MOTORING NEWS - KIA's second-generation Soul is an all-new 2015 model that introduces a smooth new-look exterior inspired by the 2012 KIA Track'ster concept, creating a thoroughly fresh, more grown-up appearance without losing its appealing character and individualistic edge.
There's an all-new platform based on KIA Europe's best-selling Cee'd platform, with a stronger body shell and upgraded suspension to improve driving dynamics and ride comfort.
The original Soul generated immense loyalty among owners, and both existing and new buyers for the 2015 model will appreciate the significantly quieter cabin, higher quality materials, increased space for people and cargo, plus the new range of available premium features and customising options.
The new Soul will build on the achievements of its predecessor, which has recorded global sales of more than 760 000 units since its introduction in late 2008.
The company says the Soul already has great emotional appeal, so the main focus with the 2015 model was infusing it with improved driving dynamics, developing a higher quality cabin and adding desirable features to highlight the new Soul's fresh sophistication.
David Sieff, marketing director at KIA SA, said, "The real excitement around the new Soul is the transformed appearance, broader range of features, improved dynamics and refinement, which will attract both existing and new customers to KIA showrooms." He said, "The interior and refinement is a big step up and will be a key focus area for all new KIAs in the years to come."
STYLING
The all-new Soul design remains instantly recognisable yet thoroughly fresh and more grown up, without losing its edge and honouring the owners' individualism. The new Soul was created at KIA's American Design Centre in California and the engineers in the US and Korea focused on making it more fun to drive.
Exterior similarities between Track'ster and new Soul are easy to spot. The large trapezoidal lower air intake is nearly a direct carryover from the concept, and the location of the available fog lights – down low and pushed to the leading edges – mirror those found on the Track'ster.
KIA's family trait - the 'tiger-nose' - now more closely resembles the concept.
While the 2015 Soul's upright stance, squared shoulders, wraparound greenhouse, high-mounted tail lights and confidence-inspiring ride height are all hallmark design elements, the new Soul is all-new, as none of the exterior body panels are carried over and the interior features an all-new design.
The 2015 KIA Soul has subtly larger dimensions. Compared with its predecessor, the new model is 20mm longer (4 140mm), 15mm wider (1 800mm) and 10mm lower (at 1 600mm with 16" wheels). The new dimensions allow with more space for people and cargo, plus the tailgate opening is now 62mm wider, for easier access to the cargo bay.
The new KIA Soul is available with a choice of two alloy wheels, which includes a 17" alloy with five double-spokes and an 18" alloy in a five double-spoke design with polished face and dark recessed surfaces. Additionally, a range of 11 exterior colours are on offer, including Clear White, Mustard, Black, Newport Blue, Acid Green, Bright Silver, Titanium Grey, Inferno Red, Toffee, Vanilla Shake and Caribbean Blue.
For the first time on a KIA, the 2015 Soul will also be offered with the option of a contrasting roof in three colours - white with a red roof, blue with a clear white roof and red with a black roof.
The interior design team for the new Soul paid particular attention to creating a more premium look and feel for the new cabin.
The instrument cluster features deeply recessed circular gauges. Along the door panels, sculpted circles incorporate the power windows and door locks. The centre console features a circular gearshift surround and engine push-button start (located prominently beside the gear shift), which are also direct carryovers from Track'ster. The front door-mounted speakers mirror the circular, high-mounted 'floating' tweeters and utilise available LED-string light technology to create ripple effect, red-hued mood lighting.
The steering wheel-mounted controls are housed in Soul-exclusive circular groupings along the horizontal spokes with the buttons for the audio system and trip computer falling readily to the thumbs, enabling the driver's hands to remain on the wheel at all times.
Higher quality materials are used throughout the cabin, with new soft-touch materials on the instrument panel, centre console and door panels.
Details such as leather trimmed seating and the use of high-gloss piano-black trim on the centre console and dash elevate the Soul's interior to new levels of sophistication.
The cabin is also larger, with increased headroom (by 6mm) and shoulder room (7mm). The already generous rear legroom is also increased by 4mm. The new Soul's step-in height has been reduced (5mm in front and 7mm at the rear), while seat hip points are lower (12mm in front and 18mm at the rear) for even easier entry and egress.
Inside, the standard front seats have larger bolsters on the cushion and backrest – offering greater support during cornering. High specification models also feature a powered front driver seat with eight-way adjustment (sliding, height, tilt and lumbar support). The new design of steering wheel continues to offer tilt and telescopic adjustment over a 40mm range, so that drivers can find the ideal position for their individual stature.
Depending on the model, the 2015 Soul promises an even more rewarding ownership experience, with a range of newly available premium features. These include daytime running lights, front and rear LED lights, HID headlights, keyless entry and push-button engine start, automatic air-conditioning, cruise control, a Supervision instrument cluster, panoramic glass sunroof, front and rear parking sensors and heated exterior mirrors.
To meet the constantly rising expectations of consumers around the world, KIA's engineers worked hard to ensure that the second-generation Soul delivers 'best-in-class' refinement – achieving significantly better noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) than the original model.
