2012 Kia Soul

The Kia Soul is a trendy five-door "urban crossover vehicle" based on the Kia Rio. The styling, standard equipment, value price, and overall usefulness, all contribute to make the Soul very appealing, especially to the youth market.

There are three variations of Soul's to choose from: Base Soul, Soul +, and Soul !. The Base front-wheel drive, five-passenger Soul is powered by a 138-hp 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine with power being delivered through a six-speed manual or optional six-speed automatic transmission. All the other trims are powered by a 163-hp 2.0-liter four cylinder engine attached to a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission. Standard safety features on all models include electronic stability control, traction control, four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes, six airbags, active front head restraints, and hill assist control, and a tire pressure monitoring system.

For 2012, the Kia Soul receives a refresh which includes redesigned front and rear bumpers, headlights, and brake lights. On the mechanical side a new 1.6-liter gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine, more powerful 2.0-liter engine, new six-speed manual and six-speed automatic transmissions, are offered. On the features side, a navigation system, UVO infotainment system, hill assist control, and available idle stop-and-go technology, is available.<