44
KIA
SOUL,
SOUL EV,
TELLURIDE
Kia’s latest offerings are
heavy on the crossovers. The
new 2020 Kia Soul, which
we drove earlier this year,
has arrived. The cheerfully
styled crossover returns as a
quirky and affordable lifestyle
vehicle. It’s a bit bigger than
the previous generation, but
not so much so that it doesn’t
still feel just right.
Kia brought some common
sense to the trim level
nomenclature, binning the
old + (Plus) and! (Exclaim)
models. Instead, the Soul
will be aligned with the rest
of Kia’s lineup, with LX, S,
X-Line, GT-Line, and EX
trims. The most intriguing
powertrain available is the
201-hp turbocharged I-4
mated with a seven-speed
dual-clutch automatic
transmission, which Kia
estimates is good enough to
scoot the Soul from 0 to 60 in
6.5 seconds.
The 2020 Soul EV will also
be available soon, featuring
an EPA-estimated range of
243 miles. It borrows the
Kona EV’s 64-kW-hr battery
pack. It won’t be a slouch,
either, as its electric motor
will churn out a stout 201 hp
and 291 lb-ft of torque.
On the larger side of Kia’s
2020 offerings, the rugged-
looking Telluride SUV rolledON SALE:
Soul: Now
Soul EV: Late 2019
Telluride: Now
BASE PRICE:
Soul: $18,485
Soul EV: $34,000 (est)
Telluride: $32,735Don’t mistake this for an
appearance package. Its
purpose is right there in
its name: sterrato loosely
translates to “dirt road”
in English. According to
Lamborghini, the Sterrato
“draws on Lamborghini’s
off-road expertise exemplified
in the Urus SUV.” Just like all
those Safari-style Porsche 911s,
the Sterrato isn’t equipped
for Moab’s frame twisters, but
it’s perfect for blitzing down
an old fire road or slithering
around a gravel pit.
If night rallies are more
your thing, there’s an ultra-out at the 2019 Detroit auto
show. We got a first taste of the
three-row ute in its namesake
city in Colorado, with our
Conner Golden declaring it
“one of the best-looking models
among its peers” and saying
that “it offers up tons of interior
comfort, amenities, and space.”
The Telluride starts at a
competitive $32,735, lining it up
with other seven- and eight-
seaters on the market. The big
Kia tops out at $46,860 with
the boxes ticked for the SX trimand the Prestige package. Its
3.8-liter V-6 produces 291 hp
and 262 lb-ft of torque and
drives the front or all wheels
depending on the specification.
These latest models show
that Kia is keeping up with
the times, offering attractive,
well-made, and capable
models within their segments.
It clearly has more high-
riding Kias on the horizon,
demonstrated by the sci-fi-
styled HabaNiro at the 2019
New York auto show. AMLAMBO
HURACÁN
STERRATO
ON SALE:
Maybe
BASE PRICE:
$400,000 (est)bright LED light bar on the
roof and front bumper. All
this hardware is a waste if
you muck up a white leather
interior, so the Sterrato
features a titanium roll
cage, carbon-fiber seats, and
aluminum floor panels for
easy clean-up. For now, it
remains a one-off concept.SoulSoul EVTelluride