Kia Soul 3 2009 review

Kia is pushing its new Soul as a funky, trendy, spunky — call it what you will — connection with the lucrative Gen-Y market.

After a couple of weeks with the car I suggest they would be better served to let this particular little box on wheels talk to a wider audience. While the Soul is not going to be everybody's cup of tea, and there are certainly some things about it that leave a bit to be desired, to package it as a stylish accessory with tattoos and makeup is underselling its charms.

Styling

There is no escaping the fact that the Soul — in the case of the test car a Soul3 (that's cubed for marketing purposes) — is a pretty basic box design. Speaking plainly, it is a square on wheels and therein lies a whole lot of its practical charm.

Interior

Explore the 2009 Kia Soul range

• Kia Soul 2009 review: road test
• Kia Soul diesel 2009 review
• Kia Soul 3 2009 review
• Kia Soul 2009 review

Living with the Soul is a day-by-day catalogue of revelations, and most of them are positive. Open the doors — this where the benefits of the box design become evident — and the interior space is truly impressive. Without the need for swooping rooflines and sloping windscreens, style gives way to practicality.

There is genuine large-car generosity in head, leg and shoulder room for four with a reasonable expectation of sliding a fifth into the second row of seats.

Luggage space in the boot (340 litres) is not overly generous but enough for a solid family shop or a suitcase or two. Fold down the rear seats — a handy 60:40 split — and the available space more than doubles out to 800 litres. Coupled with the gaping opening from the rear hatch and the low load lip the Soul's practicality for carrying a considerable load comes to the fore.

That same practical theme applies to the entrance and egress for passengers. The door openings are generous and the seat heights compatible with an age- or arthritis-challenged hip.

Fit-out and equipment

The cloth trim seats are comfortable, reasonably well bolstered and offer three-way manual adjustment for driver and two-way for passenger. The interior plastics are hard to the touch and there is little about the cabin that could be described as plush. In the higher specification cars, the blacks and greys are lightened by seat treatments that mirror some of the exterior flair.

A tilt-only adjustment on the steering wheel is disappointing but the wheel does offer a multi-function capability for the sound system, which is fully i-Pod and MP3 integrated even down to the basic car.

Dressing up your Soul is something that will appeal to the designated target market but is likely to have less appeal to those who see through the buzz to what lies within.

Still, if you like being the centre of attention the Soul can help you out. A selection of decals — three at this stage, a range of flashy bits and pieces such as a sports kit and extra chrome, 11 exterior colours and three interior treatments are enough to give more than 10,000 possible combinations.

In keeping with the Gen-Y theme the external flash has been described as the automotive equivalent of body art — tattoos and eyeliners without the permanency as the decals can be removed and replaced at whim.

For the Cubed there is an extra centre speaker and sub-whoofer and a perplexing yet strangely pleasing light show from the door-mounted speakers which pulsate to the music if you so choose. Thankfully, when the mood doesn't require it you can turn this feature off with a dash-mounted dial. The dash display of a large speedo and tacho, fuel and temperature gauge are easy to read while the centre-mounted radio is simply to set up and easy to adjust from the steering wheel.

Storage bins are scattered around the car in most of the usual places — in-door, centre console, glove box, in-dash, seat pockets — and a very handy wet box under the floor in the boot. Ideal for dirty shoes, towels or whatever.

Safety

Six airbags, including curtain bags, are standard across the range, as is anti-lock braking. Stability control is not available on the base model — which weighs heavily against it to the extent that the Soul scores only four ANCAP stars — but the stability program is standard on the Soul2 and Soul3 and with ESC the car scores five safety stars in Europe and New Zealand.

Another omission is cruise control, which isn't offered on any grade, although Kia says it will be available on diesel models from August. There is also a heavy impost for the optional reversing camera which comes packaged with an unnecessary sunroof for $2000. The camera, on the other hand is very necessary as the car also doesn't come standard with any reversing sensor or much reverse vision.

Drivetrains

While we are on things you are going to have to learn to live with should the Soul take your fancy, the choice between petrol and diesel is going to sort the poseurs from those with a more practical bent.

The Soul is available with a choice of two engines: a 91kW/156Nm, 1.6-litre DOHC petrol and the 94kW/260Nm, 1.6-litre common-rail diesel already seen in Australia in the award-winning Hyundai i30. At the top spec level the only gearbox choice is the ageing four-speed automatic.

Without beating around the bush, the petrol engine is dozy but quiet, the diesel more athletic but a bit Sharapova-like in that you will not have to open the window to know if it is putting in an effort.

Personally, the bit of extra noise and lots of extra drive — particularly given the restrictions of the four-speed automatic — is the winner. The better fuel economy of the diesel is also a plus.

As a drive the Soul is not a category leader but it is adequate enough that you quickly accept and forgive the occasional harshness of ride in favour of its overwhelming practicality and general fuss-free behaviour.

Verdict

On balance a practical city solution that's good for the soul.