Heart and Soul of Kia
When the chunky, funky Kia Soul arrived in South Africa in late 2009, it signalled the first ripple of a wave of success for the Korean company.
Until then, Kias were known for their lack of excitement. Cars like the (old) Picanto, Carens, and Sedona were notable for what was derisively called jelly-mould styling.
The Soul changed all that. Its appearance was startling, in a good way. Words like cheeky and charismatic came to mind. There were off-the-wall colours but even in plain white the black window frames, bumpers, roof rails and side strips made the car stand out.
The stylish headlights, upright rear lights, "clamshell" bonnet and 16-inch alloys added to the formula. And the unusual grille was the first sign of what Kia came to call the tiger face. When the Soul first appeared here there was only a 1.6 petrol motor on offer. During the Cape Town launch some people felt it lacked power. I thought it brisk enough, considering it was not setting itself up as a sports car.
The four-cylinder 1.6 engine produced 91kW and 156Nm. Fuel economy was nothing to write home about - in the region of 9l/100km - but the Soul is more about visual impact, and practicality, than fuel-sipping. The marketing people said the Soul was aimed at a young market, with its eye-catching looks and willingness to bend styling rules, as well as accessories that included an iPod connection.
It also attracted older buyers - artistic types, people who enjoyed being noticed and others who liked the practical aspect of the car.
The boot is not large but the opening is big.
Under the floor you find a useful storage tray. Of course if you drop the back seats you hugely increase the load area. The Soul, in this guise, is useful for people with dogs who want to take them to parks or other areas for walks.
The seating position is comfortable and pleasantly high. The Soul, which could be called a hatchback, looks more like an SUV than an MPV. I took a 2010 Soul, by this time equipped with a 1.6 CRDi diesel, on a family trip through Mpumalanga and it impressed.
Carrying five passengers and as much luggage as we could squeeze in, we found it cruised easily over long distances and chugged along quietly enough during game viewing.
The diesel produced just a bit more power than the petrol engine - 94kW against 93kW - but as usual with diesels, the torque is much greater, at 280Nm against 156Nm.
The diesels have been discontinued, with Kia choosing to go with a 2-litre petrol motor producing 122kW and 200Nm for the range-topping Souls. Auto gearboxes are offered for both the 1.6 and 2-litre models.
You should get the balance of a four-year, 90000km service plan and five-year, 100000km warranty on a used Soul.
The entry-level 1.6 Soul has shown reasonable restraint in the pricing stakes. It cost just under R190000 in August 2009. It now sells for R204995. To give an example, Imperial Select on Rondebult Road near the East Rand Mall is asking R150000 for a 2010 1.6 petrol-engined Soul. On my favourite used-car website I saw a 2010 High-Spec, range-topping 1.6 Soul, with 95000km on the clock, for R135000.
Although I couldn't find a 2010 diesel like the one I drove, I did spot a 2011 CRDi, with 66000km under its belt, going for a few rands short of R200000. Whether you prefer petrol or diesel, the charm of the Soul lies in its looks.
Judging by the number of Souls available for sale on the aforementioned used-car site, it is not a big seller in proportion to other Kias, lagging far behind the Sportages, Picantos and Ceratos.
This may mean, of course, that people don't like to part with their souls - I mean, Souls.
The inevitable punning on the name of this car brings to mind an episode of The Simpsons, in which Bart sells his soul to the devil - and finds he cannot laugh. Clever sister Lisa has a useful quote, from Chilean poet Pablo Neruda: "Laughter is the language of the soul."
Kia's Soul may not make you laugh, but it has a good chance of making you smile.