2014 Kia Soul ! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Kia Soul to get AWD?

The funky Kia Soul is one of the three affordable, efficient and style-first boxes on sale today (along with the Scion xB and Nissan Cube). Like its competition, it sits atop a front-drive platform with a longitudinally mounted four-cylinder engine.
It's a dandy car in this setup, but it sounds like Kia may be looking to differentiate the Soul from the herd by offering an optional all-wheel-drive system in the future. According to the report filed by Kia World, the popularity of the small, stylish crossover segment is expected to expand considerably over the coming years, especially overseas.
Citing the optional all-wheel drive on the Renault Captur, Ford Ecosport and Opel Mokka (Buick Encore in the US), along with the eventual arrival of a sub-Tiguan Volkswagen, called the Taigun, an all-wheel-drive Soul seems to make a lot of sense for these foreign markets. In the American market, meanwhile, AWD would open the Soul up to a new segment of buyers that like its looks but want all-wheel ability. Kia World is claiming the Soul AWD could hit markets in 2016 wearing a ruggedized version of the sheetmetal shown on the 2014 Soul that debuted in earlier this year in New York. Expect a bit of extra ground clearance to accompany the new drivetrain. Finally, all-wheel drive would likely only be available on the mid-range Soul + and top-spec Soul !.

Kia unveils SP Signature concept at Seoul Motor Show

The Seoul Motor Show is alive and kicking, and Kia has used its home event to display two new concepts. One is the Mohave Masterpiece large SUV, which is what our Borrego could have become if the Borrego hadn't been sent to slaughter in 2009 after just one year on sale here. The other concept is the SP Signature, said to preview a compact crossover Kia will sell around the world starting later this year. The four-door is a toned-down, more production-ready version of the SP concept unveiled at India's Auto Expo last year. The car's a bit of a cryptid, with few facts and plenty of fuzzy details to go on. The SP Signature concept apparently began as an Indian-market product, then morphed into a worldwide offering. Kia said the "SP Concept hints at the company's plans to introduce a new small SUV for its global markets," but that "hint" has already been confirmed; Kia Motors CEO Han-Woo Park told Automotive News last October that the U.S. would get a new compact crossover in late 2019, and a prototype matching the Signature's profile has been spotted testing. Slotting in below the Sportage and about the size of the Hyundai Kona, the reported retail name is Tusker, but we aren't sure that name will apply here. Although the Signature evokes Kona vibes, detailing makes the Signature look more technical and hawkish than the Kona, which we like. Rumor also has it that the so-called Tusker won't include all-wheel drive as an option so as to leave daylight between it and the Sportage. Several outlets have posited a debut at the New York Auto Show, partly because the N.Y. show put out a press release listing Kia as one of the automakers with a world debut. That press release has since disappeared, and with Hyundai having announced the even smaller Venue crossover for New York, it's possible Kia could have to give way to big brother.

Kia begins developing a Hummer-like military vehicle based on its burliest SUV

Kia confirmed its global range of SUVs will soon include a Hummer-like off-roader developed primarily for military use. While the model will report for combat in South Korea, it might end up rock crawling in Moab. Engineers are currently developing the truck, which is described as an open-top all-terrain vehicle (ATV), but they're not starting from scratch. Kia explained the model will be built on a frame borrowed from the Mohave, a civilian SUV that received comprehensive updates in 2019. It probably doesn't ring a bell because it's not sold in the United States, where the biggest member of the company's range is the Telluride. And yet, it's not entirely foreign. It's an evolution of the V8-powered Borrego introduced in America in 2009 and canceled for 2010. Kia released a rendering that illustrates what the model could look like, and it depicts an off-roader which shares absolutely no styling cues with any member of the firm's current line-up. Don't look for friendly hamsters here. Boxy and tall, it's strongly reminiscent of the AM General Humvee, GM Infantry Squad Vehicle and the Toyota BXD10, which is hardly a surprise and almost inevitable. All of these vehicles were created by following the same basic guidelines. What soldiers in South Korea will receive is admittedly of little interest to most American enthusiasts, but you might not need to travel across the Pacific to slip behind the wheel. Kia pointed out the lessons it learns from developing the ATV will help it improve the durability of its civilian models. Better yet, the yet-unnamed truck will spawn variants for different industries, including the industrial and leisure sectors. While nothing is official yet, the lucrative leisure segment's gravitational pull is what transformed the Humvee into the Hummer, and what turned the BXD10 into the BXD20, which was also called Mega Cruiser and sold in tiny numbers during the 1990s. Kia expects the first ATV prototypes will be ready in 2021. Production will start by the middle of the 2020s. What else is Kia sending to battle? Simultaneously, the company is developing 2.5- and 5-ton trucks for the South Korean military. Unlike the ATV, they won't be related to series-produced cars built for commuters. Both will be built on a standardized platform to keep development and manufacturing costs in check, and they'll be powered by a 7.0-liter turbodiesel engine bolted to an automatic transmission.