Kia proved earlier this year that it not only has the ability to design
cool looking | | From left to right: Soul Diva, Soul Burner, Soul Searcher. Surely, the production Soul will be a little less glamorous, but it'll still be cool. (Photo: Kia) | hatchbacks, but that the brand also has Soul. Pardon the
pun, but the Soul Concepts as displayed in Geneva made quite
the splash. The triplets, named Burner, Diva and Searcher, were
different themes on the compact and funky hatchback, all of which made
positive impressions on the folks that attended the show.
And
while it's been known for quite some time that Kia has been interested
in building the Soul, we now have concrete news regarding the when and
where. Kia is keen to target two markets with the Soul - China and
North America. In fact, according to Automotive News, Kia is looking to
set up Soul production in China. Meanwhile, for us North Americans,
expect Korean-built Souls in dealerships towards the
end of the first quarter of 2009.
 | | The projected 2.0-liter engine won't be a scorcher in terms of performance, but then again it won't burn too much fuel... (Photo: Kia) |
The Soul
will target just about every left-of-center hatchback/tall wagon/mini
multi-purpose vehicle that's currently on sale, particularly the likes
of the Scion xD, and quite possibly the Honda Element.
Automotive
News reported that the Soul is expected to arrive here in North America
bearing a 2.0-liter inline-four engine which will drive the front
wheels; expect something along the lines of the engine found in the
Spectra, which currently makes 138 horsepower and 136 lb-ft of torque
with a choice of manual or automatic transmission. This combination
should make for a popular, fuel-efficient alternative to compact
crossovers and sport utility vehicles.
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