SA Road Tests

Welcome

This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. We drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under South African conditions. It also just happens that most of the vehicles we drive are world cars as well, so what you read here probably applies to the models you can get at home.
*To read one of our road tests, just select from the menu on the left.
*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the stories.
 

We look deep into Kia’s Soul.

Rebellious new car for a new generation

Kia’s new Soul is billed as an Urban Crossover, designed for the young and young at heart, to satisfy deeper needs for uniqueness and individuality. This sounds like countless generations of teenagers all dressing the same to express their non-conformity.

What we have, after cutting to the chase, is a tall, boxy five-door hatchback with some wannabe MPV attitude. It’s ideally suited to ferrying a driver and three friends, with a built-in roof rack for surfboards or other adventure kit. It would probably serve equally well, though, as a mummy bus or baby carrier.

One sits tall in the Kia Soul. The base of its windscreen is 135 mm higher up than on your average small car, the hip point is 120 mm higher and at 165 mm, its ground clearance is 45 mm greater than average.  This could be of interest to those needing to traverse evil gutters at the bottoms of steep driveways.

Safety kit includes the usual ABS brakes with EBD, dual air bags and a body shell engineered for high torsional (twisting) stiffness. This benefits handling, ride quality, durability, refinement and safety. A Euro NCAP rating of 5 is a given.

Boot space is generous for a car this size at 222 litres with the oddments tray in place, or 340 litres with it removed. Folding the back seats increases cargo room to 570 litres without covering any windows. A word on the oddments tray in the bottom of the boot area – this consists of about half a dozen cutouts of various sizes. I found the bigger of these useful for wedging a couple of supermarket bags containing stuff that “simply must not fall over.”

The Soul shares power and 5-speed transmission with its newest Hyundai cousin, the i20. The engine is a 1 591 cc, DOHC, 16 valve, CVVT unit that puts out 91 kW at 6 300 rpm and 156 Nm of torque at 4 200 rpm.

These figures are in line with, and in some cases exceed, those of other naturally aspirated1600s on the market. The result is lively performance without being silly – there is no potentially expensive or thirsty turbocharger, after all.

Acceleration from zero to 100 km/h is quoted as 10,4 seconds, with a claimed top speed of 177 km/h. I tried the 120 km/h up Key Ridge test and might have succeeded, had some fool in an Audi not come bustling up behind, demanding to pass “right now” and forcing me to fall in behind a truck. That’s Life, I suppose.


I could not verify real-life fuel consumption figures because the Soul does not have an onboard computer. The manufacturer claims a combined figure of 5,8 l/100 km, but my best “calculated guess” puts it closer to 6,4.

Tall doors and high-mounted seats make for easy access, while the ‘laid back’ dashboard, triple dial instrument cluster and thick-rimmed steering wheel create an unusual combination of spaciousness for passengers and cosiness for the driver. Charcoal coloured cloth seats on the test car, with the name “Soul” repeated in shades of grey on a panel insert, looked youthful and trendy without being over the top.

A factory-fitted 112-watt RDS Radio/CD player offers MP3 compatibility with USB and auxilliary connections in the centre console, speed rated volume control, six speakers, innovative PowerBass technology and a rooftop antenna. The Soul is fitted with steering wheel mounted audio controls. To get full benefit from iPods, one needs to purchase the optional cable set at R1 100.


The numbers
Price: R189 995
Engine: 1 591cc, inline 4-cylinder, 16-valve, DOHC, CVVT
Power: 91 kW at 6 300 rpm
Torque: 156 Nm at 4 200 rpm
Average fuel consumption (claimed) 5,8 l/100 km
Tank: 48 litres
Warranty: 5 years/100 000km
Service plan: 4 years/90 000 km

What We Do

Comments?

Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you thoroughly disagree with what I say? That's your privilege, because if everybody agreed on everything, the world would be a boring place. All I ask is that you remain calm, so please blow off a little steam before venting too vigorously. Contact me here

Back to Home page