Kia Soul Goes 5-Star

SYDNEY – Sept 27, 2010: Kia’s funky Soul has joined the five-star brigade with news that the style-leader is now a safety leader as well.

ANCAP (Australasian New Car Assessment Program) awarded the Soul it’s highest rating following upgrades to the model which saw the inclusion of standard electronic stability control across the range, seatbelt reminders on all five seats and an anchor-point pretensioner for the driver.

“The acknowledgement by ANCAP that Soul is now one of the safest cars in Australia is a worthy recognition of Kia’s commitment to safety,” Kia Motors Australia Chief Operating Officer Tony Barlow said.

“Kia has made a commitment to deliver five-star safety across the range and this is yet another step towards that goal.”

Underscoring Kia’s commitment to providing the safest cars for all buyers, the additional safety equipment across the Soul range will come at no additional cost.

The Soul starts at $20,990 for the manual and $22,990 for the automatic, also adding features such as trip computer, a folding key, metallic finish on the instrument panel and a new more ergonomic door handle at no cost.

As part of the MY11 changes the Soul range has been rationalized down to two models, the Soul and Soul+, with the new top specification model picking up a range of features from the discontinued

Soul 3 yet staying at the same affordable $23,190 for the manual 1.6-litre petrol and $26,690 for the 1.6-litre diesel. The optional automatic gearbox is a $2000 premium.

The Soul+ is richly specified with 16-inch alloys, front fog lamps, roof rails, telescopic steering (new), steering wheel mounted audio controls, leather wrapped steering wheel and gear knob, driver’s seat height adjustment and windshield sunband. The diesel Soul+ also scores cruise control and catalytic particulate filter on the automatics.

The colour palette consists of six options, White, Soul Black, Tomato Red, Cocktail Orange, Bright Silver and Titanium Silver.