After the premiere of the facelifted 2012 Soul at this year’s New York Auto Show in late April, it’s time for Kia to talk prices. The revised small crossover enters the new model year with some modest styling changes but more importantly, a new pair of more powerful engines hooked up to six-speed transmissions.
Pricing for the entry level Soul with the 1.6-liter engine and a manual gearbox starts at $13,900 or (*) $14,650 after a $750 destination and handling (D&H) fee, while the automatic model starts at $15,700 or $16,450 if you include D&H.
Kia has not yet released pricing for the new flagship Soul equipped with the 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine.
The updated 1.6-liter unit that features Kia’s fuel-saving and emissions reducing gasoline direct injection (GDI) technology, is rated at 138-horses, an increase of 16 ponies over the previous model.
Kia says that mated to the new six-speed manual and automatic transmissions, the 1.6-liter engine delivers up to 34mpg on the highway and 28mpg in the city.
The new 2.0-liter engine produces 164HP, an increase of 22-horses over the previous model year, and is also offered with a choice of two six-speed transmissions, manual or automatic.
According to Kia’s estimates, the two-liter unit returns 27 mpg city and 33 mpg highway for both the automatic and manual transmission models.
PHOTO GALLERY
