• Kia Motors’ five-passenger affordable halo vehicle offers consumers a new way to roll
• Soul offers impressive personalization options, safety features and fuel economy

IRVINE, Calif., October 1, 2009 – Kia Motors America’s (KMA) affordable halo vehicle, the all-new 2010 Kia Soul, truly makes a statement for the brand with distinctive styling, a plethora of safety options and immense value.  Aimed squarely at and designed specifically for the young and young-at-heart, Soul offers consumers a new way to roll, with more personalization options than ever before.  The first in a line of next-generation Kia vehicles launching during the next two years under KMA’s most aggressive design-led product rollout in company history, everything about Soul playfully stands out in a sea of sameness, making it a true game-changer for the Kia brand.

On sale for less than a year, Soul already has racked up numerous prestigious awards and accolades, including earning a 2009 “Top Safety Pick” from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), being named to the Ward’s AutoWorld “Interior of the Year” list and was recognized as the “Best Value” by the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) for its perfect combination of attractive pricing, long list of accessories and standard safety features.  Soul also was named to the “Coolest New Cars for Under $18,000” and “Top 10 Back-to-School Cars” lists by Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com, coming in well under the pricing cap of both awards with a starting price below $14,000, in addition to being named one of the “Most Exciting Cars of 2010” by TIME.com.

Edgy and Confident Exterior

Available in four trims, Soul, Soul+, Soul! (exclaim) and Soul sport, the five-door’s low, wide stance is paired with an angled window line, rounded nose and large flared-back headlamps, giving it a playful and youthful appearance.  With a friendly face and exuberant personality, Soul is perfect for coastline drives or cruising downtown city streets, embodying the mantra “a new way to roll.”

The beltline rises from the front wheel arch to create a gentle wedge shape and continues under and around the rear side window.  The rear is dominated by the vertical combination tail lamps set into the body color panel with clear outer lenses.  The body and wheel arch crease line extends around the bumper for a tough, not rough, style matching the look of the front.

Offering plenty of standard features, the Soul trim offers a chrome-accented grille, clear lens auto-off headlamps, solar glass, black door handles and side mirrors, body-colored front and rear fascias with black inserts, black bodyside molding, rear wiper/washer, variable intermittent windshield wipers and 15-inch steel wheels fitted with P195/65R15 tires. 

Upgrading to the Soul+ adds keyless remote entry, privacy glass on the rear and rear side windows, body-color door handles and dual body-color power side mirrors along with 16-inch alloy wheels with P205/55R16 tires.  Soul+ also comes with optional front fog lamps and a power sunroof.

The Soul! adds as standard equipment a power sunroof, fog lamps and 18-inch alloy wheels paired with P225/45R18 tires.  The dynamic Soul sport builds off of the Soul+ features and adds unique front and rear fascias, side sills, rear spoiler, 18-inch alloy wheels and fog lamps, wholly personifying the athletic, urban look Soul embodies. 

Also adding to the distinctiveness of Soul, buyers can choose from a wide palate of exotic exterior paint colors, including:  Dune and Clear White; metallic tones of Shadow, Titanium and Bright Silver; coffee-inspired Java; red-hot Molten; and Alien green.  Additional colors available later in the model year will include flame-emulating Ignition, Denim blue and dreamy Ghost.

Further adding to Soul’s stylish and funky appeal, KMA is launching four all-new Special Edition Souls in the 2010 model year, starting with the Denim Soul, which launched in June 2009.  Based on the Soul+ trim, each additional Special Edition Soul will offer unique exterior styling along with a number of fun accessories specific to that Soul. 

The Denim Soul sports a denim blue exterior color, striking white side-view mirrors with matching white 18-inch alloy wheels, front fender turn signal indicator lights, a wing-type rear spoiler and a bold off-set white racing stripe completing the rally-inspired look.  The Denim Soul also is fully loaded with the Audio Upgrade Package (center speaker, subwoofer, external amplifier and speaker lights that pulse to the beat of the music), an iPod® connection cable for full functionality via the radio head unit and steering wheel controls, carpeted floor mats, moonroof and fog lamps. 

