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Though the quirky Kia Soul is often associated with dancing hamsters, it is 22 more horses, along with two added gears and a jump in fuel mileage, that have sent Kia Soul sales soaring into 2012.
Soul, the urban compact four-door, is Kia’s second-best seller. Its sales jumped 50 percent in January, from 5,345 a year ago to 8,091 last month, and in all of 2011 it sold 102,000 units, second only to the Sorento SUV among Kia products.
The 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine in the ’12 Kia Soul ! (Exclaim) delivered to me recently delivers 164 horsepower and is mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. The combination replaces last year’s 142-hp engine and 4-speed automatic, and, particularly beneficial, increases fuel-mileage rating to 26 city and 34 highway from last year’s 24/30.
The base Soul has also been upgraded, now equipped with a 138-hp, 1.6-liter 4-cylinder and 6-speed automatic or manual transmission.
The 6-speed automatic in the Exclaim not only saves fuel, it also lends quicker, smoother shifts, and the increased torque of the enhanced 2.0-liter engine is readily felt at midrange speeds – plenty of passing power. Low-speed acceleration is also improved. Among minor exterior changes to the Soul ! are LED running lights and a wider look to its lower fascia at its pug-nosed front. A highlight inside are lighted speaker frames that glow in changing colors to the beat of the sound system. Added to the Exclaim at its price of $20,350 are upgraded AM/FM/CD/MP3 Infinity audio, rearview camera, sunroof, two-tone upholstery, 18-inch alloy wheels, automatic headlights and foglights. The Soul also has air conditioning, cruise control, power windows/locks/mirrors, remote keyless entry, tilt and telescope steering wheel and trip computer. Among safety features, in addition to front/front-side/curtain airbags, are antilock brakes, traction/electronic stability control and hill-start assist control.
The upright stance of the Soul (it is 63 inches tall) provides ample headroom throughout. Seats are wide and comfortable, legroom is limited. Cargo space behind the rear seat is only 19 cubic feet.
Occupants of the little car get an occasional bounce, depending on the road surface, of course, from the Soul’s sport-tuned suspension.
Some refer to the Soul as an urban cruiser; that explains my relatively low fuel mileage reading of 27.8 miles per gallon, for 80 percent of the miles I drove were in the city. The cramped cockpit places the center stack controls and automatic shifter within close reach of the driver. The boxy Soul is aimed at young buyers, 18 to 35 years old. As short as it is, 162 inches, it is longer than its chief rival, the Nissan cube. It is a good handler, fun to drive.
Styling spurs Focus
in crowded compacts I don’t know when I’ve driven a better-looking five-door hatchback among the busy compact field than the 2012 Ford Focus SEL last week.
Oh, I might prefer a color other than the ingot silver metallic. Its style, though, is very pleasing, the forward thrust, the curves, the rear slope, they Y-spoked polished alloy wheels. A lower stance complements the new style for ’12. It is 3 inches longer in overall length, with an increase of 1.5 inches in wheelbase and 3 inches in width, and it rides on a wider track. The SEL was equipped with Ford’s new 2.0-liter, direct-injected 4-cylinder and 6-speed automatic transmission. It averaged 31.3 miles per gallon of fuel in a variety of driving tasks, highway cruising, country roads and stop-and-go trips. Last April, I averaged 33.3 mpg with a 5-speed manual transmission in a ’12 Focus SE. The higher-level SEL carried a sticker price of $24,545, including MyFord Touch, upgraded Sony audio, heated seats and the 17-inch wheels. Notes from e-mail Q: Bud, in an addendum to your recent U.S. automotive sales figures, I wanted to give you a quick note that, according to the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association, Ford passed Toyota as the biggest-selling single brand in Colorado over the course of 2011, reaching 12.9 percent market share to Toyota’s 12.3 percent. Subaru was third in the state at 9.1 percent, followed by Chevrolet at 8.2 and Honda 7.7.
