talk about turning the game around, the new kia soul is now available on dealer lots in parts of the country and reviews are starting to pour in. the designer of this vehicle also designed the current gen audi tt a few years ago and has once again won the red-dot design award, just as he did with the audi. the award is nothing to sneeze at either because it is a competition from vehicles all around the world, not just america; so that includes models that we cant even get in our borders. the kia soul is now available on kias web site as well and for $16,490 you get some cool standard features like bluetooth, kickin sound system, even 18 inch wheels from the factory! a sunroof is available/standard on the soul, not so on the scion. in kia tradition, the souls equipment package is a little crazy as the soul sport (the top level soul) isn't the fully loaded model, the soul ! (exclaim) is as it features the bluetooth radio and standard sunroof, these options are not available on the sport. when i get back ill be sure to drive a soul but reviews are already lookin' good for this little city ute!

ps: if you do decide to check kia's soul out at kiausa.com and build one, notice toward the bottom it says "Kia Soul 4x2 - Highlighted Features"

could an awd variant be on its way??????????????????????

Good to know, but ummm how how about some images?

i heard from a hyundai that kia gets all the parts that arnt good enough to go on a hyundai they also don't do much r&d on them.

funny story my aunt and uncle bought a sedona van from kia. 30,000 Km later while they were 8 hours away from a dealer the power steering hose blew up. they was nobody in the town that they were in to fix it. so my uncle took a bus back to Saskatoon and went to have a "word" with kia here. they said that it has happened before a few times to other ppl but they don't stock the hose and there wasn't one at any dealer in north america so a week later from korea one arrives and gets installed.

the best i can do is links here witch since almost everything is blocked...

http://www.kia-world.net/

We'll do this

http://www.kia-world.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/2010kiasoul.jpg
http://www.kia-world.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/kiasoul.jpg
http://www.kia-world.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/2011kiasoul.jpg

http://www.kia-world.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/2010kiasoul.jpg

http://www.kia-world.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/kiasoul.jpg

http://www.kia-world.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/2011kiasoul.jpg

http://www.kia-world.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/kiasoulsport.jpg

Ill do ya one better :D.

Im not a fan.

I beat you

Yep, the KIA wins, as being a bigger FAIL then the Scion XB...

We shouldn't leave out the Honda Elephant from this comparison:

http://www.autocarparts.com/images/products/Honda/honda_element.jpg

Ya, um, no!! ugly!!

i like it alot, but i also liked the old scion xb, ya know, before they camry-ized it. i like the honda element and the upcoming nissan cube. im a big fan of the new kia soul. if the focus wasnt so new it would be gone. there isnt a whole lot for kias as far as aftermarket. teh spectra did get kia on some tuners radar but it didnt get much. maybe the soul will get some luvin... even the rio which it is sort of based on

i just saw teh large pictures... im kicking myself for not waiting :( i would say ill save my pennies for it but those are going to my land yacht, the ford flex

I beat you

You had just the small red pic you changed it...I hate you.

Definately not a fan of this vehicle. It just entices me to want to go shoot myself in the foot if this is what they think that people want. Even the xB in my eyes was an epic failure.

I like this cube shaped car over all the cube shaped cars

It certainly caught my eye.

that's actually a really common body style in Japan. The Suzuki Swift sport is very similar, the Nissan Cube... they have a lot of little cars over there with all kinds of variations of square hatches.

it's clean... Kia is a little late in the game for the Japanese market, though it still seems fresh here in the US.

The functionality of a hatch makes almost anybody who has ever owned one love them, and the cube design maximizes the functionality of the hatch. I think if I owned one of these cube style cars I'd be a big fan.

I've always hated the hell out of the Scion xB, this isn't any better. Lately, the only times I see xB's is when companies use them as rolling ad boards. Only thing I can thing of that is uglier is the Pontiac Aztec and the PT Cruiser/Chevy HHR.

Not that I'm trying to hate on kia or anything but my grandma bought one brand new and all sorts of junk went wrong with it.. just a good thing the warranty is 10yr/100000mi or it wouldnt have been worth buyinh

I used to work at a Kia dealership, I quit about 3 years ago.
Unless something has changed drastically in 3 years, Kia SUCKS. Terrible quality. Weak engines, tinny, feels like a soda can, sloppy handling, sloppy and weird feeling manual transmissions, super slow to respond automatic trans, ridiculous torque steer, pathetic stereo systems, cheap and easily broken interior pieces, flimsy and uncomfortable seats, had a problem with wheels cracking on the Rio, tons of recalls and TSBs*, horrible resale value...

*TSB stands for "Technical Service Bulletin" and is basically a recall that the customer has to pay for

two words.........slow...gay

all i have to say about this is:
[vommit][vommit][vommit][vommit][vommit][vommit][vommit][vommit]

The Escape, though not a design classic, I think looks way better than these. Granted it costs more but, you get a lot more for your money! And you can get a 3.0L Duratec V6 (240 HP), 2WD or 4WD, and a 6 spd auto. My '05 hauls a$$!

crudmuffin

Theres one of these on display in the mall near me. Every time I walk by it, I like it a little more. Of course I've never been much a fan of Kia's, and IMO if you're going to buy Korean you should buy a Hyundai.

But I tend to like "off" "weird" "different" etc things.

id drive a kia. ford had its fair share of problems with the focus but i still have one...

and ive NEVER had to pay for a TSB and my scion and jeep had a few...

We'll do this

http://www.kia-world.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/2010kiasoul.jpg
http://www.kia-world.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/kiasoul.jpg
http://www.kia-world.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/2011kiasoul.jpg[vommit][vommit][vommit][vommit][vommit][vommit][:(] fail lol