Demand cuts Soul quota

When the square-rigger Soul hatch lands in April Kia expects to receive just 500 cars for the year.

Kia Australia president and chief executive officer, Terry Im, blames international demand, saying he hopes to improve on those numbers by leveraging the factory to push 1200 our way.

"Initial supplies will be constrained though," he says.

For Kia the Soul is a shape-shifting car.

"Even our dealers are saying it will help change perceptions of Kia," Im says.

Initially all Souls will be sourced globally from one of Kia's South Korean factories.

Like the Nissan Cube and Toyota Scion xB, neither of which is sold here, it is aimed at the Gen Y buyers.

But Kia Australia's head of product planning, Nick Reid, says its interior space and packaging will also appeal to a wider audience.

Like the Mini Cooper, each Soul will come with a huge range of individual trim and paint combinations, he says.

"We're looking at offering all the customisation available in other markets," Reid says.

"It's a key part of the Soul strategy."

The car's distinctive high-riding design and bulging wheel-arches give it an off-road look but the car will be a front-driver only.

The Soul is 1610mm high but the base of the windscreen is 135mm higher than a typical small car, the hip-point is 120mm higher and the ground clearance is raised by 45mm.

Kia is not talking prices yet but buyers can expect the Soul to start from the low $20,000s.

It will have a choice of two engines, either a 94kW 1.6-litre petrol or turbo-diesel powerplant.

About 40 per cent of buyers to opt for the diesel, Reid says.

The Soul is one of several new Kia arrivals this year.

A two-door version of the Cerato, called the Koup, arrives around October, the Magentis facelift mid-year and a new Sorento four-wheel drive lands towards the end of the year.

The sub-$30,000 Koup is tipped to be a turbo-charged version of the 2.0-litre engine fitted to the Cerato.

The Koup show car unveiled at the New York auto show featured a direct-injection 2.0-litre that developed 216kW/391Nm.