SA Road Tests

Welcome

This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Most, but not all, the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

My most recent drive is on the home page. Archived reviews and opinion pieces are in the active menu down the left side. Hover your cursor over a heading or manufacturer's name and follow the drop-down.


We get to the heart of Kia’s 2015 Soul 1.6 diesel MPV

With added street smarts

Posted: 6 March 2015

 The cheat sheet
Price: R345 995 basic
Engine: See text
Power: 94 kW at 4000 rpm
Torque: 260 Nm between 1900 and 2750 rpm
Zero to 100 km/h: 12.2 seconds
Maximum speed: 177 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: About 8.0 l/100 km
Tank: 54 litres (50 ppm diesel)
Luggage: 354 – 994 litres
Warranty: 5 years/150 000 km; with 3 years’ roadside assistance
Service plan: 4 years/90 000 km

“Like a boar; strong, capable, indomitable - despite its moderate size – and with a backpack for practicality,” is how Californian designer Mike Torpey expressed the thoughts behind his first sketchings for the original Kia Soul released in 2008. It went on to win numerous awards and sell more than 760 000 units globally.

Then in 2012, just for fun, they designed a three-door, hotrod, concept version with 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, plainer and simpler lines and huge brakes. They called it Track’ster. Then design boss Peter Schreyer took over to tame it down for release as Gen-2.

It features a 28.7 percent increase in torsional rigidity over the previous one, a longer 2570 mm wheelbase, overall width broadened to 1800 mm and height remaining unchanged at 1600 mm. The wraparound greenhouse, high-mounted tail lights, trapezoidal lower air intake and 3-D grille, centre console design and "floating" body-coloured panel inset into the lift gate were heisted from Track'ster. It was unveiled at the 2013 New York Auto Show, followed by Frankfurt later in the year.

Practical stuff for buyers includes higher quality trim, updated electronics with a neat 4.3” touch screen, more people space, a noticeably larger boot, improved seats and easier entry and exit.

The new range adds a small diesel to the mix. It’s a 1582 cc, Bosch direct injection, commonrail unit with iron block, aluminium head, a variable geometry turbocharger and chain-driven dual overhead camshafts working 16 valves. It’s from the Kia factory in Žilina, Slovakia and produces 94 kW and 260 Nm.

Unchanged is that, if you want top-spec, you have to buy the six-speed automatic. It’s part of a "Smart" package priced at R41 000 and includes HID headlights with washers, LED daytime runners and rear lamps, cruise control, front parking sensors, a powered driver’s chair and adjustable interior mood lighting (be tame, my tachycardic ticker!).

Getting to nitty-gritty, if you are one who simply cannot live without cruise control, you’re obliged to take the auto. That would be fine if the gearbox was less slippery in operation.

When it was introduced with a new Sorento late in 2009 I wrote: “… A redesign of the hydraulic pressure control unit allows the transmission’s eight solenoid valves to be individually calibrated at the vehicle assembly plant to ensure fast, smooth and precise gearshifts throughout the engine speed range. What this means to you and me is that it feels almost as if you are driving one of the new twin clutch jobs – practically unnoticeable gearshifts with no noisy flare or slippage ...” Sadly, someone got lazy and forgot to fine tune the box properly for this little diesel.

Regular "Street" specification for 2.0 petrol, and 1600 cc diesel, models includes the usual electric windows and mirrors, front fog lamps, automatic defogging for the windscreen, electro-chromatic rearview mirror, six-speaker RDS radio with CD player and the usual plugs, Bluetooth, 18-inch alloy wheels and six airbags. ABS brakes with BAS, ESC, hill start assist, vehicle stability management, rear parking sensors, automatic air conditioning, pushbutton starting, and leather seats with an armrest and two cup holders in the rear, are part of the deal too.

I visualise this diesel powered Soul ll as a compact yet practical wagon for almost-grown families or as a roomy and comfortable shuttle bus. It loafs along at about 2400 rpm at 120 km/h in top, it’s quiet and it performs adequately if not excitingly. Luggage volume is significantly greater than on the old one and, as mentioned, people space and convenience is up too.

Our standard tall passenger rated rear seat accommodations at nine out of ten (with the  R11 000 optional sunroof, please note) for headroom, ten for knees and nine for feet under the fully lowered driver’s chair. The floor is essentially flat so middle passengers shouldn’t get feet tangled, and the  doors open to 80-plus degrees for easy entry and exit.

The boot still features the removable shelf that allows you to either hide certain things or load taller items immediately, and the spare is still a spacesaver. Loading height is a little higher than usual at about 80 centimetres rather than the more common countertop level of 75 cm.

Briefly, all the main safety features and conveniences are present and correct; so given a choice, I would be happy to do without a couple of marginal items, save R41 000 and take a manual. Top speed, acceleration and CO2 levels are noticeably better too.

Test car from Kia Motors SA press fleet

Our impressions of the 2016 model, with new engine and gearbox, are here

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.
Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads as well.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material. If I ever place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with that vehicle at least once already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

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.

Comments?
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