Right after the Soul’s world debut in Paris, Kia released a mega image gallery of its funky proposal in the subcompact segment that will be arriving on international markets early next year. In Europe the Soul will be offered with a 1.6L gasoline and a 1.6L turbo diesel, while in the U.S. the Soul will only be available with a 2.0L gasoline engine. Hit the jump for the photo gallery that includes pictures of the Soul customized with various accessories and decals that Kia has readied for its new model with which it hopes to attract a younger audience to the brand. Continued

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Kia has issued a new set of photos that include for the first time the interior along with more technical details of the Soul that’s scheduled to make its worldwide debut at the Paris Motor Show in a few weeks time. Set to go on sale in global markets early next year, the Korean subcompact car will be offered with a choice of two gasoline engines and one diesel engine with manual or automatic transmission (depending on individual markets).

The most powerful engine of the range will be a 2.0L gasoline unit producing 142 PS at 6,000 rpm and 186 Nm (137-lbs/ft) of torque at 4,600 rpm. This engine can be combined with a 5-speed manual transmission or a 4-speed automatic. A smaller 1.6L gasoline engine generating 126 PS at 6,300 rpm and 156 Nm (115-lbs/ft) of torque at 4,200 rpm will be offered in most countries, while consumers in Europe and some other markets will also be able to order a 1.6L turbo diesel engine delivering 126 PS at 4,000 rpm and 255 Nm (188-lbs/ft) of torque at 2,000 rpm. Kia notes that some markets will get a 115 PS version of the diesel engine.

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Kia Motors has confirmed its all-new segment-busting car will retain the name and spirit of the concept from which it evolved, Soul.

First seen as the SOUL concept car at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, a trio of concept developments then appeared at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show which gave a strong indication to the many characters the new Kia could take on.

The three Geneva concept cars (SOUL Burner, SOUL Diva and SOUL Searcher) were created by Kia’s European design team led by Gregory Guillaume with input from Kia’s Chief Design Officer Peter Schreyer.

Kia’s Californian and Korean design studios designed the original SOUL concept jointly.
Speaking about the choice of name for the original 2006 Detroit concept car, Tom Kearns, Chief Designer of Kia Motors America, said, “We wanted to inject some life into this car’s design, to give it a soul.

“And the word Soul is a homophone for the home city of Kia Motors headquarters, in Korea, so it is a fun play on words.”

The Kia Soul defies classification and its design will encourage customers to build an emotional bond with this new car.

Production of Soul will begin in Korea in September.

The Kia Soul production car will make its world premiere at the Paris Motor Show in October.

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