2010 Kia Soul
Prices: $13,300-$17,900

A friend looked at the new 2010 Kia Soul subcompact car and said, "It looks like it wants to have a party!" Well, it sure looks like it wants to have some fun. It's a lively, roomy auto that's the most radically styled model ever from South Korea's Kia.

The front-drive Soul is surprisingly roomy for its size, thanks to its eye-catching boxy body and wheels pulled to its far corners. It's aimed at the same young Gen-Y crowd as are the boxy Honda Element, Scion xB.and Nissan Cube.

The four-door hatchback Soul uses a stretched, stiffened version of the Kia Rio sedan's platform. The top-line Sport model is especially fun to drive with its 2-liter, 142-horsepower four-cylinder engine and the Soul's standard five-speed manual transmission.

Designed in Southern California, the new Kia comes as the base Soul, Soul + (Plus), Soul (!) Exclaim and Sport. The base version comes only with a five-speed manual transmission,. The other models are offered with the manual or an optional ($950) four-speed automatic transmission, which really should have a modern five-speed unit.

The base Soul has a 1.6-liter four-cylinder with 122 horsepower, while other models have a more potent 2-liter four with 20 more horsepower. Estimated fuel economy with the base model is 26 mpg in the city and 31 on highways. The 2-liter engine provides 24 and 30 with either the manual or automatic transmissions.

The Soul only weighs approximately 3,000 pounds, so the 122-horsepower engine provides acceptable acceleration, helped by the manual transmission, but it's happier in town than on highways. It's noisier than the 2-liter engine and calls for more revs and shifting for the best performance.

The larger engine also calls for a good amount of revs, with a fair amount of shifting needed for brisk acceleration. And the tachometer shows it's at fairly high rpm levels at 65-70 mph. However, it doesn't feel strained during 70 mph cruising, when the "tach" shows it at 3,000 rpm.

I tested a Soul Sport with the 2-liter engine and manual transmission and found it provides lively in-town acceleration and good 65-75 mph passing if downshifted to fourth or (preferably) third gear.

The manual gearbox shifts crisply, but works with a long-throw clutch. At least the clutch has a light, progressive action.

The Soul's fairly low prices likely will be an important consideration for many potential buyers of the car. They range from $13,300 to $17,900.

The Soul is well-equipped. Standard on all are front-side and side-curtain air bags. The higher you go in the model lineup, the more standard features are provided.

My test Sport's standard items included air conditioning, cruise control, AM/FM/CD/MP3 audio system and power mirrors, windows and door locks with remote keyless entry. However, a power sunroof was a $700 option.

A dazzling number of options are available.

The Sport is the most enjoyable Soul. Besides its larger engine, it has a stiffer sport suspension and wider 45-series tires on 18-inch alloy wheels and anti-lock disc brakes. (Other Souls have 15- or 16-inch wheels.)

The Soul is no sports sedan, even in Sport form. But it has quick, communicative steering, good moves with the Sport suspension, a fairly supple ride and good brake pedal action.

The Sport features unique interior and exterior trim, including a cheerful red-black interior with red sport seat inserts, tilt steering wheel, unique front/rear bumper fascias, side sills and bodyside moldings, besides fog lights and privacy rear glass.

Occupants sit rather high in the tall car's generally quiet interior, which contains a fair amount of hard plastic. It's got an especially roomy rear-seat area, and the center of the back seat is soft enough to comfortably accommodate a third adult. Centers of many rear seats are too firm for comfort.

Front seats provide good side support, with an easily used manual height adjustment for the driver. Backlit gauges can be quickly read, while climate controls are large and audio system controls can be easily worked.

Front console cupholders should be higher. But there's decent interior storage space, with a large two-level glove compartment, pockets and bottle holders in all doors and a small, but deep, covered console bin.

The cargo opening is rather high and cargo room is only moderate until you flip the 60/40 split rear seatbacks forward to get more space. Three moderately large cargo areas are concealed under the cargo floor mat.

The hatch opens easily on struts and has an indented area to help close it without getting hands dirty on outside sheet metal. The hood is held open by an old-fashioned prop rod, and the inside of the hood has no sound-deadening material.

The Kia has one of the industry's best warranties, which includes 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain coverage. Many folks buy Kias mainly because they have attractive pricing and a long warranty. But a good number of Souls may be purchased by those wanting something stylish, practical, economical--and fun.