Kia Getting Ready to Sell Its Soul

Kia proved earlier this year that it not only has the ability to design

cool looking

hatchbacks, but that the brand also has Soul. Pardon the

pun, but the Soul Concepts as displayed in Geneva made quite

the splash. The triplets, named Burner, Diva and Searcher, were

different themes on the compact and funky hatchback, all of which made

positive impressions on the folks that attended the show.

And

while it's been known for quite some time that Kia has been interested

in building the Soul, we now have concrete news regarding the when and

where. Kia is keen to target two markets with the Soul - China and

North America. In fact, according to Automotive News, Kia is looking to

set up Soul production in China. Meanwhile, for us North Americans,

expect Korean-built Souls in dealerships towards the

end of the first quarter of 2009.

The Soul

will target just about every left-of-center hatchback/tall wagon/mini

multi-purpose vehicle that's currently on sale, particularly the likes

of the Scion xD, and quite possibly the Honda Element.

Automotive

News reported that the Soul is expected to arrive here in North America

bearing a 2.0-liter inline-four engine which will drive the front

wheels; expect something along the lines of the engine found in the

Spectra, which currently makes 138 horsepower and 136 lb-ft of torque

with a choice of manual or automatic transmission. This combination

should make for a popular, fuel-efficient alternative to compact

crossovers and sport utility vehicles.