Kia Soul
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Maybe the 1rs real competition to the Scion brand.
(The Element seems to be for an older audience)
It’s been toned down quite a bit from the concept, but it might still be interesting. And Kia’s image still fits better smaller and cheaper cars.
Wellllllllllllllllll…..
Until it’s launched officially… or uncovered… I heard 2 engines.. I-4(definitely) and a possible V6, from the Optima(185HP) Might be included as an option.
This thing will be around Accent SE size in length, or about 2-3 inches shorter than the SX4 cuv.
The new xB is 167 inches long, or thisclose to 14 feet in length.
So, figure about Less than 8 inches in total length between the 08 xB and this Soul.
Not such a huge difference, really, unless the xB is wider, tallker(inside), etc, by significant margins( no smaller than say 10-12 cu ft versus the xB..then it might be something).
I hope it is not too weird/ugly.
The spouse, shockingly, likes the xB, EXCEPT the placement of the guages(the fixed it on the xD, vs xA…why not the xB, too? Seems even Edmunds still dislikes those weird off-center guage clusters, iirc….).
So, if this design is not too horrid…. decent everything else(MPG, price, 0-60 in less than a week, not too small, etc…) we might consider one in 09, when it’s buying time again.
If not….
guess we’ll have to wait for the Hornet, or updated PT Cruiser( yes, they are keeping it, but not the convertible).
xB looks better, lower to the ground, almost like it was a tuner deal.
This looks like a suv/cuv.
make it look “cool” (lower to ground, with gorund effects, whatever they call it) and I’d consider one. If not…there’s still hope the next xB will have the guages(and a sunroof option) in normal placement.
i’m tired of automakers telling us what’s hip and young and cool. toyota had a good thing going with its funky tokyo-style motor toaster and then ruined it by making it took heavy and grown-up (but its a car only for america, so go figure). what toyota needs to attract younger audiences is something LIGHTWEIGHT (or at least feels light), something short and low to the ground, something cheap and without unnecessary things (like the sunroof on the scion tc), and some sort of $35-50K halo car to look up to (like a new supra…dont give me the bs that there wouldnt be demand for such a model) like what happened in the 60s with the mustang
Hey Vince, Speaking of the Honda Element, Does Honda have any future plans for this platform for 2009 that you know of, or is it just going to fade away like the Prelude?