SCOOP: Kia Readying a Facelift for the 2012 Soul

It appears that the Soul is the next vehicle in Kia’s list to receive an update. Caught here in testing in Germany by our spy photographers, the bagged-up ends do their job to hide the Soul’s stylistic upgrades with the only visible change being the redesigned exterior mirrors that house the turning lights.

However, it is expected that the Soul will take some cues from the new Picanto and Rio hatchbacks (both of which were revealed at the Geneva Motor Show) such as the pulled back headlamps and more pronounced bumpers. An interior rework may also be in the cards.

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Kia Soul in Police Outfit to Patrol Sussex Streets

A local Kia dealer has donated a 'vanilla-cream' Soul to the Sussex Police department in the UK for use in their neighborhood policing program. While you won't be seeing the Soul chasing law-breakers on the highway, the small crossover will be used by the team of Police Community Support Officer's (PCSOs) as part of their routine street briefings and the general safe-keeping of Horsham South's communities.

"The car is as highly visible as we are!" said PCSO Charlotte Whittaker. "We were delighted to have been given a car by Toll House, but to have one that turns heads as swiftly as this one does only helps us become more visible to the public."

Toll House Kia, which provided the police-branded Soul Shaker to the Sussex Police department for a year, said that it will replace the car after six months.

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More Reader Spy Shots: Kia's Small MPV Snapped in the Czech Republic

Carscoop readers Vladimir Pekulas and Jan Mlejnek bagged these shots of Kia's forthcoming mini-MPV on the highway near Mlada Boleslav in the Czech Republic. If you take a closer look at the pics after the jump, you'll see that the man sitting in the passenger's seat of the Kia test car retaliated against our readers by taking or pretending to take, photos of them also... But anyways, let's refresh our memory on Kia's new model which has yet to be named.

The five-seater MPV is in effect the production version of Kia's No3 Concept study that was shown for the first time in Geneva earlier this year. The Korean automaker's retort to the likes of the Honda Jazz, Opel Meriva and Citroen C3 Picasso uses the same architecture as the Kia Soul and Hyundai i20.

It is anticipated that the small MPV's engine range will comprise of 1.6-liter petrol and diesel units, both producing an output of 126HP, while certain markets may also receive a 115HP 1.6-liter diesel along with a range-topping 2.0-liter gasoline engine making 142HP.

Kia will most probably swoop the covers off the mini-MPV at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September with European sales set to start before the end of the year. Like the European market Cee'd, the MPV will be produced at the Hyundai Group's new plant in the Czech Republic.

"Děkuji" Vladimir Pekulas & Jan Mlejnek for the pics!

READ MORE - More Reader Spy Shots: Kia's Small MPV Snapped in the Czech Republic

Kia Soul Does Some Inner Searching with New Special Edition

The Soul Searcher is the latest addition to Kia's Originals line-up, which includes a collection of distinctive versions of the sub-compact crossover. This here special edition is for the UK market and it follows on from the Burner, Shaker, Tempest and Echo. Sales scheduled to start from the 4th January 2011.

The car is cosmetically distinguished by a light green metallic paintwork, and cream and brown full leather interior offset by a two-tone, cream and black dashboard. Furthermore, Kia's designers added chrome front grille and door handles, roof rails, black bezel headlights, front and rear mud flaps as well as 18-inch silver alloy wheels.

Standard specification includes reversing sensors, front fog lights, electric folding door mirrors, privacy glass, dual auto air conditioning and heated front seats, plus an upgraded 8 speaker sound system with subwoofer and external amplifier, Bluetooth and iPod connectivity.

The Soul Searcher is powered by a 1.6-litre CRDi diesel engine available with either 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic, with prices starting from £16,965 OTR and £18,025 (including VAT at the new 20% rate) respectively.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

READ MORE - Kia Soul Does Some Inner Searching with New Special Edition

Kia Soul Does Some Inner Searching with New Special Edition

The Soul Searcher is the latest addition to Kia's Originals line-up, which includes a collection of distinctive versions of the sub-compact crossover. This here special edition is for the UK market and it follows on from the Burner, Shaker, Tempest and Echo. Sales scheduled to start from the 4th January 2011.

The car is cosmetically distinguished by a light green metallic paintwork, and cream and brown full leather interior offset by a two-tone, cream and black dashboard. Furthermore, Kia's designers added chrome front grille and door handles, roof rails, black bezel headlights, front and rear mud flaps as well as 18-inch silver alloy wheels.

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READ MORE - Kia Soul Does Some Inner Searching with New Special Edition

Euro NCAP: Q5, Jazz, i20, Soul and 3008 Achieve 5-Star Rating, Suzuki Alto gets only 3-Stars

European car safety testing body Euro-NCAP has announced its latest batch of results for six new cars. Five of these models, the Audi Q5, Honda Jazz, Hyundai i20, Kia Soul and Peugeot 3008 received Euro NCAP's maximum five star award while Suzuki's made-in-India Alto scored only three stars, its rating limited by its performance in adult occupant protection, child protection and safety assistance technologies. Euro NCAP made a special note on the Honda Jazz and the Hyundai i20 as both cars managed to achieve a high score in pedestrian safety.

"We would like to commend the Honda Jazz and the Hyundai i20 for their impressive pedestrian scores that not only meet current requirements, but also meet Euro NCAP's future requirements," Euro NCAP said in a statement.