In part, this improvement is thanks to the biggest technical change for the 2015 Soul – the adoption of an all-new platform that supports a re-engineered body shell. This is now made of 66% ultra-high strength steel, with stronger connections along the cowl, upper and lower B-pillars and between the C-pillars. The application of structural adhesive around the door and tailgate openings and along the roof also improves rigidity.
New Soul buyers will be offered a choice of two petrol engines – KIA's 113kW 2,0-litre Nu MPI engine and the 91kW 1,6-litre Gamma MPI engine – as well as a 94kW 1,6-litre U2 diesel engine.
Every new Soul model will feature a six-speed transmission, as KIA offers drivers a choice of manual or multi-mode automatic gearboxes.
To reduce fuel consumption and lower CO² emissions when cruising at speed, both the six-speed transmissions feature high top-gear ratios and low first-gear ratios that enable drivers to fully enjoy the Soul's off-the-line performance.
Buyers of automatic new Souls can switch between two operating modes: Fully Automatic or Sport, which is engaged by moving the lever towards the driver when in D mode. For city driving, Fully Automatic mode is ideal, while Sport mode allows clutch-less manual gear changes for greater driver involvement.
The steering geometry has been modified to deliver improved on-centre steering feel. In combination, these changes result in improved steering response, reduced impacts felt through the wheel, and less sensitivity to wide winds.
KIA's FlexSteer provides three different settings for the steering to match the driver's preference with Normal, Comfort and Sport modes. The effort required to turn the wheel varies with mode, but the gearing remains the same. By fitting MDPS electric power assistance, rather than hydraulic, fuel savings of up to 3% can be achieved depending on driving conditions.
The car's turning circle is compact, despite the slightly larger dimensions - at 10,6ms, requiring 2,85 turns of the steering wheel lock-to-lock.
For stopping power, new Soul models is equipped with an all-disc braking system featuring large diameter 280mm ventilated front discs and 262mm solid discs at the rear, backed up by an ABS anti-lock braking system.
The official crash test standards around the world are becoming tougher and KIA's safety team re-engineered the new Soul's structure using a much higher percentage of high-tensile strength steel for the highest safety standards in its class. The all-new Soul has already been awarded a five-star safety rating by the US NHTSA.
Buyers of new Soul will benefit from active safety technologies such as HAC (hill-start assist control) and VSM (vehicle stability management). Other available features to make driving safer include: front fog lights, front and rear parking sensors, heated door mirrors and HID (high intensity discharge) Xenon headlamps (depending on the model).
Front seatbelts are fitted with pre-tensioners and the cabin is equipped with six airbags - dual front airbags, front side airbags and side curtain airbags (offering head protection to both front seat and rear seat occupants) - as standard.
KIA allows for personalisation and flexibility in matching requirements to specification levels. Three specification packages linked to engine options, are offered.
At the entry point, the START specification package offers the basic comfort and convenience features for the range. Some of the standard features of the START package included across the range, are: 17" alloy wheels, ABS brakes, front fog lamps, high-mounted rear stop lamp, body coloured door handles, electric heated folding door mirrors, windscreen auto-defogging system, 60/40 split folding rear seat backrest, electronic chromatic interior rear view mirror, manual air-conditioning, audio system with six speakers, radio with RDS and MP3 / AUX connectivity, electric front and rear windows, Bluetooth hands-free system, dual front, front/side airbags and side curtain airbags.
Upgrading to the 2,0-litre MPI or 1,6-litre turbocharged diesel engine brings one to the STREET specification package. This includes all features from the START package, with addition of: 18" alloy wheels, ABS brakes with Brake Assist (BAS), chrome door handles, smart key and start button, supervision instrument cluster with 4,3" TFT screen, chilled glove box, automatic air-conditioning, leather seats with contrast stitching, folding rear seat centre armrest with cup-holders, rear parking sensors, ESC (Electronic Stability Control), HAC (Hill Start Assist control), VSM (Vehicle Stability Management system). The STREET specification package is only available with a 6-speed manual transmission.
Topping the range and only with the 2,0-litre
MPI and 1,6-litre turbo-charged diesel engine, is the "SMART" specification package. Only available with a 6-speed automatic transmission, there are even more features. Some of these are: HID headlights, LED daytime running lights, LED rear light clusters, 6-speed automatic transmission, cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, headlight washers, powered driver seat, interior mood lighting with music mode, panoramic sunroof available as an option on SMART models only.
All 2015 KIA Soul models come as standard with KIA's class-leading five year or
150 000km warranty, as well as a four year or 90 000km service plan and three years, unlimited roadside assistance, for peace of mind motoring.
KIA Soul 2,0 MT STREET** - R274 995; KIA Soul 1,6D MT STREET - R299 995; Upgrade to SMART*** package including six speed automatic transmission - add R41 000. Optional panoramic sunroof (only available on SMART models) - add R11 000.
The two-tone colour scheme is available on all models at R3 000 extra.
** The STREET specification package is only available for the 2,0-litre petrol and 1,6-litre turbocharged diesel models, and is linked to a six speed manual transmission.
*** The SMART specification package is only available for the 2,0-litre petrol and 1,6-litre turbocharged diesel models, and is linked to a six speed automatic transmission.
The new, fresh-looking Soul is sure to add zest to South African roads.
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