Kia Soul test drive since 2008 hatchback

The first test. Kia Soul. In search of the soul

Better a lot, but little than often, but rarely. In my opinion, this paradoxical proverb is better than the others describes the requirements of customers for modern cars. The current rhythm of life puts up so conflicting requests to the automakers, you are gloated! An ordinary hatchback or station wagon no longer suits us.
Submit a compact, spacious and ergonomic machine for everyday trips to a megalopolis and a cottage with good safety, dynamics, controllability, efficiency, acceptable comfort, good cross -country ability, etc. It should be high -tech and inexpensive at the same time, to be, if not charismatic, then at least aesthetically digestible. That's the task!
The engineers, at first Japanese, then European, were out of strength, but learned to combine these qualities in iron and plastic. Their Korean colleagues with them are now also on the same wavelength. Meet the thunderstorm of samurai and Romano-Germanic, enemy hatchbacks-overgrows, a warning from urban crossovers, adversaries of the city nomads Kia Soul. Why Soul? Probably because the creators were just tired of the pieces of iron, they wanted to breathe life into the car and endow it with character. After all, translated from English soul is a soul. But before talking about the high, it would be nice to pay attention to the material things: the musculoskeletal apparatus, the gastrointestinal tract, in general, the body
The Koreans built Kia Soul on a completely new front -wheel drive platform, which, according to preliminary data, will form the basis of the next generation of Rio. And the newcomer should please the contingent to the young and relatively young, age, say, up to thirty -five years old. Soul is a deliberately rude and dashing offed image, generously flavored with straight, corners and straight angles? I think no. Harmonious? It seemed to me yes. It looks good. Playful. But are there a lot of harmony and enthusiasm in the square of Malevich? It depends. The appearance of Soul is also an amateur, but it is clear that the designers tried very much.
And, it seems, they got to the point that they made Soul similar to everything at once. Take a look at glazing! What reminds? Here you have Suzuki Swift and Skoda Fabia with Skoda Roomster. And the proportions? And the corners? And the circular arches? Under different angles in Soul, a lot of other models can be seen by a sort of MIX of modernity ... And how else, if you want to be sold, be kind, correspond to mods. The mass product does not tolerate experiments, only proven and popular solutions.
Although, no. Lucavav. Koreans still left a little space and the experiment, and your (!) Imagination. If you wish, you can individualize your Soul by ordering original decorative details for it. For example, put up designer 18-inch wheels (there are 15-, 16- and 17-inch), individual spoilers, overlays, light-rewards, interesting radiator grill, if you are not enough, then dealers for a fee will be able to offer to decorate body panels for a fee. Decals! The benefit of combat coloring options is a lot. So you can spiritualize the car, and how.
Soul will not compete with a pot -bellied trifle of class B. Take it above. His rivals Skoda Roomster Scout (from 525 thousand rubles), Suzuki SX4 (aka Fiat Sedici) (from 540 thousand rubles) and promising Nissan Cube with Toyota Urban Cruiser. You can add even the front -wheel drive Nissan Qashqai to this list. Dimensions know whether the road clearance of the newly made Korean hatch contributes to this
However, enough chatter, climbed inside. The first thing that occurred to me, how I opened the doors: yes ah, the place here! .. The passenger compartment was simply huge. Regardless of what you have growth, there will always be a fair stock of the sky above your head. In the shoulders and legs too. The base of Soul is 100 mm shorter than that of CEED (2550 mm versus 2650 mm), but you can sit in it with a height of 1900 mm very freely, the place from the knees to the back will also remain. How did it happen? They seated everyone vertically, everything and business.
By the way, for the driver, such a landing is not the best option. But the pedals and efforts liked it: the brakes are sensitive, the clutch is light and informative. The pillow and back of the driver's seat have side support, only the torso in the bends is fixed weakly. There is a microlift and an adjustable lumbar support. But the position of the steering wheel changes only in height, the absence of adjustment by departure will not like it especially long -legged. Nevertheless, the location of the steering wheel relative to the pedal node seemed optimal, the majority would like.
There are no complaints about the information content of devices hidden at the bottom of three wells. And they look good, and are read at the first request. It can be seen that the developers took care of not only physical comfort, but also about the spiritual. The deep well of the speedometer has magical power and is able to save you from unnecessary bickering with your wife sitting nearby. Do not drive the phrase or let's slightly quieter, in Soul you will no longer hear the speedometer scale from the passenger chair can only be visible to the 60 mark. But you hear a characteristic sound if you knock on the hard plastic of the torpedo. You are not CEED here. Saving! Mother repeated the echo.
