Following the left-hand taillight and rear three-quarter panel, Kia has now kicked the teasing campaign for the 2020 Soul into overdrive. The third generation will premiere at the end of the month at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show, and as you can tell from the front-end design, the all-new model is similar yet different from the outgoing Soul.
In addition to the LED headlights and slim grille, the second teaser for the Soul reveals a clamshell-style hood and red paintwork on the mirror caps and roof. The pillars and lower half of the vehicle level up the visuals even further, adding black and white to the palette.
The Soul slots beneath the Niro and Sportage in the Kia lineup, classified as a compact crossover despite the wagon-esque design. The vehicle architecture is shared with the Hyundai Kona, and as you’d guess from such a collab, the Soul EV will use the underpinnings from the Kona Electric.
Hyundai offers two batteries for the all-electric crossover, starting with 39.2 kWh and topping with 64 kWh. The larger pack has a real-world range of 259 miles according to What Car? magazine. The Environmental Protection Agency, on the other hand, says the Kona Electric is capable of 258 miles between charge-ups.
Internal combustion enthusiasts are likely to be offered four engine options in the Soul, starting 1.0-liter Kappa turbo. Next up, there’s the 2.0-liter Nu MPi, 1.6-liter U2 turbo diesel, and 1.6-liter Gamma turbo. The range-topping engine has 177 PS (175 horsepower) and 265 Nm (195 pound-feet) on tap, translating to 7.9 seconds to 100 km/h (62 mph) in conjunction with the dual-clutch transmission option.
Kia promises “awesome versatility for everyone," leading us to believe the newcomer is roomier than the previous generation. As ever, production will take place in South Korea (Gwangju plant) and Russia (Avtotor plant in Kaliningrad).
Just like the 2020 Jeep Gladiator, look forward to some tasty information and pictures leaking before the world premiere of the 2020 Kia Soul.
The Soul slots beneath the Niro and Sportage in the Kia lineup, classified as a compact crossover despite the wagon-esque design. The vehicle architecture is shared with the Hyundai Kona, and as you’d guess from such a collab, the Soul EV will use the underpinnings from the Kona Electric.
Hyundai offers two batteries for the all-electric crossover, starting with 39.2 kWh and topping with 64 kWh. The larger pack has a real-world range of 259 miles according to What Car? magazine. The Environmental Protection Agency, on the other hand, says the Kona Electric is capable of 258 miles between charge-ups.
Internal combustion enthusiasts are likely to be offered four engine options in the Soul, starting 1.0-liter Kappa turbo. Next up, there’s the 2.0-liter Nu MPi, 1.6-liter U2 turbo diesel, and 1.6-liter Gamma turbo. The range-topping engine has 177 PS (175 horsepower) and 265 Nm (195 pound-feet) on tap, translating to 7.9 seconds to 100 km/h (62 mph) in conjunction with the dual-clutch transmission option.
Kia promises “awesome versatility for everyone," leading us to believe the newcomer is roomier than the previous generation. As ever, production will take place in South Korea (Gwangju plant) and Russia (Avtotor plant in Kaliningrad).
Just like the 2020 Jeep Gladiator, look forward to some tasty information and pictures leaking before the world premiere of the 2020 Kia Soul.