Kia Reveals What Soul Is All About
By Kim Hyun-cheol
Staff Reporter
Kia Motors Wednesday released details of its newest production crossover utility vehicle, ``Soul,'' which will be launched on the domestic market next month.
The compact sedan, which will come in three different engine capacities, will make a global debut early next year. Its world premiere is scheduled for October at the Paris Motor Show, before going on sale in Europe in February next year and the United States and other overseas markets in April.
Its biggest engine will be a 2-liter gasoline unit. A smaller capacity 1.6-liter gasoline engine will be offered in most countries, along with a diesel edition featuring a variable geometry turbocharger.
Kia also confirmed that the new model, which will be available exclusively as a five-door hatchback with front-wheel drive, will have a 2,550-millimeter wheelbase, an overall length of 4,105 millimeter, be 1,610 millimeters high and 1,785 millimeters wide.
Design wise the vehicle distinguishes itself from most other streamlined models by realizing the unique simplicity of a straight line, which also corresponds to the philosophy of Kia's new chief design officer Peter Schreyer, the manufacturer said.
Another eye-catching thing is a black-colored A pillar, the area dividing the windscreen and the windows, which makes the vehicle's front look like that of a classic airplane cockpit. The design, the first ever to be adopted by a Korean vehicle, adds more personality to Soul's exterior design with a high-front sideline structure, Kia said.
The Soul was first introduced as a trio of concept cars at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The three concept cars ― Soul Burner, Soul Diva and Soul Searcher ― were created by Kia's European design team led by Gregory Guillaume.
The vehicle is ``not a replacement of any other existing models," and will ``play a unique role within Kia's global lineup of products," Guillaume said.
Since its concept car stage, the Soul has been expected to be a model to attract more diverse global consumers toward the Korean automaker.
``This new model will reach out to a new group of consumers, appealing especially to the young and young-at-heart," said Lee Hyoung-keun, Kia's vice president in May, referring to the responses to the Soul's concept models.