Kia gives its blessing to U.S. Soul
At the 2006 Detroit Auto Show, Kia unveiled its Soul to the world, or at least its Soul concept (photo above). Now the Korean automaker says it's ready to put its Soul up for sale in the U.S.
In show car form, the Soul was a four-door crossover powered by a 2-liter 4-cylinder with dimensions very near both Honda's Fit and Scion's xB. Not coincidentally, those will be the Soul's two main competitors when it goes on sale early in 2008. That means the Soul would need to come in priced somewhere in the $14k - $17k range.
By the time Kia's crossover gets here, Ford and Chrysler both are expected to be entering the same segment. Kia has proven to be stiff competition on price, warranty and content, and there's no reason to the the Soul won't up a similarly good fight.
Click here for photos of the Soul from the 2006 Detroit show as well as from Kia.
[Source: Brandweek]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Juan 5:43PM (3/07/2007)
You mean, Kia Seoul?
I kill me.
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tommcg 5:45PM (3/07/2007)
This was out a year before the xD. Not that it doesn't look incomparably better than the xD anyway.
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far jr 6:23PM (3/07/2007)
Nice because it's different, but it's not for me. I like the side profile, but not the nose.
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ronaldraygun 6:48PM (3/07/2007)
wow that looks way better than the scion or element.
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J 6:51PM (3/07/2007)
I like the whole thing.
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G 7:00PM (3/07/2007)
Looks great, really surprising.
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LJ 9:11PM (3/07/2007)
Ummm, this will NOT compete with the New xB, coming out in April 07. Supposed to be around 167-168 inches long(nearly 14 feet in length), and 158, 2.4L, I-4, form the Scion tC. So, how is this Soul gonna compete?
It won't, not with the new model weeks form being launched. The new xB is about the PT Cruiser size, the Soul is smaller(in length) than the Suzuki SX4!
The SX4 is 162+ inches. I think the Soul is around 157-158 inches long( what gives with these , IMHO, too small of car for U.S. roads these days? Why not build them say tC sized- Lancer 08 sized?)
It'll sell, but not to me. Too tiny.
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carysott 11:22PM (3/07/2007)
Obviously the production vehicle will change but with Suzuki waiting for the next generation Swift and Dodge not producing the Hornet you have to applaud Kia for rushing in with a vehicle with this very square Mini-ish profile. There is not a whole lot of room for variety in this segment and no one is working this look in NA except Mini at the top end of the price bracket. This is a popular segment in Canada so I hope they don't strip out the safety features to increase the profit margin like they do with the Rio and Spectra. I really prefer it to the shrunken tall station wagon look of most cars in this segment. Nose is a little pronounced for me - with a 2.0 what do they need all the space for? I hope they can keep it light as the 2.0 world engine doesn't produce the best efficiency in the Caliber.
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