Detroit 2009: Kia Soul'ster guns for fun and frolic
 

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/conceptcars/" rel="tag">Concept Cars</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/detroit-auto-show/" rel="tag">Detroit Auto Show</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/convertibles/" rel="tag">Convertibles</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/kia/" rel="tag">Kia</a></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/detroit-2008-kia-soulster-live/1279927/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/01/kiasoulsterlive-(6)-580.jpg" alt="" /></a><br />
<div align="center"><em><stron g><small>Click above for a high-res gallery of the Kia Soul'ster</small><br /></strong></em></div>
<br />The Kia Soul has people talking. Specifically<em>, you</em>. Kia's media presentation here in Detroit highlighted feedback <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/detroit-2008-kia-soulster-live/1279920/">from the</a> <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/detroit-2008-kia-soulster-live/1279924/">Autoblog</a> <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/detroit-2008-kia-soulster-live/1279923/">commentariat</a>. No, we didn't know in advance, but you won't hear us complaining either. However, the star of the show for Kia wasn't the Soul -- it's a new concept derived from the boxy people-mover.<br /><br />After some dancing fanfare involving large placards, the Kia Soul'ster drove onstage. Put simply, it's cool. The two-door design study looks like a pickup from the side, but the "cab" is open-air, much like the old Isuzu Amigo. Pretty much everything on the car is manual: the gearbox, the window cranks, and the two-piece canvas roof. Other details set it apart from its wagonoid brother, such as a slightly chopped roofline and dual exhausts with carbon fiber sleeves. The <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/detroit-2008-kia-soulster-live/1279928/">roof lamps</a> integrated into the roll bars are a nice touch, too. Cantilevered seats mounted off the center console free up storage room beneath them, and there's a small cargo space aft of the second row. The Soul'ster's meant to be an economical four-cylinder, tarmac-only, front-wheel-drive plaything whose primary mission is fun. It sure looks the part, so now the ball's in Kia's court. Do they have the stones to actually follow through and build something like this? Tell them what you think below. One thng's certain: they'll be reading. <br /><br /><div class="postgallery"><p><s trong>Gallery: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/detroit-2008-kia-soulster-live/">Detroit 2008: Kia Soul'ster Live</a></strong></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/detroit-2008-kia-soulster-live/1279927/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/01/kiasoulsterlive-(3)_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/detroit-2008-kia-soulster-live/1279930/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/01/kiasoulsterlive-(6)_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/detroit-2008-kia-soulster-live/1279929/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/01/kiasoulsterlive-(5)_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/detroit-2008-kia-soulster-live/1279946/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/01/kiasoulsterlive-(10)_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/detroit-2008-kia-soulster-live/1279947/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/01/kiasoulsterlive-(11)_thumbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a></div><br /><div class="postgallery"><p><s trong>Gallery: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/kia-soulster-concept/">Kia Soul'ster Concept</a></strong></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/kia-soulster-concept/1279885/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/01/kiasoulsterpr_1280004_thu mbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/kia-soulster-concept/1279888/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/01/kiasoulsterpr_1280003_thu mbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/kia-soulster-concept/1279886/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/01/kiasoulsterpr_1280005_thu mbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/kia-soulster-concept/1279881/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/01/kiasoulsterpr_1280006_thu mbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/kia-soulster-concept/1279887/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/01/kiasoulsterpr_1280007_thu mbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a></div><p style="padding:5px;backgr ound:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/01/11/detroit-2009-kia-soulster-guns-for-fun-and-frolic/">Detroit 2009: Kia Soul'ster guns for fun and frolic</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblo g</a> on Sun, 11 Jan 2009 15:50:00 EST. 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