Kia’s got Soul
Korean automaker putting pedal to metal with new model

by Keith Turner

While other automakers are reining in spending and begging for bailout funds, the folks at Kia are taking a different tact to the current economic downturn – by downshifting into third and putting pedal to the metal.

Over the next couple of years, Kia promises to roll out a plethora of new models that are designed, equipped and priced to sell.

Leading this new charge of vehicles is the compact Kia Soul, a five-passenger box that at first glace, closely resembles the original Scion Xb, but with more features at a cut-rate price.

Targeted to the “Y’’ generation (mid to late 20s), the Soul offers many extras that are sure to appeal to the highly mobile and continuously connected crowd. Things like IPod plugs and satellite radio-ready sound systems, USB ports and Bluetooth hands-free connectivity are all standard on the 2010 Kia Soul.



And there’s an impressive Infinity sound system that not only thrills the ears but glows in the dark, with lighted speakers that can be set to hip-hop along with the tunes.

Available in automatic or stick, the Soul comes in four models: Soul, Soul + (Plus), Soul! (Exclaim) and Soul Sport. There are two choices of four-cylinder engines, the 122 horsepower 1.6 liter or the 2.0 liter that pumps out 142 hp.

Mileage is 26/31 for the smaller engine and 24/30 for the larger one.

But the best part is the Soul’s price. Starting at $13,300, the bulk of the Souls will sell at a price of just under $15,000. If you go all out, you’ll still spend les than $20,000 to have your Soul fully loaded.

As Tom Loveless, vice president of sales says, Kia is looking at the current automotive economic crisis as an opportunity.

“While others are digging in, we’re playing offense and leading by our product,” Loveless said. “The Soul says our message loud and clear: It’s cool to own a Kia.”

Play the YouTube video above to share our test drive of the Kia Soul in Miami. We drove black, gray and white Souls, but in addition to coming in red, the Soul is offered in an impressive variety of splashy colors.

This R2D2-like entry into the hatchback box vehicle market has lots of legroom, important for length-enhanced drivers like this family car father. Legroom is also plentiful in the Soul's rear seat, a design rarity in vehicles of its class. While the Soul may look short from the outside, it feels long inside.

We very much enjoyed our test drive of the 2010 Kia Soul, feeling younger every time we sat down in the driver's seat of this youthful looking vehicle.

 

Try a Lexus LS600h L hybrid luxury sedan
(with the works, if you can afford it)
By Dean Adams Curtis

I was in a hurry and was making good time in the ultra-comfy 2009 Lexus LS600h L hybrid luxury sedan when the light ahead turned red.

My foot pressed down on the brake pedal and resulted in a smooth stop, though I had simultaneously activated both the vehicle’s energy regeneration system that captures energy to help recharge the batteries and also its advanced friction braking system.

As I waited for the light to turn green the Lexus LS600h L turned green.

It stalled, or it seemed to. Our brains, conditioned to the constant humming of our internal combustion engines as they are, automatically think a sudden quieting of our engines is the sound of them quitting. But, of course, hybrids cut off their combustion engines when stopped to save gas. They leave their electric motors on standby to respond instantly when requested by a driver’s foot on the accelerator pedal.

If your family budget allows room for a hybrid luxury sedan that’s good for the environment and will give you a shiatsu massage…

Soon the light turned green and the Lexus LS600h L leapt into action.

As it did, this Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle emitted seventy percent less smog-forming particles than an average new car. Amazingly, the oil controlled two-way Hydrocarbon Absorber and Catalyst (HCAC) exhaust system lets loose emissions from the LS 600h L that are said to be cleaner than the air in some major cities.

Lexus debuted twenty years ago at the Detroit Auto Show. Over a dozen years ago they began a secret flagship sedan effort that resulted in the LS600 series, rated one of the most reliable vehicles ever built. For ten consecutive years it has held the highest vehicle dependability survey ranking given by J.D. Power and Associates. It has also received Consumer Reports' highest ranking for vehicle dependability.

In addition to its list of accolades, the Lexus LS600h L has been rated one of the quietest automobiles ever built. A denominator of this quiet equation is the Lexus LS 600h’s ultra-quiet hybrid drive system, which was the world's first to combine a V8 gasoline engine with an all-wheel-drive (AWD) hybrid.

We’re not qualified to critique the variable valve timing with intelligent and electrically controlled intake cams on the Lexus LS600h L (who except a Lexus engineer is), but Lexus believes this combination of VVT-i with their electric-motor driven intake achieves superior engine-startup operation and high-output performance. As we pressed the LS600h’s accelerator pedal further toward the floor board, achieving thrust that was like being in control of an earthbound Taurus or Titan rocket, we heartily agreed with them.

The 2009 Lexus LS600h L isn’t designed as a car for everyone. It isn’t even meant for most of us. In fact you’d best be in an income bracket at the upper one to ten percent of all human beings before considering purchase of this car. But if that defines your family, you might add the Lexus LS 600h L to your shopping list.

While it didn’t evoke love at first sight, the 2009 Lexus LS600h L engendered in me a sense of love at first feel. I haven’t spent time testing the BMW 7 series or the MB S-class, so the Lexus LS600h’s pillowy leather seats, leather wrapped dash and wood grain steering wheel were an instant delight. It left me wondering if perhaps the mysterious final “L” in the vehicle’s name actually stands for “love.”

Recently the Lexus LS 600h L was named "chauffeur car of the year" by a magazine called "The Chauffeur." It said that the car is a favorite of London’s CEOs. Even though you'll probably be able to find this car for about $10K less than the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of about $104K, you probably will need to have a CEO, COO, or CTO in your family to consider acquiring it. But if this vehicle is for you, maybe your family would enjoy the optional $12K “Executive Class Seating Package II” that provides the kicked back, feet up, reclining back passenger seat. Then family members can take turns in the back seat getting shiatsu massages.

Enjoy a quick video tour of the Lexus LS600h L.