Kia Soul

Mais uma cartada do Grupo Hyundai/Kia que, quase de certeza, que irá surtir bons resultados.
É diferente da "restante maralha", mas bem apelativo. É um piscar de olhos ao público jovem. Gostei bastante, apesar de este Kia Soul e o Toyota Urban Cruiser não serem mais do que a fórmula do Nissan Qashqai reduzida ao segmento B.
 
Gosto imenso deste novo Soul! Quem olhasse para os KIA de há 10 anos e este Soul ficaria no mínimo chocado ou atónito!

É um produto inteligente e que se arrisca a ser um estrondoso sucesso!
Esteticamente também colabora! Não há nenhum pormenor que não goste! Só o interior poderia acompanhar mais a inovação exterior...
 
World premiere for new Kia Soul urban crossover passenger car

To celebrate the world premiere of the all-new Kia Soul urban crossover passenger car at the Paris Motor Show on 2 October 2008, Kia Motors will be displaying seven examples of its latest model – in a special ‘Soul World´ zone throughout the 18-day event.

The eagerly awaited Kia Soul marks a revolutionary expansion of the Kia product line-up. A bold statement of Kia´s determination to succeed as one of the world´s top automotive companies, Kia Soul is destined to appeal to a whole new group of European, US and global consumers. It will achieve thousands of ‘conquest´ sales for the Kia brand – appealing especially to the young and the young-at-heart.
“Soul presents consumers with such a broad selection of styling, comfort and equipment choices, that it redefines the concept of freedom. It´s a brand new urban car packed full of liberating ideas – a car that challenges consumers to ‘free your mind´, to build an emotional bond with their new car and to rethink everything they know about Kia,” enthuses Mr Hyoung-Keun Lee, Senior Executive Vice President and COO, International Business Division, Kia Motors Corporation.

Distinctive styling like no Kia before!
Kia Motors Corporation Chief Design Officer, Peter Schreyer, has overseen the evolution of Kia Soul from 2006 concept fantasy to its 2008 production reality.
“The new Kia Soul will be a breakthrough vehicle for Kia on its journey to be seen as a design-led company and the maker of distinctive cars which consumers aspire to own. Conceived in the USA, developed in Korea and fine-tuned in Europe, I strongly believe that the production Kia Soul urban crossover is a completely resolved design that has successfully achieved its own distinctive style. Soul will generate an irresistible customer appeal that will translate into strong sales.”

Space to feel free, plus a sensational sound system
Kia Motors´ senior executives and its many dealers are confident that when customers first experience the new Kia Soul urban crossover they are going to be deeply impressed by its style, colours, execution, quality, materials, fit and finish. There will be several unique aspects to the experience of sitting in the Soul with its unusual combination of spaciousness for passengers and cosiness for the driver, generating a very special ambience.
Every Kia Soul in Europe will be equipped with a factory-fit RDS radio/CD player with MP3 compatibility, plus six audio speakers, a 112 watts output, innovative PowerBass technology and a roof-top antenna. An Upgraded Sound System – complete with ‘Sound Sensitive Mood Lighting´, a 315 watts output, a large dash-top centre speaker, external amplifier and a sub-woofer in the trunk for a total of eight speakers – can be specified.

Choice of 126 ps diesel and 126 ps gasoline powertrains
In Europe, Soul customers will be offered a choice of 126 ps diesel with DPF (and a 115 ps ‘low-power´ version in some countries), or 126 ps gasoline engines, based closely on the 1.6-litre units first designed and produced by Kia´s engineers for the Kia cee´d model made in Slovakia. For the USA and several other non-European General markets, the Kia Soul will also be available with a 2-litre, 142 ps gasoline engine.
Soul acceleration times (to 100 kph) range from 10.4 to 11.3 seconds and fuel consumption spreads over a 5.1 to 6.6 litres/100 km span, while CO2 figures vary between 137 and 159 g/km for European models.

ESP and six airbags available to boost Soul safety
The Kia Soul will be available with the highest levels of active and passive safety, to fully satisfy the ever-increasing consumer expectations of modern car design. Kia Soul cars supplied to the majority of countries in Western Europe and all of North America will be fitted with six airbags, four disc brakes and ESP (Electronic Stability Program) – increasingly a ‘proven technology´ in accident avoidance – as standard. In other countries ESP will be available as a factory-fitted option.

