Test drive Kia Soul

The inexpensive show stopper turned out to be an alternative to crossovers, but for the time being, the Kia Soul lacked something special. Now enough, and after the update, Soul appears as the most affordable hot hatch

The tall stained glass windows of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona are colored by the rays of the sun, forming a play of light and shadows of amazing beauty inside. The spaciousness and height of the vaults are breathtaking, the riot of lines, figures and geometric experiments on the facade and inside causes a flurry of emotions, and doubt lodges in the soul - can a place of attraction for thousands of tourists, created, it seems, contrary to all church canons, become a real temple? For one of the classic medieval centers of Europe, the famous Sagrada Familia by Antoni Gaudi is real kitsch, but in many respects it is because of it that people come here in droves.

Against the background of Gaudi's Catalan experiments, even the updated Kia Soul fades, which the architect would definitely approve. But as soon as you move away from the noisy quarters of the Eixample district, the status quo is restored. The hatchback stands out in the traffic of all sorts of bright spot, attracts the eyes and colors old streets with a bold two-tone paint. Especially the GT version, with its red lines, glossy grille, twin exhaust and slightly less restrained engine roar. Without knowing the details, it would be the Soul GT that could be recognized as updated, and this, in general, would be true - the volume of changes to the basic versions is small, but the fast hatch is a novelty for our market. The rest is standard stuff.

The radiator grille has been slightly retouched - the shape of the narrow dumbbell has been preserved, but instead of a thick cut, it now has elegant edging at the top and bottom. Optics - new, with LEDs, lenses and xenon light in top-end configuration. The black air intake of the bumper became more convex, received a honeycomb-shaped grille, the foglights were formed into separate sections, and a light pseudo-protection of the bottom appeared from below. The black section of the rear bumper has become lower and wider, and a diffuser has been added. Finally, the range of rims and body colors has been updated - in total, the Soul now has 15 colors, including three two-tone ones.

In addition to the obligatory ERA-GLONASS, there is only one obvious change in the cabin - a media system with a graphic screen. The basic versions rely on a monochrome 5-inch, more expensive versions - a touch color of the same size, the older ones - a 7-inch with a navigator and support for Apple and Google interfaces, and the top Premium version is already equipped with an 8-inch system complete with a JBL audio system. In this case, a rear-view camera is attached to all options except monochrome. New for Soul systems for monitoring blind spots and reversing parking exits, complete with automatic parking - a privilege of the same Premuim. Additional USB ports for charging gadgets in the front and rear, again, went only to the top trim levels, but the Drive Mode Select systems for the choice of driving modes - to all cars with automatic transmissions without exception.

The most interesting thing is that the GT version, for reasons of cost savings, is inferior to the set of equipment of the top two, although it also does not look deprived. The GT has no roof rails or sunroof, and the navigator is 7-inch. Finally, it has pre-reform, that is, halogen headlights and an interior with a combined trim instead of leather. In this case, it is a blessing: the fabric base holds the body better, but the electrical adjustments still remain.

The most important fact to know about the Soul GT is that it is the most affordable 200 hp. the Russian market. More precisely, 204 - the Koreans did not become wise with the certification, and the current figure looks more solid than the conventional 199 horsepower. In Russia, the Kia Soul GT costs $ 18 and its closest rival can be conditionally considered a five-door 067-horsepower Mini Cooper S with a price of $ 190. for an "empty" car. It is also the most powerful car in the compact crossover segment, to which the Soul can be attributed almost without a stretch. Actually, it was Soul in many ways that became the forerunner of this segment eight years ago, when neither Hyundai Creta nor Renault Captur existed yet.

