010, and, more recently, the Ford EcoSport.

Now comes the second iteration of the Soul, first revealed at the 2013 New York Motor Show and launched last month at the 5th Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS). Kia’s quirky brat has grown bigger as it is based on the larger platform of the Kia Cee’d. The wheelbase of the 2014-15 Soul is 20 millimeters longer, sits 10 mm lower on the ground, and is 15 mm wider than the outgoing model.

The exterior looks almost the same since Kia Motors wisely decided to stick with the first model’s winning formula of a chunky body, angular lines and flattened roofline. Kia’s signature “tiger nose” grille is stretched more tautly, the air intakes have been moved down to the squared-off bumper, bug-eyed fog lamps occupy the front corners while the rear end somewhat resembles a backpack as the vertical tail lights flank the upright tailgate with a broad, glossy black bar connecting them.

The 1.6-liter, in-line 4 twin cam CRDi engine with Variable Geometry Turbo packs 126.25 HP and 259.88 Nm max torque

ALL NEW. Despite the obvious resemblance to the first gen, the 2014 Soul is all-new with a new chassis, a tweaked suspension system, a repositioned steering gearbox and stronger mounts that reduce kickback through the rim. With more liberal use of high-strength steel, the body shell of the new Soul is 28 percent more rigid than the old model’s. Thanks to the body stiffening, the ride is smoother, noise insulation is improved and body roll when cornering is reduced. Compared to the previous Soul, the new Soul is smarter and tighter.

The major improvements are more easily seen and felt in the cabin with its premium materials, big robust dials and switches that are logically positioned and easily reached, a user-friendly infotainment system with large color touchscreen, contrast stitching on the seats and honeycomb seat patterns, glossy black plastic on the gear lever, and faux silver inserts that brighten up the interior.

The seats are well-shaped and comfortable while the view out is excellent in front because of the large windshield and smaller A-pillars. The raised driving position and steering wheel that can be adjusted for reach and height make driving the new Soul easy and pleasant.

The interior has improved with new technology and equipment including a pair of funky, tower-style speakers on the dash.

The front seats are adjustable while a deep glove box, door bins, center console cubbies and cup holders offer plenty of storage space for small items. The speaker-topped vertical air vents at both ends of the dash add to the youthful ambience of the interior.

AT THE REAR. The rear seat comfortably accommodates three adults and splits 60:40 but does not fold fully flat forward. When it is folded, it still increases cargo space from 354 to 1,307 liters.

The high roofline gives impressive headroom front and rear while rear legroom is more than adequate even for tall passengers. The rear door opening is wide, allowing even adults easy ingress and egress.

However, the wide C pillars and small rear window limit visibility rearward when backing up into parking space. On the other hand, loading luggage and stuff into the cargo area is simple, thanks to a flat load lip.

The audio system consists of a radio, MP3 with six speakers and Aux-in, USB ports and iPod connectivity. The previous Soul had a more extravagant sound system with pulsating lighted speakers, PowerBass technology and a rainbow of ambient interior colors.

The rear seat doesn’t fold fully flat but still increases cargo space to 1307 liters.

Driving the new Soul, you get the feeling that its build quality is solid and its fit and finish, impeccable. The longer wheelbase, lower ground clearance and wider body contribute to more composed handling and better roadholding.

Remember that the Soul is not an all-terrain SUV but a front-wheel-drive urban hatchback built on the same platform as the Cee’d sedan, which is known for its refined road manners. So the Soul should run smoothly on the highway, like the Cee’d, but not as quietly since the 1.6-liter four-in-line twin cam 16-valve common rail direct injection (CRDi) diesel engine with Variable Geometry Turbo gets gruff when accelerating.

In fact, whenever I started the engine of the Soul in the morning, it fired up with a clatter like the diesels of old. But it later settled down to a background hum.

The 1.6 CRDi Soul produces 126.25 horsepower at 4,000 revolutions per minute and max torque of 259.88 Newton-meters at 2,750 rpm. I found the engine to be powerful enough, the six-speed automatic transmission to be responsive and the power steering adequately weighted.

There are three driving modes to choose from: Sport, Normal and Comfortable. I usually chose Sport, but hardly noticed any difference from Normal. The ride quality of the new Soul is car-like, comfortable and reasonably quiet, considering that it’s a diesel.

The safety features of the new Soul consist of a driver’s side airbag, disc brakes front and rear, antilock brake system (ABS), rear parking sensor, high-mount stop lamp, keyless entry with alarm, and child anchor Isofix. With a retail price of P1.02 million, it’s surprising that the Soul has only one airbag, no reverse parking camera and no start/stop pushbutton.

Bottom line, the Soul has grown in size and perhaps in maturity as well but it still attracts people because of its youthful, maverick styling and cheerful personality. Indeed, the new Soul is actually a practical compact car, functional rather than luxurious, inserted into an eccentric box of fun.