Kia Soul: Urban commando

It was unbelievable how much attention the Kia Soul received when it was nothing more than a concept at the Paris Motor Show last year. It shared the smallest of the main exhibition areas with an out-there Saab 9-X concept and a bunch of new Caddys. OK, they weren't such hot news, but there was also the new Corvette ZR1, Chevy's global hope, the Cruze and a silver Camaro SS, which was a bigger deal than Transformers back then. Opel too vied for the attention of the visitors to Hall 5, tucked away in the corner of the expo centre. It displayed the Insignia, a replacement for the Vectra — Europe's favourite company car. That should have had the suits pressing their faces against the windows and kicking tyres all day.

Instead, everyone that got lost at the enormous show and eventually found themselves strolling through the vast hangar doors of Hall 5 by mistake, ended up scanning the floor only to decide to check out the multi-coloured group of Souls first. I never realised Parisians were so attracted to colour — they all wear black, or if they're feeling particularly cheerful one morning, they may go for grey — but they properly mobbed the Kias: touching, prodding, squeezing, rubbing and stopping just short of tasting the bright bodywork of the little hatchback. Or should I say crossover? Whatever, I'm not getting into that now, we'll just call it a hatchover.

Once the free espresso bar opened again after the staff had finished their Gitanes, and everyone flocked back to the caffeine-stand (where they had been for almost the entire morning already) I finally managed to get close to the Soul. I loved it.

12 months later

But now I can't help thinking that it's put on a lot of weight in the 12 months that have passed since then. It seems a lot bigger than I thought it was, and there's no way I can carry on calling it a little hatchback any more (sorry, I mean hatchover), because it's actually quite large.

The size is particularly evident with the 18in five-spoke rims and its 1.6-metre height: that's bigger than a Volkswagen Golf. It's also longer and wider than the Honda Jazz and, if you take into account that the Jazz is pretty massive inside considering its petite exterior dimensions, just wait for the shock you'll get after climbing into the Soul. Legroom, headroom and any sort of room you want is plentiful, as is the space for rear passengers and the boot. The high seating position further removes the notion that the Soul is a small car. You can get altitude sickness in there. Visibility is excellent, and even the blind spot isn't all that blind, despite the angled roofline raking towards the back. That little styling trick helps the Soul look dynamic, without cramping its passengers. I don't think I need to spend too much time convincing you that Kia's designed the Soul very well. It's totally original, which can't be said of many other Korean products, and almost carves a niche in the market — which car do you compare it with? For the starting price of Dh53,000, you're looking at superminis and small hatchbacks, every single one of which loses out to the Soul in size, room, looks and equipment levels.

The Kia accepts iPods and USB as standard, blasts your tunes through eight speakers, handles Bluetooth devices, comes with colourful trim choices and front, side and curtain airbags. Obviously you get electric windows, a fantastic AC system and rake-adjustable steering wheel (no reach, though). All the materials inside are also a lot better than even Kia's SUVs, such as the base Sportage. The Soul benefits from better plastics, sturdier switches and a solid feel to all the controls. This car very quickly starts impressing any which way you look at it, and has a persuasive upmarket feel.

Believe it or not, the tall Kia is also one of the best handling small cars out there. The solid chassis easily copes with the power, the steering is eager to follow your inputs, and minimal body roll gives you confidence despite what must be a high centre of gravity. There is a downside to this good handling, and that's ride quality, which suffers on rough roads. Although if you skimp on looks and cash and accept smaller 16in wheels, you'll probably benefit from more comfort. But it's hard to skimp on a Soul, because Kia gives you a whole brochure worth of extras to personalise your ride. You can get chrome garnishes, body ‘dragon tattoos', skirts and spoilers, plus simply awesome looking 18s called Burner, which wouldn't look amiss on a supercar. They're twin-five-spokes with black centres and chrome brushing on the edges, and they suit the car like Onitsuka Tigers on Bruce Lee. Then there are all the colours, most of them bright and cheery and a welcome change from the usual 20 shades of grey. You can get bright orange and red, lime green, pale yellow and a stylish moonlight blue, all helping to stand you out from the crowd of white Tiidas, Yarises and delivery trucks. You'll really light up a dreary urban street when you roll past in a Soul. People will look — they may even point. Best of all is that a top spec Soul will cost you Dh62,000, at which point you'd only be about half way through the options list of a Honda Jazz.

Too good to be true

So it all sounds great, but that's because I've considerately left the bad news for last. Powering the Soul is a 124bhp 1.6-litre engine that's best described as can't-be-bothered. It makes a lot of noise, but doesn't do much else. The automatic gearbox mated to this uninspired engine selects cogs as enthusiastically as a comatose librarian. But it eventually gets going and is at least quiet once it settles down on the highway. Anyway, it's not bad enough to detract from the overall appeal of the Soul hatchover. Let's just hope Kia soon gives us the option of a 144bhp 2.0-litre, which will make the Soul the best choice without a doubt. Even as it stands now, this urban commando is aclass act.

Specs