All six vehicles were tested with Euro NCAP's new overall rating scheme that was introduced in 2009 and covers Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Pedestrian Protection and a new area of assessment, Safety Assist. Under the new testing regime, vehicles are awarded a single overall score from one to five stars with the overall rating being based on the car's performance in each of the four main areas and the scores are weighted with respect to each other.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

READ MORE - Euro NCAP: Q5, Jazz, i20, Soul and 3008 Achieve 5-Star Rating, Suzuki Alto gets only 3-Stars

Kia Soul's European Sales Surpass 5,000 mark, 13 Percent Higher Than Predicted

The new Kia Soul subcompact crossover has got off to a good start in Europe with sales surpassing the 5,000 mark since it went fully on sale across the continent in January, 2009. That's 13 percent higher than Kia's executives initially anticipated. In particular, 1,334 cars were delivered in January, while keys for a further 1,485 cars were handed to customers in February and an additional 2,172 Souls found their way out of Kia dealer showrooms in March. However, just to put things into perspective, Ford's new Fiesta sold 20,654 units in March - and that's in the UK alone...

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

READ MORE - Kia Soul's European Sales Surpass 5,000 mark, 13 Percent Higher Than Predicted

Kia Release AFD Rally Package for Soul

Korean automaker Kia has announced the launch of a new aero kit for the Soul crossover. Aside from the aesthetic rewards, buyers will be happy to know that the aerodynamic doodads also reduce fuel consumption and exhaust emissions through a simple and low-cost system called Air Propulsion and Retardation Installation Line. The system is said to rely on microscopic sensors built into the bumpers which constantly monitor wind speed and deploy panels when the wind is sufficient to provide additional directional impetus according to the car's behavior.

Systems Manager Kuasimati Seoulitsou from Kia's Advanced Technorave Research Institute in Mabuk, said: "The big problem with most emission reduction systems is that they are expensive. We wanted to come up with an answer that didn't cost the earth and could be retrospectively applied to cars already on the road."

"Tests of this system at our Nong Dam facility have shown that during windy weather fuel consumption can be reduced by up to 25 per cent and emissions by anything up 40 per cent. Even in calm weather using the system simply under braking can result in reductions of 10 per cent and 15 per cent respectively," he added.

The new aero kit system will be available on all Souls ordered after midnight on March 31, 2011. Prices will be announced in a few hours.

READ MORE - Kia Release AFD Rally Package for Soul

Kia Recalling 2010 Soul and 2011 Sorento for Electrical Issues

The first recall of the month comes from Kia, which is recalling approximately 23,973 Soul subcompacts from the 2010MY and around 11,213 Sorento crossovers from the 2011MY, all built from September 7, 2009 through July 30, 2010, due to a potential fault with the vehicles' electrical system.

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READ MORE - Kia Recalling 2010 Soul and 2011 Sorento for Electrical Issues

NHTSA Probes 2010 Kia Soul After Steering Shaft Falls Off in New Car

The feds over at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have launched a preliminary investigation into Kia's 2010 Soul crossover after receiving a complaint about a steering shaft that literally fell off from the steering wheel on a two-month old model with just 4,300 miles on the odometer. NHSTA said the issue could potentially affect more than 51,000 Kia Soul cars.

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READ MORE - NHTSA Probes 2010 Kia Soul After Steering Shaft Falls Off in New Car

KIA UK Presents Black and White Editions of Picanto, Rio and Soul

Two new special editions named Domino and Echo that both play on black and white color schemes are joining Kia's UK-market lineup. The Domino special edition is available on the Picanto and Rio superminis, while the Echo is offered on the Soul crossover.

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READ MORE - KIA UK Presents Black and White Editions of Picanto, Rio and Soul

New Kia Soul Edition Irmscher 001

Another day, another special edition version of the Kia Soul. This one comes from Germany and it's the result of the cooperation between the South Korean automaker and the tuning house Irmscher.

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Kia Launches Limited Edition Ghost Soul

The fourth and last of the special edition 2010 Souls that Kia launched in the U.S., this year, the new Ghost Soul, is available for order now. This latest iteration complements three other special edition versions, including Ignition Soul, Denim Soul and Shadow Dragon Soul.

As with the previous special edition Souls, the Ghost is based on the Soul+ trim level.

The Ghost package adds metallic and chrome accents, front fender vents with side marker repeater lights, a body kit, moonroof, fog lights, black 18-inch alloy wheels with machined accents, a roof spoiler as well as the leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob.

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Kia Unveils Soul Safety Car for U.S. Touring Car Championship

Following its debut at last year's SEMA motor show in Las Vegas, the Kia Soul Safety Car has made its track debut at the U.S. Touring Car Championship (USTCC) that is sanctioned by the National Auto Sport Association (NASA).

Kia's funk-o-wagon was modified by "GOGOGEAR" and it features upgraded suspension and tires, plus special strobe lights inside the headlamps, taillights and the light bar.

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READ MORE - Kia Unveils Soul Safety Car for U.S. Touring Car Championship

New Limited Edition Kia Soul Ignition Hits US Showrooms

The second special edition Kia Soul to be offered in the States this year after the "Denim" is the "Ignition". Based on the Soul+ model, the limited run version features a unique ignition orange exterior finish with contrasting black rally stripes, a rear spoiler, an alloy fuel door and black 18-inch alloy wheels with machined accents.

Like the previously launched Denim, on top of the Soul+ standard equipment, Kia has loaded the Ignition with more features including a higher-grade audio system with iPod connection, center speaker, subwoofer, external amplifier and speaker lights that pulse to the beat of the music (...), carpeted floor mats, moon roof, fender vents with side marker repeaters and fog lights.

The new Kia Soul Iginition is available for order with prices starting from $17,500 for the model with a five-speed manual gearbox.

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