2014 Kia Soul gets roomier, keeps its funky box shape

Launched in 2009 amidst a campaign of hip hop hamsters, the Kia Soul has been a bona fide hit for the Korean automaker. The challenge for a hot seller in the lower reaches of the market is in keeping the design fresh enough to keep the buyers coming into the showroom. Not content to rest upon their past success, Kia has been tinkering with the Soul to give it more room, some premium touches, along with improving its handling and the exterior design. In short, Kia is intent on keeping the Soul the leader of its segment.

To do that, Kia's engineers have literally been working from the ground up. The chassis and suspension have been improved with increased rigidity in the former and more suppleness in the latter. The new chassis yields a Soul that is slightly longer and wider, (0.8 and 0.6 inches respectively), improving the interior volume in minor but telling ways. For instance, having a little more shoulder room makes the seemingly small improvement meaningful.

Other second thoughts about the Soul's dimensions were carried out without changing the exterior dimensions. A redesign of the Soul's rear hatch lift gate has resulted in an opening that is nearly 2.5 inches wider. Again, this is a seemingly small number, but one that in the real world can be the difference between taking an awkward load home or paying a delivery charge after leaving it behind.

The rest of the exterior remains unmistakably a Soul, with its boxy and squared off look. The front end of the 2014 model has been subtlety reworked around the company's "tiger nose" grille that ties all of the Kia models together visually. The 2014 Soul sees its available fog lights moved lower and the air intake made bigger to update its "face."

Inside, the 2014 Soul reflects Kia's acknowledgment that its car is a hit. There's a definite softening of the interior which serves to highlight that Kia sells enough copies of the car to splurge a bit on the plastics for the customer's increased satisfaction. The dash, console, and door panels all exhibit a material quality a cut above that found in its competitors. The LED based mood lighting effects around the tweeter speakers carries forward in the new model.

As far as under the hood goes, the Soul remains a gentle spirit. Despite sporting the tiger nose inspired grille, the Soul does not growl ferociously. The base engine is an all aluminum 1.6L DOHC four, generating a modest 130 BHP and an uninspiring 118 ft.-lbs. of torque. Fortunately, there are two other trim levels, the "Plus" and "Exclaim," which bump the displacement out to a full 2.0L for an adequate motivation of 164BHP and 151 ft.-lbs. of torque, the better to move where the spirit takes you. Either way, the engines are mated to six speed automatic or manual transmissions. The intelligent buyer of the 1.6L will only elect the manual, while a buyer of the top model can only get the automatic. If you want a manually shifted 2.0L, you'll be opting for the Plus.

Courtesy of NY Daily News