To celebrate the launch of the Soul Turbo, Kia has launched a new marketing campaign called "The Arrival." It stars a baby hamster making a run from the hospital and causing a huge mess in the process.
The boxy Kia Soul has been with us for quite a while now. And to be honest, it never got old, since nobody makes a car of this shape anymore. But it was always down on power, especially overseas where a 1.6-liter was the biggest engine available.
The soul Turbo, or Soul Sport in some markets, fixes that problem with a 1.6 T-GDI engine shared with the Veloster and other projects. Said turbo engine produces 201 horsepower for a 0 to 60 time of around seven seconds. There's also a respectable lump of torque here 195 pound-feet. The cool part about this car is that it has the most horsepower in the lineup, but it's also the most fuel-efficient thanks to driving modes.
It's also a relative bargain at $22,800, and for that, you get a revised exterior, a digital cluster, twin-tipped single exhaust on the right, heated leather seats and 18-inch wheels. Sweet!
The agitated little hamster symbolizes the Soul's newfound effervescence. And him running amok in the hospital, dodging security personal is a good way of suggesting the kind of driving that's now illegal to show in a commercial.
“The Kia Soul has never had any trouble standing out from the crowd, and with Motörhead’s ‘Ace of Spades’ as the soundtrack, ‘The Arrival’ delivers hard-charging swagger and a healthy dose of mischief and chaos,” said Saad Chehab, vice president, marketing communications, Kia Motors America.
Popular songs have always accompanied these hamster commercials, which started eight years ago. "The Arrival" features Motörhead’s ‘Ace of Spades,’ which joins previous hits like LMFAO's 'Party Rock Anthem,' Maroon 5’s 'Animal' and Lady Gaga’s 'Applause.'
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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