Spacious, State-of-the-Art Interior

Recipient of the Ward’s AutoWorld “Grooviest Interior” award, inside the cabin is where Soul really shows its power to surprise.  For those who want a personal lounge on wheels or an efficient cargo carrier with 14 storage zones, Soul has it covered.  While Soul offers a relatively small footprint, it offers a surprisingly spacious interior.  Passengers will find comfort in the roomy cabin that offers 40.2/39.6 inches of headroom (front/rear), shoulder room of 55.2/55.1 inches, 42.1/39.0 inches of legroom and a passenger volume of 102.3 cubic feet, more spacious than the Scion xB or Nissan Cube. 

All five adult passengers will find ingress and egress simple and effortless, credited to tall doors and a high seating position, and each Soul has its own personality credited to multiple options for interiors with different colors, fabrics and audio system packages available for selection.

Soul’s interior design is decidedly influenced by the car’s highly specified audio system.  An uncluttered dashboard with a three-dial instrument cluster, LCD illumination and floating center stack design is the key visual feature and offers enticing access to the AM/FM/CD/MP3 audio system outfitted with SIRIUS Satellite Radio capabilities and three months complimentary service¹. Standard USB and auxiliary input jacks also are in the center console with full iPod and MP3 controllability via the audio head unit and steering wheel controls achieved with an optional accessory iPod cable.  

Soul received numerous interior upgrades implemented shortly after launch based on direct market feedback, including a refinished center stack upgraded with a refined metal finish.  Metal-finish accents also appear on the steering wheel, shift lever surround, air vents and speakers.  The interior door panels also are enhanced with soft-touch perforated panels and padded door armrests, improving the Soul’s interior look and feel. 

Additional standard interior features that make the Soul stand out from the rest include air conditioning, tilt steering column, power door locks, power windows with driver’s side auto-down, external temperature display and digital clock in the radio, an upper storage bin, dual-level glove box, 12-volt power outlet, rear window defroster, cargo area light and a dome light with delay out.  Soul is stylishly appointed with black cloth seats, adding to its comfortable interior.  A 60/40 split-folding rear seat offers multiple seating and cargo arrangements depending on driver and passenger needs.

Soul+ offers additional standard features including cruise control with steering wheel-mounted controls, Bluetooth® hands-free connectivity, dual 12-volt power outlets and tweeter speakers, all enhancing creature comforts on the road.  Also standard on the Soul+ is a covered upper storage bin, dual visor vanity mirrors with covers and dual map lights, while black cloth seats are adorned with Soul logo inserts, further personalizing the cabin.

Advancing to the Soul! adds a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob and carpeted floor mats, combined with sand-black cloth interior trim with houndstooth inserts for a distinguishing Soul style.  For the Soul! and Soul sport (and an option for Soul+), a standard Audio Upgrade Package enhances the sound with a center speaker, subwoofer, 315-watt external amplifier and speaker lights that pulse to the beat of the music or simply add mood lighting. 

For those with more active lifestyles looking for even more exhilaration, the Soul sport offers a sport-tuned suspension, metal pedals, prominent and bold red-black interior trim with red-trimmed cloth seats and metal-finish interior accents.

Unique Platform/Chassis

Soul is different, right down to its all-new platform.  With its own distinguished style, Soul features front-wheel drive, a high roofline and a wide, distinctive stance.  Built with a wheelbase of 100.4 inches, an overall length of 161.6 inches, an overall width of 70.3 inches and overall height of 63.4 inches, the Soul offers a comfortable interior with roomy seating for up to five passengers.  Constructed with more than 70 percent high-tensile-strength steel to enhance structural strength without adding a lot of weight, the all-new, Kia-engineered body achieves high torsional stiffness, benefiting handling, ride quality and refinement.  