Soul GT with a manual transmission would surely be an excellent "lighter", but a 1,6-liter turbo engine is aggregated only with a 7-speed DCT preselective "robot". The units do not take long to harness and drive well, but there is still no wow effect. If the "robot" twitches, then neatly, the engine with a slight whistle honestly reaches the limit 6000 rpm, strongly accelerating the hatchback in almost any mode. It's nice that at highway speeds the pressure does not weaken, although there is no desire to break the flow - the Soul GT is not a "lighter" after all and does not involve one hundred percent in the control process. The steering mechanism is standard here, the suspension is not rigid, and the inclusion of the Sport mode with the button on the steering wheel changes for the most part only the recoil of the power unit. Here are strong brakes with large discs - to the point: from speed, the car settles down steadily and without the slightest difficulty.

In the case of basic motors, Soul also offers not the weakest units in the segment. There are two of them, and the differences between them are rather ideological. In the initial configurations, a simple 1,6 MPI with 124 hp is installed on the car, in more expensive ones - the same 1,6 GDI engine with direct injection and 132 horsepower. The first can be equipped with "mechanics", the second - only a six-speed "automatic". In the city, 132 forces are quite enough, but the automatic transmission does not interfere. The box works predictably and simply, but sometimes it gets confused in modes, changing gears inappropriately. And on winding mountain paths, where the engine has to be whipped up all the time with high revs, this unit is already not enough.

However, the Soul is a purely urban car, it is saturated with urban aesthetics and is made to be comfortable in a metropolis. The harsh suspension becomes a problem only outside of it, the noise does not bother up to speeds above 100 km / h, and the high crossover landing, like large doorways, is great for frequent boarding and disembarking. In the city, the hatchback is not afraid of curbs and snow rolls, it is taller than cars and visually looks like a real crossover. Finally, from the driver's point of view, this is a very easy-to-climb car, in which you can feel free to dive into the narrowest places of heavy traffic. And with the new navigation made by TomTom, which quickly pumps up traffic jams and the weather forecast through a connected smartphone, it is even more convenient to do it.

At the turn of the 2009th and 1,25th centuries, Gaudi's creations in Spain caused rejection and controversy, but the architect quickly became fashionable. In addition, all his creations were meticulously calculated, and there was no doubt about the strength and reliability of the structures. Seven of its twenty-three buildings were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Soul is also a story about a non-standard approach and people who want to have not quite ordinary things. There were many of them - since XNUMX, the hatchback has sold XNUMX million copies around the world. Russia's contribution is small, but Soul is in fairly stable demand here. It also fulfills an important mission of the brand's presence in the growing segment of compact crossovers.

The official position of the company on the Kia KX3 compact crossover is as follows: it makes sense to supply the car to Russia only with the condition of the Russian assembly, and the capacities of the Hyundai-Kia plant near St. Petersburg are still limited. It is possible that this is why Koreans offer quite reasonable prices for Soul, thanks to which they at least partly take customers away from Creta and Kaptur. The updated Soul costs at least $ 11 for the base car, and the automatic hatchback in the Comfort trim level is sold for $ 473. The cost of the most complete set is $ 13 and competitors will definitely not have such equipment. Kia will not offer all-wheel drive, but bright - no worse than the Mini - appearance relies already in the basic configuration, and this is not the case that requires a special look at things and recognition only years later.

Body type
Universal	Universal	Universal
Dimensions (length / width / height), mm
4140/1800/1628	4140/1800/1628	4140/1800/1615
Wheelbase, mm
2570	2570	2570
Curb weight, kg
1240	1245	1289
engine's type
Gasoline, R4	Gasoline, R4	Gasoline, R4 turbo
Working volume, cubic meters cm
1591	1591	1591
Power, hp with. at rpm
124 at 6300	132 at 6300	204 at 6000
Max. torque, Nm at rpm
152 at 4850	161 at 4850	265 at 1500-4500
Transmission, drive
6th st. AKP, front	6th st. AKP, front	7th st. robot, front
Maximum speed km / h
177	180	200
Acceleration to 100 km / h, from
12,5	11,7	7,8
Fuel consumption, l (city / highway / mixed)
11,0/6,7/8,2	9,6/6,5/7,6	8,7/5,8/6,9
Cargo space, l
354 – 994	354 – 994	354 – 994
Price from, $.
12 396	13 979	18 067