Fall City, Washington – It’s been a tough few years for the auto industry, but you’d never know it looking at Kia’s sales in Canada.
While sales are up a bit – 1.7 per cent – for the whole industry, Kia’s sales so far this year are up 20.5 per cent. That makes it the fastest growing car company in Canada, from a sales perspective. It’s not some statistical aberration either. Kia’s sales have been growing consistently since 2006, recording double digit increases in every year since 2007. Even in 2009, the year of the big automotive collapse, when vehicle sales in Canada dropped 15.5 per cent, Kia’s sales grew 20.4 per cent. That increase was due in no small part to the introduction of a funky new compact wagon, the Soul, which went on sale in the Spring of 2009.
The Soul has been a consistent volume seller ever since and Kia expects to sell more than 10,000 of them this year.
The auto industry is a very competitive business: consumer tastes and expectations can shift quickly. Today’s biggest hit can easily become tomorrow’s also-ran if it fails to keep pace with consumer demand, prices or new products. Kia’s success with the Soul did not go unnoticed and competitors have emerged to challenge it from both Scion (xB) and Nissan (Cube). So it comes as no surprise that less than three years after its introduction, Kia has given the Soul a rather thorough updating.
Kia didn’t view this as a simple refreshing of body panels, although there is that too, but as an opportunity to thoroughly update the Soul with new engines and transmissions, new interior elements and new technology.
Although the new engines share the same displacement as the outgoing duo, they have nothing in common with the old. The new base engine, an all-aluminum 1.6-litre 4-cylinder, features gasoline direct injection (GDI), in which fuel is injected directly into the cylinder. GDI makes it possible to raise the compression ratio (now 11:1) and combined with a cooler intake and matched transmissions, increases both power and fuel efficiency while reducing emissions. Power is now 138 hp (up from 122) and torque is now 123 lb.-ft. (from 115), giving the base Soul some much needed pep. Fuel consumption for the new engine is 7.4 L/100 km city and 5.6 L/100 km highway.
The optional engine upgrade is a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, which produces 164 hp and 148 lb.-ft. of torque, up 22 hp and 11 lb.-ft. respectively over the old 2.0-litre. Despite the big power increase, fuel consumption has dropped seven-tenths of a litre to 7.9 L/100 km city and 5.8 L/100 km highway.
An Eco model will be offered later in the year which will also include Kia’s ISG (Idle Stop & Go) technology and low-rolling-resistance tires. ISG shuts down the engine when the car is in gear but not moving, such as at stop lights or in heavy traffic, reducing emissions and saving an additional five to ten per cent on fuel. ISG involves more than just starting and restarting the engine. To make it work seamlessly, a variety of ISG-specific components are required including a battery, starter and alternator designed to handle frequent stop/starts.
A top safety pick by the US-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the Soul now adds as standard equipment VSM or Vehicle Stability Management. Previously only found on high-end luxury cars, this active safety feature is being introduced in both the Soul and the Rio in 2012. While Electronic Stability Control (ESC) can detect a loss of traction and, within a fraction of a second, apply the brakes as required and reduce engine power to prevent a loss of control, VSM goes one step further, employing the electric power steering to actually assist steering effort when sensors detect the vehicle is in a split traction situation, ploughing (understeer) or skidding (oversteer). The amount of steering assist is not overpowering, so you don’t feel like the car is steering itself.
The 2012 Kia Soul is available in seven trim levels – 1.6, 1.6 ECO, 2U, 4U, 4U Retro, 4U Burner, and 4U Luxury – with prices ranging from $16,595 for the base 1.6 to $25,395 for the 4U Luxury. Even the base trim offers numerous standard convenience features including tilt and telescopic steering column, power windows, door locks and mirrors, heated front seats and Bluetooth hands-free phone connectivity. Also standard are front fog lights, auto-off headlamps, body-coloured door handles and outside mirrors, rear wiper/washer, variable intermittent windshield wipers, privacy glass on the hatch and rear side windows, four-wheel disc brakes and 15-inch steel wheels fitted with P195/65R15 tires. Air conditioning is standard on 1.6 models with automatic transmission
The fully loaded 4U Luxury has a good compliment of luxury features such as leather seat trim, automatic climate control, navigation system, and push-button start with smart key.
A new voice-activated infotainment system powered by Microsoft is standard on 4U models with automatic transmission. The system has a 4.3-inch color touch-screen and rear camera display matched to an all-new eight-speaker Infinity audio system that enhances the sound with a centre speaker, subwoofer, external amplifier and speaker lights in a rainbow of colours that pulse to the beat of the music or add mood lighting.
Even Base models have steering wheel-mounted audio controls to operate the 4-speaker standard system with AM/FM/CD/MP3 and auxiliary and USB input ports. The ports are conveniently located at the base of the centre stack where there is a shelf to place your audio device. The focal point of the uncluttered dashboard is a new three-pod instrument cluster with large, bright white on black gauges. The other key visual feature is the floating centre stack design that brings both heating and air conditioning controls and audio controls close to hand.
Exterior changes include wider front and rear fascia, larger fog lights, new side mirrors with integrated turn signal repeaters, redesigned headlights, the new LED treatments on upper models and a new selection of 15-inch, 16-inch and 18-inch wheels.
The Soul is an important vehicle for Kia and the company is counting on its popularity to continue to propel its sales upward in Canada. The 2012 Kia Soul is on sale now in Canada.
Autos.ca
