It"s all about Soul

What was a striking crossover concept for Kia a few short years ago has been turned into a production reality in the shape of the new Kia Soul. And, this week, the Soul hits the Irish market with a distinctive styling that won"t be forgotten in a hurry. The Soul marks a revolutionary expansion of the Kia product line-up. The company hopes that the Korean-built car will achieve thousands of 'conquest" sales for the Kia brand by appealing especially to the young and the young-at-heart. The new Kia is a five-door hatchback with front-wheel-drive, a high roofline and an unusually long wheelbase. The Soul offers impressive passenger space that matches or even outperforms many vehicles with much larger exterior dimensions. Luggage capacity is also generous. The boot provides 222 litres of space with the rear seats upright, with additional storage space in the moulded tray below the hinged luggage bay floor. The Soul is well-equipped in terms of comfort, safety and performance. Six airbags, ESP and ABS are standard. At the launch, Kia Ireland is offering just one engine choice, the economical but powerful 1.6CRDi model. This engine is developed for the European market and comes with a particulate filter for lower emissions. The engine develops 128bhp, which is impressive. The 0 to 100km/h rating is 11.3 seconds and the top speed is 182km/h. The CO2 rating from the engine is just 137g/km. Fuel economy figures are also impressive at 5.2 litres/100km (55.4mpg) in the combined driving cycle. The Soul comes with a five-year unlimited mileage warranty. Prices start at €19,995 for the LX models, rising to €22,395 for the GSe variants.