Additional measures to help ensure good noise vibration and harshness (NVH) reduction qualities also are fitted throughout the Soul, including a thicker dash insulation panel, an A-pillar noise-absorber pad and an optimized exhaust silencer, a vibration-damper, a center floor anti-vibration pad, and vinyl sealing on door trim.  All Soul+, Soul! and Soul sport trims also receive an added sub-frame dynamic damper and a heavy engine support dynamic damper, which help lessen transfer of NVH into the cabin.

Soul features a fully independent, sub-frame mounted front suspension system with MacPherson struts, coil springs, gas shock absorbers and stabilizer bar designed to maximize the friction between the tires and the road, providing steering stability with responsive handling to offer passengers optimal comfort.  At the rear, Soul’s suspension is sub-frame mounted with a transverse torsion beam axle with trailing arms, coil springs and gas shock absorbers for a smooth ride and minimum intrusion into the cargo space.  Soul sport modelsfeature a sport-tuned suspension that includes firmer springs, re-tuned shock absorbers and a larger front stabilizer bar resulting in a lively, more energetic ride.

Under-the-Hood Options

Soul offers a smooth and spirited ride.  Its 1.6-liter, four-cylinder engine is mated to a five-speed manual transmission, which produces 122 horsepower and 115 pound-feet of torque.  For those looking for a little more power, a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine is available with either the five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic transmission.  The latter engine produces 142 horsepower with 137 pound-feet of torque, and is standard on Soul+, Soul! and Soul sport models.  Fuel economy for the 1.6-liter manual comes in at an impressive 26/31 mpg (city/highway) while the 2.0-liter offers a thrifty, fuel-sipping 24/30 mpg for both the automatic and manual transmissions², better than the Scion xB.

Standard Kia Safety Features

All Soul models continue to offer the same high level of standard safety equipment as all Kia vehicles, offering a comprehensive list of safety features, including front seat active headrests, dual front advanced airbags, front seat-mounted and full-length side curtain airbags.  An Antilock Brake System (ABS), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Traction Control System (TCS), Electronic Brake Distribution (EBD), Brake Assist System (BAS) and a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) also are standard, as are front and rear crumple zones, side-impact door beams, impact-absorbing steering column and a Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH) system.

Industry-Leading Warranty

Like all Kia models, Soul is covered by a comprehensive warranty program, which offers unprecedented consumer protection.  Included in this program are a 10-year/100,000-mile limited powertrain warranty, a five-year/60,000-mile limited basic warranty, and a five-year/100,000-mile anti-perforation warranty.  A five-year/60,000-mile roadside assistance plan also is part of the comprehensive coverage program.

Kia Motors Product Line

Kia Motors America offers a dynamic and diverse product line to meet the needs of all lifestyles. The vehicle line features the stylish and all-new Forte compact sedan and all-new two-door Forte Koup, the highly personalizable Soul, functional Rondo CUV, award-winning Sedona minivan, purposeful Optima midsize sedan and versatile yet fuel-efficient Rio and Rio5 subcompacts.  The vehicle line also features the affordably luxurious Borrego and value-packed Sportage SUVs, while the rugged 2011 Sorento CUV arrives in showrooms in January 2010.

About Kia Motors America

Kia Motors America (KMA) is the marketing and distribution arm of Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, South Korea. KMA offers a complete line of vehicles through more than 650 dealers throughout the United States. For 2008, KMA recorded its 14th consecutive year of increased U.S. market share. Kia Motors subscribes to a philosophy of building high value, high quality, safe and dynamic vehicles. Kia Motors prides itself on producing vehicles that are exciting and enabling and evoke the Kia tagline “The Power to Surprise.” 

Kia Motors America is the “Official Automotive Partner of the NBA.” Information about Kia Motors America and its full vehicle line-up is available at its Web site – www.kia.com. For media information, including photography, visit www.kiamedia.com.