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Jan 8, 2021
A blue 2021 Kia Soul is in front of a blue background.

Kia carved out their corner of the market as a go-to manufacturer for economical vehicles with great fuel economy, easy-to-handle rides, and compact designs. This helped them lure in shoppers who have a penchant for something easily manageable and courteous on the wallet. One such vehicle that has managed to stand out from Kia’s offerings is the sub-compact crossover SUV known as the Kia Soul.

The Kia Soul Is Available in Gas or Electric Formats

The Kia Soul originally debuted back in 2008 and was released as a 2009 model. For 2021, this five-door crossover SUV has a sporty design with a decent amount of pop to its performance, thanks to its powertrain options that top out at 201 horsepower.

There are actually three powertrain options in total for 2021, including a 2.0-liter four-cylinder that generates up to 147 horsepower and 132 lb-ft of torque and a 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that manages 201 horsepower and up to 195 lb-ft of torque. A third option is the all-electric powertrain. The electric motor is capable of generating equal amounts of horsepower as its petrol-based brethren at 201 horsepower. However, it manages to generate much higher amounts of torque at 291 lb-ft.

According to EPA ratings, the latest generation of the electric Kia Soul, sometimes referred to as the Kia e-Soul, can manage up to 243 travel miles on a max charge, which is approximately two and a half times more mileage than the previous iteration of the electric engine.

A black 2021 Kia Soul is parked in front of a mountain with snow.

Only the Electric Kia Soul Is Available In Europe

The electric motor isn’t just a feature for the Kia Soul EV, though; it’s also a way of life in some parts of the world…specifically Europe. That’s right; the Kia Soul EV was only on the market for a handful of years before it became the only Kia Soul available to purchase in Europe.

The Soul EV was originally conceived back in 2013 and made it to market in 2014. Back then, the electric motor was nowhere near as efficient as the gas-based powertrains, both of which topped out at 151 horsepower for the 1.6-liter four-cylinder and 201 horsepower for the 2.0-liter. That’s a far cry from the meager 109 horsepower generated by the first generation Soul EV. With advancements in electric-powered vehicles and improved power output for performance, the Kia Soul EV’s second generation outing proved to be much more effective and efficient.

Despite the previous generation’s lack of performance compared to its petrol counterparts, the all-electric Kia still sold quite well. In fact, it sold so well that the Kia Soul EV outsold both the gas and diesel-based iterations of the crossover SUV in 2018, according to Chief Operating Officer for Kia Motors Europe, Emilio Herrera.

It’s kind of hard to argue with the sales data, and Kia decided it was best not to. Instead, they listened to the numbers and opted to make the Kia Soul EV the only variant of the Soul available in Europe, completely removing the gas and diesel options from the market in the continent.

Kia Won Awards for the Soul Ads

Winning an award for an advertisement starring hamsters? Now that’s something worth adding to your resumè. Can you imagine having won an award for producing an ad starring a troupe of hamsters while the Kia Soul is depicted as a funky compact crossover perfect for city travel? It’s wild, but that’s part of the charm of the ad, and it paid off, netting Kia an award for their efforts.

The minute-long ad originally aired for the Kia Soul back in February of 2009, just shortly after the initial production run began for the crossover SUV. The commercial cleverly features hamsters in place of humans – all of whom are stuck on wheels that lead them nowhere. No matter how much they run, they just can’t get anywhere in life. Things change when about 20 seconds into the ad, a candy-red Soul pulls up with tinted windows, playing nu-funk and being occupied by three human-sized hamsters.

The groovy music coupled with the hip infotainment features and springy maneuverability depicted the Kia Soul as the cool new crossover, a complete divergence from everything else on the market. This kind of savvy market marketing netted Kia recognition from the Nielsen Automotive Advertising Awards.

The ad managed to pick up the accolade at the 2010 New York Auto Show and was quickly followed up with another ad – also starring the anthropomorphic hamsters – later that year.

The 2010 ad was far more aggressive than the first ad, taking the digital effects a step further and incorporating a more hip-hop, urban theme to the Soul’s appeal. They didn’t focus as much on features such as Bluetooth or smart device connectivity like the original 2009 ad, but the catchy tune and striking visuals were enough to garner more than 2.5 million views.

This also resulted in a lot of positive feedback from potential car shoppers and yet another award from the Nielsen Automotive group at the 2011 New York Auto Show for “Best Automotive Ad.”

Who knew that hamsters could sell cars so well?

Kia Souls Can Drive Themselves… With PolySync Kits

It may sound like it comes out of the pages of a sci-fi novel, but it’s true: the Kia Soul can drive itself.

However, there is a caveat to the autonomous nature of the Soul moseying down the street without any physical handling from the driver: You have to install the kit yourself, or go to a specialist to install the kit for you. The company PolySync developed an open-source software and hardware solution for the Kia Soul that allows it to drive itself. In fact, any Kia Soul produced after 2014 can be turned into an auto-driving, AI-powered vehicle.

The only way the PolySync kit works is with vehicles that have electric power steering (which the Kia Soul has), throttle-by-wire (which the Kia Soul also has), and enough cargo space for the bespoke motherboard and computer configuration to be set up (something the Kia Soul also has). In essence, the Soul was the perfect test bed for this advancement in AI driving, and since 2017, owners of a Kia Soul made after 2014 can acquire the kit and guides to outfit their vehicle to drive on its own.

This isn’t quite a commercial development available at every dealership or aftermarket parts supplier, but PolySync does provide the necessary tools and workshop materials to help companies set up their own services to transform Kia Souls into autonomous driving machines. Of course, the Soul’s total cargo volume of 62.1 cubic feet of space helped turn the autonomous venture into a possibility, along with its electric power steering system.

Autonomous driving kits probably aren’t going to be highly sought after by most drivers, but it’s still pretty awesome that the Soul is capable of that right out of the gate.

Visit Parkway Family Kia For More Soul

If the Kia Soul sounds like the kind of vehicle you need in your life, don’t wait to make the decision on purchasing a new Kia. Call or chat with a sales representative from Parkway Family Kia to learn more about the Kia Soul and how you can start driving the crossover SUV today. You can find our dealership at 22555 US-59 in Kingwood, TX.