SA Road Tests

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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.
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*Please remember too, that prices quoted were those ruling on the days I wrote the reports.


Soul train: We find room to relax in Kia’s 2012 two-litre, manual shift people mover

Functional rather than beautiful

Published in The Witness Motoring on Wednesday October 3, 2012

The Kia Soul won’t win many beauty contests, being more the practical type, but that didn’t deter our Avanza-owning niece-in-law and pre-school car pooler at all. She vaulted into the 2,0-litre manual we had on test that week and leapt straight out in disgust. “Seat’s too low,” she complained. We adjusted it up to maximum height. “Much better,” she cooed. “Ooh look, Bluetooth and sound controls. Love the leather; how much?” We told her and mentioned that there’s a 1600cc model with fabric seats, at R194 000. It also has six airbags and various other items not included on her little bus. She got thoughtful and nephew sighed; just a little.

After being around for a few years, Kia’s little mummy bus was treated to a midlife refresh and engine realignment this past June. There were subtle changes to its front and rear faces; headlamps, taillights, side mirrors and wheels were changed and some new features were added. The optional 1600cc diesel made way for the 2,0-litre version of the group’s Nu petrol engine while the original 1,6-litre Gamma motor soldiers on. Gearboxes, manual and automatic, are six-speed across the range.

Basic equipment includes alloy wheels, front and rear fog lights, electrically adjustable side mirrors, roof rails and rear parking assistance. Interiors feature powered windows, air conditioning, autolocking doors, a radio and CD unit with MP3, USB and auxiliary plugs, ABS with EBD and the kit mentioned earlier. Two-litre cars gain automated projection headlamps with LED running lights, folding side mirrors, climate control, cruise control for automatics, keyless entry, push-button starting, an upgraded sound system and a rear view camera.

Additional electronics comprise stability control, hill start assistance and vehicle stability management. This mouthful simply means that the electric power steering interacts with stability control to keep things tidy if you accelerate or brake suddenly while different wheels are on wet and dry surfaces at the same moment.

Getting down to practicalities, the boot is one of those dual-layered affairs with a compartmented tray under the floorboard, measuring 222 or 340 litres with the rear seatbacks up or 700 with them folded down. It’s covered with a rubber mat rather than carpeting and the spare is a space saver. Going beyond the call of pre-school duty, the back seat area offers generous space for grown-ups, scoring ten SA Standard Tall Passenger points each, for head, knees and feet. Three head restraints, two full belts and a lap strap are provided.

Up front, the leather clad seats are firm yet comfortable, with very acceptable under-thigh length. The driver’s chair adjusts vertically in addition to the usual movements. Fit and finish of trim items is excellent, making one almost unaware that the materials are all “hard” plastic. Those who naturally accumulate loose items will appreciate the myriad slots, boxes, nets and bins in the cabin.

Performance is on the good side of average for a naturally aspirated two-litre, doing the sprint up to 100 km/h in 9,6 seconds and topping out at 185 km/h. Gearing in sixth is biased toward economy rather than roll-on acceleration. The gearbox shifts easily and positively, the lever is nicely placed and there is ample space for resting the clutch foot. Only mentioned in the specs for automatics that have a dedicated button, manual versions offer fuel-saving Eco mode too; the only drawback is that you have to get into the “trip” section of the onboard computer to find it.

Functional rather than beautiful, the Kia Soul is well equipped, decently built, spacious and attractively priced. Buyers unwilling to look beyond other, more obvious choices are doing themselves no favours.

The numbers
Price: R229 995
Engine: 1999cc, D-CVVT, DOHC, 16-valve, four-cylinder
Power: 122 kW at 6500 rpm
Torque: 200 Nm at 4800 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 9,6 seconds
Maximum speed: 185 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 8,9 l/100 km
Tank: 48 litres
Warranty: 5 years/100 000 km; with 3 years’ roadside assistance
Service plan: 4 years/90 000 km

 


What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that road test cars entrusted to me are driven only by me. Some reviewers hand test cars over to their partners to use as day-to-day transport and barely experience them for themselves.

What this means to you is that every car reviewed is given my own personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every car goes through real world testing; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

My articles appear every Wednesday in the motoring pages of The Witness, South Africa's oldest continuously running newspaper, and occasionally on Saturdays in Weekend Witness as well. I drive eight to ten vehicles most months of the year (press cars are withdrawn over the festive season - wonder why?) so not everything gets published in the paper. Those that are, get a tagline but the rest is virgin, unpublished and unedited by the political-correctness police. Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. As quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so they can see I do actually exist.

I am based in Pietermaritzburg, KZN, South Africa. This is the central hub of the KZN Midlands farming community; the place farmers go to buy their supplies and equipment, truck their goods to market, send their kids to school and go to kick back and relax.
So occasionally a cow, a goat or a horse may add a little local colour by finding its way into the story or one of the pictures. It's all part of the ambience!

Comments?
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