Producing a brand new global model
Kia Motors Corporation is planning to manufacture up to 136,000 examples of the Kia Soul annually at its Gwangju facility in Korea. The plant has been extensively refurbished for its new role. Overall sales volumes are expected to split 36,000 to the domestic Korean market, 50,000 units to North America, 30,000 to Europe and 20,000 to other ‘General´ markets worldwide. A dedicated version of Kia Soul for the Chinese market will be produced locally in China at the rate of 40,000 units annually, starting during 2009.
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aquele tablier....que nojo...e o volante até me está a dar voltas ao estomago...
o carro é muito bonito por fora a meu ver...
 
Informação adicional:

- nova plataforma c/ utilização de aço de alta resistência
- capacidade da mala 340l/570l (parece-me muito pouco)
- 14 zonas de armazenamento interior para pequenos objectos
- 3 modelos de jantes; medida máxima será 225/45 R18
- 4 combinações de cores interiores
- 11 cores carroçaria
 
xpedro disse:
4VWGolfMk6dieseldrive.jpg


Este para mim é bem pior: nada bonito, nada moderno, nada original, totalmente "dejá-vu"
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Então, mas é disto que o povinho gosta. Desenhos enfadonhos e bastante obsoletos que é para não dar muito nas vistas e não ser muito diferente do do vizinho.

No desenho do tablier... este Kia Soul dá 20-0 ao novo (?) Golf.
 
Na minha opinião é mais o contrário...
Não se trata de ser o que o "povinho -afinal, nós todos - gosta", mas sim do facto de algumas pessoas gostarem de um estilo discreto e outras um estilo "pr´a frentex". Eu enquadro-me na primeira categoria...
 
First Drives

Kia Soul 1.6 CRDi CAR review

By Ben Barry
First drive
16 October 2008 13:36

We got up close with the production Kia Soul a couple of weeks back at the 2008 Paris motor show, but today CAR has driven the Soul in Korea. It’s a B-segment offering from Kia, a model the Korean firm hope will help build on the Ceed’s success while attracting a younger audience. Think of it as our Mini or Fiat 500, say the Kia people.

The Kia Soul looks good to me...

Certainly does. Thank ex-Audi designer Peter Schreyer for that. The Soul’s bold creases, chunky wheelarches and slabby sides lend it a sense of solidity while the blacked-out A-pillars and wing vents add a mini-me Range Rover feel. It doesn’t just look sturdy, though; slam the doors and it sounds quality too, a chunky thunk emanating rather than the kind of tinniness you might expect from a Korean product.

How about inside the Soul?

It can’t quite live up to the quality promised by the exterior and it’s off the pace when compared with European competitors like the new Ford Fiesta, but it’s not bad. In fact, as a whole it looks pretty good: clearly laid out controls, durable feeling fabric on the comfy (though unsupportive) seats and a tough-looking honeycomb design that covers the dash.

There’s even standard air-con and the option of an eight-speaker stereo (developed in-house) to please the funky urban types that Kia hope to attract – which sounds good.
But look at the parts that make up the whole and the façade falters – some of the lower plastics look cheap and scratch-prone while the door handles and electric window switches and surround look dated.
All top-spec models (possibly tagged Extreme and thought to account for around a fifth of sales) get a colour-coded dash with the upper sections of the front and rear seats coloured to match. It probably looks good on subtler hues, but our red test car was a tad too garish – a bit explosion in a Dulux factory for our tastes.

There are other options too: leather might be offered, but is not yet confirmed, while a range of so-called ‘character’ cars will be run for limited amounts of time. ‘Some might be more chic, others bling, girly or outdoorsy,’ said a spokesman. Quite.

The Kia Soul looks tiny. Will I fit?

