The Unlawyer

I first saw examples of the new 2010-model year Kia Soul cruising around Metro Manila a couple of weeks before it was formally launched in this country last August and I would always pause and do a double take every time I saw one pass by, attracted as I was to its boxy retro-styled body. One auto columnist even went so far as to describe it as a “Mini Cooper blown up to mini-SUV proportions.”

Here is a brief history of this new vehicle:

“It was designed at Kia’s design center in California, and unveiled at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. Production began in late 2008, with the first vehicles appearing at European dealerships in February 2009 and North American dealerships in March 2009, as a 2010 model.”

You could say that I am a happy believer in the merits of Kia automobiles, having driven a Kia Sedona full-sized MPV for five years now, after being convinced by a Berlin taxi driver that yes, his Sedona was more reliable than the Spanish-built Mercedes-Benz Vito vans that his other colleagues were driving at the time.

Certainly this Korean manufacturer has gone a long way in improving its vehicles, and the 2010 Kia Soul is another example of that effort bearing fruit. Hey, this new MPV has even earned numerous distinctions in the United States and elsewhere.

Like the Kia Carens, the Korean manufacturer designed the Soul to make it as distinct from its multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) contemporaries as possible, so much so that the company prefers it to be dubbed as a “Urban Crossover Vehicle.” Kia intends to market the Soul to young people: “college students and young professionals from 18 to 35 years old,” but with a million-plus peso price tag for a basic unit, that might just be a tough sell.

Anyway, the 2010 Kia Soul in the Philippines is available in two variants: the 2.0 LX with either a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic transmission, or the 2.0 EX with a four-speed automatic gearbox. In terms of mechanical specs, however, there isn’t much of a difference between the two.

The powerplant of a 2010 Kia Soul is 2.0-liter (actual displacement: 1,975 cc.), four-cylinder, double overhead cam, 16-valve with continuous variable valve timing gasoline engine. Its maximum output is rated at 144 ps., or 142.03 hp., at 6,000 rpm. In other markets, like the United Kingdom for instance, the Soul is available with a smaller displacement 1.6-liter gasoline engine or a 1.6-liter diesel motor.

Here we see a view of the driver’s position of the 2010 Kia Soul. The steering wheel is tilt-adjustable, but not collapsible, and buttons that control this car’s audio system are embedded in the spokes.

The front passenger’s seat of the 2010 Kia Soul. Bucket seats for both guys up front.

A note about the Soul’s audio system: like most installed on today’s cars, it can play CDs and MP3s, and has a USB port and an auxilliary input, presumably for connecting MP3 players or iPods. Six speakers are mounted inside the LX model, while the EX boasts of eight and with a sound mood lamp thrown in as well.

The rear passenger seat of the 2010 Kia Soul. The seats are upholstered with full fabric on the LX and EX but I am not aware if the houndstooth pattern is available to both models as well.

The cargo space of the 2010 Kia Soul is not at all that much, but it can be enlarged if the 60:40 split rear seats are folded down. Underneath the floorboards is shelf space for tools and other sundry items and under that is the well reserved for the Soul’s spare tire.

Speaking of wheels, the 2010 Kia Soul LX comes equipped with 16-inch alloy rims and with 205/55 R16 tires. The EX, on the other hand, is supplied with 18-inch alloy rims and wider, lower-profile 225/45 R18 tires.

Looking at the Philippine-spec sheet of the 2010 Kia Soul, the only other features installed on the EX but not on the LX include an electronic stability program, roof rails, and a sunroof.

The 2010 Kia Soul is available in the following colors: White, Bright Silver, Titanium Silver, Blue Stone, Vanilla Shake, Green Tea Latte, Cocktail Orange, Tomato Red, Java Brown, and Moonlight Blue.