The interior is designed to match the appearance. The central striped console, on which comfortable climate controls are located, is made in the style of a la Motorola, the inner surfaces of the mess (their volume is not the most record) red, the color of the seats is also funny. But the very squeak is an audio system that is equipped with expensive Soul versions. The central speaker in this system (on cheaper versions instead of it is a round niche) is illuminated by colored diodes to the beat of music. The transformation of the salon is limited to the 60:40 rowing back of the rear seat folding in a proportion and that's it. It is a pity, but the Korean is not capable of the exploits of Roomster. Under the floor of the trunk, a foam organizer and a dock with a set of tools.
On the Soul, the contradiction is contradictory. We had to roll back the novelty in Spanish Valencia, where roads are more of good quality. To drive Soul on the asphalt highway, the car holds a trajectory remarkably, but she wanted to spit on the ruts. But we also ran in plenty of sneaks. True, this was not quite pleased, the suspension of smoothness does not indulge.
Soul sober the fifth point about each bump. The car on the road is tight, shock absorbers and springs that there is urine creating additional resistance to the rolls, but still on the side the car falls significantly (it turns out that not everything was squeezed out of the stabilizers?). Well, we agree, the city crossover has a fair road clearance and a relatively high center of gravity, but many automakers with better comfort achieve similar or even the best controllability indicators. Take, for example, the same Roomster.
Comfort with shaking Soul is able to add highly profile rubber, but only just a little bit. True, choosing a car with one, you need to remember exactly the same slightly, it will deliver reactions. And they are in a car with an empty steering wheel, like a Soul, and so worth a weight in gold.
The settings here, by the way, should be praised. Feedback on the bagel compared to the same CEED (the design of the drive and electrical power is similar to them), the newcomer has more, and the clamped artificiality, on the contrary, is less. Well, thanks.
Soul is not a racing car, the passage of turns under the screens of the tires is not his element. Although (here it is time to squint the left eye). Both motors can provide very nervous ride. It is better for these purposes that a 128-horsepower 1.6-liter diesel sixteen-plastic, equipped with a phase-breeder and a turbine with variable geometry. Although he accelerates the car (0100 km/h for 11.3 s), but more than 11.3 s), but the thrust is better to control.
The engine is spinning only up to 5000 rpm, but he has the moment that it needs 260 Newton meters in the range from 1900 to 2750 rpm. And he is more economical. Compare yourself: the diesel engine per 100 km of path in the mixed cycle eats 5.2 liters of fuel, and gasoline 6.5. In conditions of complicated economic situation, the first is much more preferable. Some countries of Eastern Europe, in addition to the main one, will also receive weak diesel variation. The torque there will remain unchanged, and the power will be cut to 115 hp, the consumption will also fall. It is possible that this unit will appear with us!
The second motor, stored for Europeans, is a 1.6-liter gasoline. It develops 124 ungulates (at 6300 rpm) and 156 Newtonians at 4200 rpm. On the bottoms of the engine, the engine is completely strangled to the joy of ecologists (like a diesel, meets the norms of Euro 4). A more or less adequate pickup provides only with 3,500 rpm, and develops maximum accelerations closer to limit turnover. Dynamics and drive? Perhaps. But only if you twist into the ringing.
Both engines on European machines by default will be equipped with mechanical five -speed gearboxes. The lazy people in a pair to the diesel motor will also be offered a sluggish four -speed hydrotransformer automatic machine, which is installed on CEED. With him, Soul in acceleration to a hundred of his analogue with mechanics will lose 0.6 s. The gasoline version will not receive an automatic transmission, with an automaton to pull 1.3 tons of weight with a gasoline 1.6 weight would be even more difficult.
In the Old World, Soul will go on sale in January next year. Buyers will be offered 15 options for execution of the body at five different levels of equipment with two engines (in some markets they will also be offered a deformed diesel). Prices start from 14.5 15 thousand euros (in Europe it is approximately 500 euros more than the basic CEED). The easiest Soul will already receive six airbags, ABS, air conditioning and high -quality music with four -channel acoustics (we are no longer talking about a primitive electrical panel).
In addition to this set in expensive trim levels, an contrast system, climate control, a parking camera operating with a LCD monitor mounted in a salon mirror, an advanced audio system with a subwoofer and a central channel and much more will be added.
Kia Soul will come to Russia closer to spring. It seems that he will meet him with warmth. After all, the car is interesting: roomy and not too large, quite dynamic and not at all voracious. According to the latest broken country kilometers, to carry, if anything, can. Is it harsh? Yes. But it is controlled well, besides, it is well equipped and the quality is almost inferior in quality. Skoda Roomster and front -wheel drive Suzuki SX4 c similar power units cost about 530,590 thousand rubles. For the simplest Soul (which, by the way, by equipment can easily give a head start to its eminent rivals, remember six pillows in the base and air conditioning) will ask us to ask for 520 550 thousand. Well, since such a thing, then the Korean is definitely awaiting success, and it is not only in the body, there is also charisma in the typewriter.

 
 

 

 
 
 

Source: Auto.mail.ru