Kia's hamster car gets drivetrain updates for 2012 and a few filigrees that make the Soul more desirable without compromising its funky appeal or the plain, old usefulness of a car shaped like a box.
Kia has scored points with kids and hipsters using hamsters in Soul's TV ads, but others easily can enjoy the small sedan.
Launched as a 2010 at about the same time as Nissan's Cube, Soul has mojo Cube seems to lack. Kia sold 102,267 Souls in 2011, up 52.4% from 2010, reports sales tracker Autodata. Nissan sold just 14,459 Cubes, down 37%.
The really, really red Soul test car, a $20,000 high-end model, was hobbled by big wheels and tires. They look cool, but they amplify Kia's questionable tendency toward stiff-riding cars.
When the test car hit speed bumps or potholes just a little faster than normal, the car whammed and felt as if the suspension would really rather be someplace else. Over wrinkled asphalt it was a teeth-slammer.
A lower-level, $17,000 Soul test car with ordinary tires rode smoother. But its suspension made the dreaded thunk-clunk noises over even small bumps, which the fancier model with big tires didn't. And the lesser model's chassis seemed to bob and toss when confronted with bumpy pavement. Both models cornered OK at brisk speed on smooth roads.
A few touches still murmured "cheap," an image Kia is trying to kill. For example, the outside door handles operate with a brittle "clack" instead of the smooth quietness some value-price cars can manage. A sharp edge around the sun visors annoys your hand. The covered cubbyhole in the center of the dashboard is lined with unpleasant hard plastic. And the upholstery in the lower-price model is chintzy. Perhaps they seem like minor items, but they're the sort that can clinch buying decisions in the competitive small-car market.
Despite the suspension's drawbacks, the Soul can be a lot of fun. A key reason: Both the base 1.6-liter and optional 2-liter engines are newly powered-up.
The 2-liter, four-cylinder in the test cars is rated 164 horsepower and 148 pounds-feet of torque, and has the extra go-power this 2,700-lb. car has needed from the start. The 2-liter was rated 142 hp and 137 lbs.-ft. when Soul was launched as a 2010.
The 1.6 four, not tested, gets direct injection and is rated 138 hp, 123 lbs.-ft. In 2010, it was rated 122 hp, and 115 lbs.-ft.
You don't have to be a hot-shoe driver to appreciate the 2-liter. It delivers horsepower and torque smoother and more usefully than is typical in smaller-displacement engines. That means you can jump quickly into a hole in traffic without seeming to have started an underhood riot. You can zip to merging speed coming out of that rest stop without fearing your engine will bust a gut.
The automatic transmission in the pricier Soul shifted suitably most of the time. But now and then it let the engine continue revving after an upshift, when the engine speed is supposed to drop. The manual in the lesser Soul was easy to shift, but not a lot of fun. Nothing wrong, just lacked the shifting precision and premium feel that Kia's corporate cousin Hyundai has brought to some small cars.
If you just want to play, the new engine's a good buddy. Interestingly, the 2-liter doesn't yet have direct injection, a technology growing more common because it can increase horsepower and mileage while decreasing emissions. Costly and noisy, but getting cheaper and quieter fast, as more automakers adopt it.
Kia says it soon will offer an "idle stop" Eco package for mpg mavens. Available on automatic-transmission cars, it will shut off the gas engine at long stops. The package also includes low-rolling-resistance tires.
Listed as a $1,000 option on 1.6-liter cars and a $500 option on the 2-liter, the Eco package ups fuel economy 1 or 2 mpg. Seems like a lot of dough for small result, but perhaps your driving situation would make it worthwhile.
Kia mates six-speed manuals or six-speed automatics to both engines. Appropriately tuned, a six-speed car is smoother, quicker, more fun and more fuel-efficient than a five-speed, all else equal. Having more speeds, or ratios, makes it easier to select just the right one for maximum benefits. It can be quieter, too, if it provides more overdrive ratios to slow the engine at highway speed.
The 2012 Soul gets bright, Audi-like LED lights outlining the headlights. Everybody's trying to match Audi on that. On Soul, the lights look silly, their brilliance making the ordinary headlights look weak.
On other matters, it's gratifying to note that none of the changes for 2012 disturbed the well-weighted, nicely proportioned steering and the very prompt brakes.
No change, either, in the relatively generous rear legroom that makes the car more useful than most its size.
The strong sales show Soul has struck a chord in this country. The changes for 2012 are likely to pluck that chord a bit louder.
About the 2012 Kia Soul
•What? New drivetrain and other updates for the quirky front-drive, four-door, five-passenger hatchback.
•When? On sale since September.
•Where? Made in South Korea.
•How much? Base prices range from $14,650, including $750 shipping, for base model with 1.6-liter engine and six-speed manual transmission to $20,350 for top model with 2-liter four-cylinder and six-speed automatic.
•What makes it go? Base 1.6-liter four-cylinder rated 138 horsepower at 6,300 rpm, 123 pounds-feet of torque at 4,650 rpm. Optional 2-liter four, rated 164 hp at 6,500, 148 lbs.-ft. at 4,800. Both engines available with six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission.
Kia promises an idle-stop "Eco" feature for automatics soon that shuts off the engine at stoplights, raising fuel economy ratings 1 or 2 mpg.
•How big? Roughly the size of a Honda Fit. Soul is 162.2 inches long, 70.3 in. wide, 63.4 in. tall on a 100.4-in wheelbase. Weighs 2,615 to 2,778 lbs.
Cargo space, 19.3 cu. ft. behind rear seat, 53.4 cu. ft., rear seat folded.
•How thirsty? 1.6-liter is rated 27 miles per gallon in town, 35 highway, 30 combined. Idle-stop Eco version: 29/36/32.
2-liter: 26/34/29; Eco, 27/35/30.
Trip computer in 2-liter, automatic, non-Eco test car registered 18.1 mpg (5.52 gallons per 100 miles) in brisk suburban driving. Manual registered 17.9 mpg (5.59 gal/100 mi) in similar driving.
Burns regular, holds 12.7 gallons.
•Overall: Fun, roomy, useful, but squirrely on rough roads.
Courtesy of USAToday
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