Yes, unless you play basketball for the Miami Dolphins. Your tester measures up at 6ft 2in in a stout pair of heels and found plenty of head- and legroom for four similarly sized adults – though some may be frustrated by the steering wheel only adjusting for rake, not reach. But the real compromise is in boot space, which is tiny. It was a struggle to line up two size 10 shoes end-to-end lengthways so getting a pushchair or even a large suitcase heaved in might be an issue.
You have to wonder if the target 20-something buyer might not be better served by a larger boot for storing their snowboards/guitar amps/base jumping paraphernalia than with spacious rear seats that will rarely be filled. A small boot didn’t hurt the Mini, mind, and you do get split-folding rear seats.
How does the Soul drive?

Nicely. CAR Online sampled both the 1.6 petrol and 1.6 diesel that will come to the UK. Avoid the petrol – it feels gutless, never really hits a sweet spot and needs thrashing to get anywhere. Yet the diesel is a peach: it’s refined and packs a zesty turbocharged punch from just 1500rpm that continues through the mid-range.
The gearbox comes only in a five-speed flavour across the range and isn’t the slickest we’ve experienced – it feels particularly vague and long of throw when you’re moving across the gate from, say, fifth to fourth.
The Soul's steering is light, progressive and precise but it also has a slight over-eagerness to self-centre at low speeds while a bit of extra resistance through high-speed corners wouldn’t go amiss.

Nonetheless, the Soul is a fun car to drive with taut body control and an agile front-drive chassis that dances through corners. The steering remained free of vibration, there was no kickback through the column and the damping generally adds an underlying layer of suppleness, but it did feel slightly clattery on the roughest surfaces.

Perhaps the 18-inch wheels were to blame (standard on the top-spec, probably optional on the two lesser specs), but we were unfortunately unable to sample the 16s.

Verdict

All in, the Soul is a good car, if not perfect. With an expected price range of around £12k-£14k, it has some tough competition in the B-segment (not least the new Fiesta), but its tough looks, entertaining dynamics and charcterful personality will no doubt see the 3000 units Kia hopes to shift annually in the UK snapped up quickly enough.

But are good cars like the Ceed and Soul good enough to shake Kia’s budget-cars-for-the-elderly image? We think so, but have your say by responding below.
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Primeira Drives

Kia Soul 1.6 CRDI CAR revisão

Por Ben Barry
Primeira unidade
16 Oct 2008 13:36

Temos de perto com o Kia Soul produção de cerca de duas semanas voltou para o Paris Motor Show 2008, mas hoje CAR tem impulsionado a Soul na Coréia. É um segmento que oferece a partir de B-Kia, um modelo a firme esperança coreano vai ajudar a construir sobre o sucesso do CEED enquanto atraindo um público mais jovem. Pense nisso como o nosso Mini ou Fiat 500, Kia diz o povo.

O Kia Soul parece bom para mim ...

Certamente não. Muito ex-Audi designer Peter Schreyer por isso. A Soul's negrito vincos, Chunky wheelarches e slabby lados emprestar-lhe uma sensação de solidez, enquanto o A-out-escuras e pilares ala respiradouros adicionar um mini-me sentir Range Rover. Isso não basta olhar firme, porém, bater com a porta e soa qualidade também, uma Chunky thunk vindas e não o tipo de tinniness você poderia esperar de um produto coreano.

Que tal dentro da Alma?

Não pode perfeitamente viver até a qualidade prometida pelo exterior e está fora do ritmo quando comparado com os concorrentes europeus como o novo Ford Fiesta, mas também não é mau. De fato, como um todo que parece muito bom: claramente definidos controles, durável sentimento sobre o tecido confortável (ainda unsupportive) lugares e um duro olhar favo-design que cobre o traço.

Há até ar-con norma ea opção de um oito-falante estéreo (desenvolvido in-house), para agradar aos tipos urbanos funky que Kia esperança de atrair - o que soa bem.
Mas olhar para as peças que compõem o conjunto e na fachada fraquejar - algumas das mais baixas olhar plástico barato e coçar-propenso ao passo que as portas e janelas interruptores elétricos e surround olhar datado.
Todos os modelos topo-spec (eventualmente com marcas Extreme e pensei que representam cerca de um quinto das vendas) obter uma cor-codificadas com a parte superior do tablier secções da frente e da retaguarda do mar
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