The new Kia Soul begs one big question: Is this thing cool?
The Soul is a five-door hatch about a half-foot shorter than a Scion xB, one of the youth-market vehicles that likely inspired Kia to enter this niche (the Honda Element is another; ditto the Nissan Cube, the all-new version of which will arrive here next spring as a 2009 model). The Soul began life as a very cool concept car in 2006, but the powerful, big-haunch look and a lot of the trick, appealing aspects have been finessed out in the obligatory production compromise.
Looks are the whole ballgame here, because beneath the radically angled window line and the buff fender bulges and the seat fabric that glows in the dark with the word “soul” is basically a good-sized but unspectacular economy box.
See also:
Wiper blades
Blade inspection
NOTICE
Commercial hot waxes applied by automatic
car washes have been known to
make the windshield difficult to clean.
Contamination of either the windshield or
the wiper blad ...
Hood
Opening the hood:
1. Pull the release lever on the lower
left side of the instrument panel to
unlatch the hood. The hood should
pop open slightly.
2. Go to the front of the vehicle, raise
th ...
Tires and wheels
Tire care
For proper maintenance, safety, and
maximum fuel economy, you must
always maintain recommended tire
inflation pressures and stay within
the load limits and weight distribution
recommen ...