When it was first launched, the Kia Soul was a true ‘Marmite’ car with other road users either loving it or, usually, hating its unusual looks.
This is the new Kia Soul
However, with several rivals now offering similar vehicles Kia has gone back to the drawing board and come up with an impressive offering which should win over a new army of fans.
For instance the styling is more dramatic and the Soul is roomier and bigger than its predecessor but it’s for the enhanced dynamics of the driving experience that really does help to make this a car to enjoy.
New Kia Soul unveiled with more kit
Using the same chassis that helps to make the firm’s cee’d such a success, means that the Kia Soul deserves to be more successful than it has been.
Kia calls this an original compact crossover and it has helped to bring the marque to the attention of car buyers in the UK – this sector is one of the fastest growing in Europe and there are high hopes for the Soul.
Indeed, sales of compact crossovers are predicted to rise from 380,000 units last year to more than 600,000 next year and around quarter of those buyers will be British.
The car is essentially an impressive SUV crossover with lots of space on board and the cabin has been redesigned and is made of better quality materials; there’s also enhanced safety features for those on board.
There’s a choice of two 1.6 litre petrol or diesel engines. The diesel unit should return around 57 mpg while having CO2 emissions of 132g/km; the petrol unit will return around 42 mpg with CO2 emissions of 158g/km.
Get this car on personal contract hire
In addition, Kia has announced that there will be an all-electric version of the Soul to be called the Soul EV and this will have zero CO2 emissions.
There are five trim levels to the Kia Soul with all of them being fitted with DAB radio and other standard equipment includes USB connections, six airbags, electric windows and air con as well as keyless entry.
Other models also come with alloy wheels, cruise control, door mirror heaters and Bluetooth connectivity. Top of the range models come with a reversing camera, satnav and privacy glass.
The new second generation of the Kia Soul is on sale now from £12,600 though most buyers would probably be more interested in the firm’s excellent warranty offering of seven years or 100,000 miles to help underline the Souls’ value for money offering.