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2020 Kia Soul First Drive Review | FUNky

It's hard to believe, but the Kia Soul first went on sale a decade ago, hitting the market for the 2010 model year to challenge the new-to-America Nissan Cube and the wheeled box pioneer Scion xB. We're not sure, of the three, we'd have put our money on the Soul to outlast the rest, but here we are. The xB and Cube are long dead, and the Soul is on its third-generation, ready to take on the latest crop of subcompact crossovers that have replaced the old boxes. The new generation is completely redesigned from the ground-up, sporting bold but recognizable looks. Under the skin is a new standard engine, and the lineup features additional trim lines, each with unique styling. We tried out two versions of the new Soul, the crossover-inspired X-Line with a new naturally aspirated 2.0-liter engine, and the sporty GT-Line with the optional turbocharged 1.6-liter engine. What we discovered was a spunky, funky hatch that's a great choice all-around in one guise - and a questionable choice in another. Kia Soul X-Line The Kia Soul X-Line is roughly a mid-level model, starting at $22,485, and it features the powertrain that the vast majority of Souls will have: a 2.0-liter inline-four making 147 horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque coupled to a CVT. That's a $4,000 step up from a base, manual LX, and the price difference is attributable to styling tweaks – plastic fender flares and silver-painted trim meant to evoke skid plates – plus the addition of blind-spot warning and rear cross-traffic warning. Despite the quasi-crossover looks, there's no extra ground clearance nor the option of all-wheel-drive. We don't think most buyers will mind, too much, since most Souls will probably never leave pavement anyway. The four-cylinder engine is about par for the segment. Acceleration is sluggish with plenty of noise, but throttle response is snappy, and the sounds it does emit is pleasantly growly. Fuel economy for most CVT-equipped Souls comes in at 27 mpg in the city, and 33 on the highway, which matches the old naturally-aspirated 1.6-liter model's city economy and improves on the highway by 3 mpg. That puts it ahead of the Toyota C-HR and tied with the CVT-equipped Subaru Crosstrek. The EX version of the Soul manages an impressive 29 mpg in the city and 35 on the highway, coming close to matching the Nissan Kicks that gets 31 mpg in town and 36 on the highway. Choosing a manual in the Soul brings fuel economy down to 25 in the city and 31 on the highway.

Hyundai developing safety system calibrated for 'secondary impacts'

There is an inherent flaw with how traditional airbags are used and deployed: They can only reply to one impact. The Hyundai Motor Group wants to address this with a new "multi-collision airbag system" that focuses on impacts that occur after the first point of contact. Hyundai defines multi-collision accidents as "those in which the primary impact is followed by collisions with secondary objects, such as trees, electrical posts or other vehicles." In a press release, Hyundai noted that about 30 percent of roughly 56,000 accidents between 2000 and 2012 in North America involved these types of multi-collisions, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)'s National Automotive Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System division. The airbag systems in today's cars don't always go off when the first accident occurs, and when a car goes through a secondary impact, the airbags may no longer provide the best safety. Hyundai's new system can read the positions of the car's occupants and react in a more beneficial way. It can quickly recalibrate after the first impact based on readings from the vehicle and the people inside, which allows the second part of the crash to trigger the airbags. As of now the system is still in development, but Hyundai Motor Group is planning to use it in both Kia and Hyundai vehicles in the future. Which models and which markets it will apply to first are yet to be determined. Related Video:

Chevy, Kia and Jeep win 2020 North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year

Although the Detroit Auto Show is moving to the summer, the North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year (NACTOY) awards were again announced in January. The car of the year is the 2020 Chevy Corvette Stingray. Utility of the year is the 2020 Kia Telluride. Truck of the year is the 2020 Jeep Gladiator. None of these choices was particularly surprising. All of these cars were major releases that delivered on style, performance and functionality. That being said, the runners-up in each category were noteworthy, too. You can see the full list of finalists below. Car Chevy Corvette (Winner) Toyota Supra Hyundai Sonata Utility Kia Telluride (Winner) Hyundai Palisade Lincoln Aviator Truck Jeep Gladiator (Winner) Ford Ranger Ram HD Follow any of the inline links above to read our reviews on the winners and finalists. Related Video: