Kia Soul: New Images of European Spec Model

Even though Kia has been releasing various pictures of its new wannabe-crossover for quite a while now, this is actually the first time we’ve seen photos of the Soul’s dashboard. While the styling isn’t groundbreaking, we reckon that the Soul’s contemporary cabin looks funky enough to appeal to the young or young-at-heart customers who will be pleased to know that in Europe at least, every Soul will be equipped with a standard RDS radio/CD player with MP3 compatibility and 112 watts output, plus six audio speakers. -Continued

And since it’s the young folks that the Soul is appealing to, the Korean automaker will also offer an optional sound system with 315 watts output complete with something that Kia calls ‘Sound Sensitive Mood Lighting´, a large dash-top centre speaker, external amplifier and a sub-woofer in the trunk for a total of eight speakers. In terms of standard equipment, Kia said that in the majority of countries in Western Europe and all of North America, all Soul models will be fitted with six airbags, four disc brakes and ESP (Electronic Stability Program).

In Europe, Kia’s subcompact hatch will be offered with a choice of 126 PS diesel (and a 115 PS ‘low-power´ version in some countries), or 126 PS gasoline engines. For the USA and several other non-European General markets, the Soul will also be available with a 2.0-litre, 142 PS gasoline engine.

As for performance, Kia said that Soul acceleration times (to 100 km/h or 62 mph) range from 10.4 to 11.3 seconds while fuel consumption spreads over a 5.1 to 6.6 litres/100 km span (46.1 to 35.6 MPG US) with CO2 figures varying between 137 and 159 g/km for European models.