Road Test: Kia Soul 2015

Road Test of the Kia Soul in South Africa 2015

“You can go with this, or you can go with that.” That presumably some generic SUV with half-filled off-road pretentions and This being the Kia Soul. The Kia Soul might want to be an SUV (of sorts) but it certainly has no ambition to leave tarred surface. And you know what? That doesn’t bother me in the slightest. Yet for all its groovy marketing ‘square is cool’ tags and ostentatious style, the Kia Soul has always dipped under the radar, often losing out to the equally brilliant but less characterful Kia Sportage. I wanted to find out why.

The Kia Soul may look quirky from the outside but inside it’s plainly functional. The seats are some of the best – high but not upright and close to armchairs with a touch more lateral support. The steering wheel is small and chunky, outward visibility is good and displays and buttons are large but concise and of a high standard. Everybody who climbed inside instantly remarked about the space – headroom being above average – and I quickly came to liken the Kia Soul as a sort of Korean Hummer. Even in the back, space is plentiful and that sloping roof doesn’t obstruct natural light from entering the cabin.

There are large (Hi-Fi) speakers dotted around the cabin (they glow with the music or mood) and functions like cruise control, electric driver’s seat and park distance control were fitted to ours. The only disappointment is the small screen which you find yourself squinting at during harsh daylight.

Why I suspect the Kia Soul loses out to the more expensive Sportage is the boot; the Soul’s 354-litre boot is less than half that of the Sportage’s, although with the seats down the difference is much less. In truth though the boot is ample and it’s only the high sill that takes some effort lifting items over.

Our Kia Soul came with the normally aspirated 2.0-litre 116kW/192Nm – both figures produced at the very top of the rev range. Ours was mated to the auto box, which for all its flaws is probably still the one to go for. Providing you treat the throttle with care, progress is relaxed and docile but any sudden sharp inputs and the Soul turns red in the face and loses much of its composure. This happened only a few times – overtakes being the trigger – but as a general rule, understand its limitations and the Kia Soul lopes along in extreme comfort. Really, because the driving position is among the best I’ve ever experienced, one feels no need to jab at the gearbox.

Zero to 100km/h happens in 10.2 seconds and top speed is 186km/h. Consumption sat around 9.6l/100km and CO2 emissions are best forgotten. If one really wanted the best drive from the Kia Soul, the diesel should mitigate the gearbox, especially since it’s only R25 000 more.
For the first time in my career I opted for the heaviest steering feedback. Comfort and Normal modes are fine for worming around parking lots but once over 50km/h the heavier helm is better suited to the 1405kg body. Road noise, a concern when looking at the serious width and profile of rubber fitted, was supressed to refined levels and there’s a real sense of bulletproof quality once the doors close.

The Kia Soul is simply brilliant to drive. The design may suggest rather haphazard build quality but it’s as luxurious and well put together as any Kia currently on sale. There’s a lot of practicality squeezed between the axles and for once you don’t need to be stung by the price of all-wheel drive to get the best levels of equipment.

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