Soul’ster shows sunny side of chilly Detroit

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KIA is bringing a sunny beach feeling to a cold Detroit winter at the 2009 North American International Auto Show with the arrival of the Kia Soul’ster open-air concept, a variation of the highly anticipated Kia Soul urban crossover.

The Soul’ster is a two-door concept with roadster roots. A two-piece top enables passengers to expose the front and back seating areas independently, and the roll bar serves a dual purpose, including a place for the slider tracks as well as providing protection.

Though it may have a cute face, Soul’ster has a tough, but refined, character. This is shown through details such as the anodised skid-pad insert, which matches the fender vents, roll-bar header and wheels.

The side vents, side-mirror turn signals, special LED headlamps, fog and tail lamps incorporate blue lighting shades.

The distinctive look carries from front to rear with dual chrome exhaust and polished aluminium exhaust tips featuring carbon-fibre interior sleeves. The 19in five-spoke aluminium alloy wheels finish the picture off.

The flexible Soul’ster provides seating for two in the front, with comfortable space for two more adults in the back.

A 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine is mated to a five-speed manual transmission, producing about 120bhp. For those looking for a little more power, a two-litre four-cylinder engine is available with either five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission, producing about 140bhp. Fuel economy for both engines is estimated at 30mpg or more.