Colorado auto sales overall showed strong results – Coloradans registered 75,526 new light trucks (including SUVs) in 2011, up 15.1 percent from 2010, while 54,653 new cars were registered, up 16.1 percent from the previous year. – P.W. A: Thanks, Paul. Q: Enjoyed your weekend columns, especially the data on year-end sales for top lines. It is ironic that you identified something that an associate and I talked about when we were at the Washington, D.C., Auto Show, that diesel sales are on the rise, even while hybrid/electric sales decline. It was also extremely ironic that Volkswagen Jetta has 50.7 percent of diesel sales, while Toyota Prius has 50.7 percent of hybrids. Who could write that prediction as a script? – T.J. A: Thanks, Tim, anyone fascinated by figures and percentages would find the Jetta/Prius sales totals interesting. 2012 Kia Soul ! $20,350 (price as tested) MPG City 26 Highway 34 Vehicle type: Compact four-door Wheelbase: 100.4 inches Length/Width/Height: 162.2/70.3/63.4 inches Weight: 2,778 pounds Engine: 2.0-liter 4-cylinder Transmission: 6-speed automatic Fuel mileage: 27.8 mpg Fuel tank: 12.7 gallons Warranty: 5 years/60,000 miles basic; 10/100,000 powertrain Competitors: Nissan cube, Scion xB Built at: Seoul, Korea THE STICKER $19,600 base $750 Destination PLUSES 6-speed automatic Improved fuel mileage Passenger space Numerous amenities MINUSES Cargo space Noisy interior Funky styling
The 6-speed automatic in the Exclaim not only saves fuel, it also lends quicker, smoother shifts, and the increased torque of the enhanced 2.0-liter engine is readily felt at midrange speeds – plenty of passing power. Low-speed acceleration is also improved. Among minor exterior changes to the Soul ! are LED running lights and a wider look to its lower fascia at its pug-nosed front. A highlight inside are lighted speaker frames that glow in changing colors to the beat of the sound system. Added to the Exclaim at its price of $20,350 are upgraded AM/FM/CD/MP3 Infinity audio, rearview camera, sunroof, two-tone upholstery, 18-inch alloy wheels, automatic headlights and foglights. The Soul also has air conditioning, cruise control, power windows/locks/mirrors, remote keyless entry, tilt and telescope steering wheel and trip computer. Among safety features, in addition to front/front-side/curtain airbags, are antilock brakes, traction/electronic stability control and hill-start assist control.
Some refer to the Soul as an urban cruiser; that explains my relatively low fuel mileage reading of 27.8 miles per gallon, for 80 percent of the miles I drove were in the city. The cramped cockpit places the center stack controls and automatic shifter within close reach of the driver. The boxy Soul is aimed at young buyers, 18 to 35 years old. As short as it is, 162 inches, it is longer than its chief rival, the Nissan cube. It is a good handler, fun to drive.
in crowded compacts I don’t know when I’ve driven a better-looking five-door hatchback among the busy compact field than the 2012 Ford Focus SEL last week.
Oh, I might prefer a color other than the ingot silver metallic. Its style, though, is very pleasing, the forward thrust, the curves, the rear slope, they Y-spoked polished alloy wheels. A lower stance complements the new style for ’12. It is 3 inches longer in overall length, with an increase of 1.5 inches in wheelbase and 3 inches in width, and it rides on a wider track. The SEL was equipped with Ford’s new 2.0-liter, direct-injected 4-cylinder and 6-speed automatic transmission. It averaged 31.3 miles per gallon of fuel in a variety of driving tasks, highway cruising, country roads and stop-and-go trips. Last April, I averaged 33.3 mpg with a 5-speed manual transmission in a ’12 Focus SE. The higher-level SEL carried a sticker price of $24,545, including MyFord Touch, upgraded Sony audio, heated seats and the 17-inch wheels. Notes from e-mail Q: Bud, in an addendum to your recent U.S. automotive sales figures, I wanted to give you a quick note that, according to the Colorado Automobile Dealers Association, Ford passed Toyota as the biggest-selling single brand in Colorado over the course of 2011, reaching 12.9 percent market share to Toyota’s 12.3 percent. Subaru was third in the state at 9.1 percent, followed by Chevrolet at 8.2 and Honda 7.7.
Colorado auto sales overall showed strong results – Coloradans registered 75,526 new light trucks (including SUVs) in 2011, up 15.1 percent from 2010, while 54,653 new cars were registered, up 16.1 percent from the previous year. – P.W. A: Thanks, Paul. Q: Enjoyed your weekend columns, especially the data on year-end sales for top lines. It is ironic that you identified something that an associate and I talked about when we were at the Washington, D.C., Auto Show, that diesel sales are on the rise, even while hybrid/electric sales decline. It was also extremely ironic that Volkswagen Jetta has 50.7 percent of diesel sales, while Toyota Prius has 50.7 percent of hybrids. Who could write that prediction as a script? – T.J. A: Thanks, Tim, anyone fascinated by figures and percentages would find the Jetta/Prius sales totals interesting. 2012 Kia Soul ! $20,350 (price as tested) MPG City 26 Highway 34 Vehicle type: Compact four-door Wheelbase: 100.4 inches Length/Width/Height: 162.2/70.3/63.4 inches Weight: 2,778 pounds Engine: 2.0-liter 4-cylinder Transmission: 6-speed automatic Fuel mileage: 27.8 mpg Fuel tank: 12.7 gallons Warranty: 5 years/60,000 miles basic; 10/100,000 powertrain Competitors: Nissan cube, Scion xB Built at: Seoul, Korea THE STICKER $19,600 base $750 Destination PLUSES 6-speed automatic Improved fuel mileage Passenger space Numerous amenities MINUSES Cargo space Noisy interior Funky styling
