Kia shows it's got Soul

19 December 2005

Kia is giving a taste of what its off-roaders could look like in the future with this new Soul concept car.

The Soul, which will appear at the Detroit Motor Show in January, builds on design themes from Kia's earlier Mesa concept, so it's clear the company likes the look. The car is likely to be a fair bit larger than the company's recently-launched Sportage.

Like many of today's concept cars, the Soul is aimed at owners with an 'active lifestyle', says Kia, so inside the tailgate there's a separate drawer for keeping muddy hiking boots and wetsuits apart from the rest of your luggage or possessions.

Externally, the car has chunky wheelarches, a wraparound windscreen and a sloping roofline which, Kia says, 'conveys an athletic attitude'.

Kia doesn't have any firm plans to add the Soul to its range just yet, but there will be other 4x4s at the Detroit Show which are definitely on their way, including next year's seven-seater Mercedes GL and the Mazda CX-7 which arrives in 2007.

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