KIA’s New-Age Beat Is Soul-ful
Bright new colors, more planted stance,interior upgrades, direct-injection engines improve Soul for 2014.
By John Gilbert
The hamsters are back, bobbing their heads in trendy rhythm as they avoid more humdrum vehicles that insist on sharing the roadways with the Kia Soul, and it’s a welcome and comforting cast that has become as trendy as the little square car itself. Almost.
Revised and upgraded engines, with gasoline direct-injection in both the base 1.6 and upgraded 2.0-liter 4-cylinders, plus revised and improved suspension systems for better stability and handling, and a stiffer platform with lighter and stronger body components, makes for a deceptively improved driving experience. The first Soul was neat and trendy; the 2014 model is neat, trendy, and significantly improved as a driver’s car.
Over its five-year lifespan, the Soul has become bigger than even Kia imagined, and the revised 2014 model proves Kia has finally maneuvered around to take advantage of its trendiness. For example, Kia picked Minneapolis as the site for introducing the new Soul, because Minneapolis seems to be the hot ticket in surveys of trendy places to live and visit. The introduction was held at the trendy Graves 601 Hotel, which is across the street from the legendary First Avenue nightclub made trendy as an enduring music venue by Prince, an iconic hometown hero.
Such symbolism, and the similar but longer-wider-more-refined car itself, indicates the remarkable popularity of the Soul can only increase with the new generation.
Kia can be excused for questioning the Soul’s identity, and even its own during its whirlwind rise in popularity, which pretty well parallels the lifespan of the Soul. For example, even company executives were unable to provide a satisfactory answer to whether it should be “Kia,” or “KIA,” because the corporate logo of the South Korean automaker is in all cap letters. Similarly, Kia seemed uncertain where it stood back in December of 2008, when it introduced the somewhat bizarre squarish subcompact called the Soul.
At that time, at a fancy hotel on the Miami coastline, the Soul had to share the spotlight with Britney Spears, who was shielded from the masses by an entourage of security forces and policemen trying to protect the budding media star. And we mean Ms. Spears, not the new little square car from Kia. However, in the five years since, it’s anybody’s guess which one’s identity has proven more popular and enduring, but that’s another story.
The original Soul introduction made media stars out of some weird little furry cartoonish hamsters, using them liberally as a bopping bunch of critters rhythmically driving along in traffic in the ad campaign. Obviously, the intent was to try to lure a younger batch of customers, but Kia seemed unsure and maybe even embarrassed that its tangential move might be going too far. At subsequent car introduction, officials even apologized, saying not to worry, there would be no more hamsters. I argued with company executives that the hamsters were not only a clever and memorable symbol, but the furry critters might be more iconic than the car itself. It took time, but the hamsters returned. Read more
Mazda3 for 2014: A Car for Any Year
Mazda3 5-door hatchback, left, or sleek sedan will offer consumers a tough choice.
By John Gilbert
The 2014 Mazda3 is a quick and agile compact that has a distinctive flair and the ability to change directions instantaneously — much like its namesake company.
In an automotive world dominated by companies large enough to resemble cruise ships, Mazda is more like a speedy runabout, able to change directions almost immediately. A year ago, Mazda introduced its CX-5, a newly engineered compact SUV holistically built from the ground up to Mazda’s just-revealed Skyactiv technology. The vehicle impressed all who drove it or looked at it, and it finished as runner-up to the revised Ram 1500 in the North American Truck/Utility of the Year competition.
That was just the tip of the Skyactiv iceberg, and the company has followed up with an impressive midsize sedan makeover for the Mazda6. And now it has produced the compact Mazda3.
The result is that both the Mazda3 and Mazda6 are among the candidates on the short list for the 2014 North American Car of the Year award. In a year where the candidate list is filled with flashy sports cars, luxury sedans, sporty sedans, and economy cars, and even its larger sibling, the Mazda3 concedes nothing, and its technology, appearance and performance mean it must be seriously considered by all jury members who drive it.
The full list of car candidates voted onto the short list is, in alphabetical order: the BMW 4 Series, Cadillac CTS, Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, Chevrolet Impala, Infiniti Q50, Jaguar F-Type, Kia Cadenza, Lexus IS, Mazda3, Mazda6, Mercedes-Benz CLA, and the Toyota Corolla. In addition, truck/utility candidates are: Acura MDX, BMW X5, Buick Encore, Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra, Hyundai Santa Fe LWB, Jeep Cherokee, Kia Sorento, Land Rover Range Rover Sport, Nissan Rogue, Subaru Forester, and the Toyota Tundra.
Some of the car candidates are priced well over $50,000, and even over $75,000. That also has to work in favor of the Mazda3, which has a price range of $16,945 for the most basic I-SV model with a stick shift, and it ranges upward to $18,445 for the I-Sport, $19,595 for the I-Touring, and up to $22,745 for the I-Touring with technology and GT packages. The same models with the 2.0 and 6-speed automatic is about $1,000 more all the way up. The 2.5-liter engine comes only with the automatic, in either S-Touring at $24,595 or the S-GT at $25,995. Read more
Cherokee Crossover Sets New Standards
Dramatic new look of 2014 Cherokee tips off its array of high-tech features under the skin.
By John Gilbert
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CALIF. — The new 2014 Jeep Cherokee — an old name with a decidedly new face — raises the level of on-road driveability and fuel efficiency for any vehicle ever to wear the proud Jeep name, without compromising any of its off-road heritage.
The look of the new Cherokee is its most priminent first-impression feature, and it is, in a word, polarizing. Some critics, and a few within the Jeep family, think it goes too far, while others think it’s the best-looking thing Jeep has ever done. There will be few, if any, who will be able to avoid belonging to one extreme camp or the other.
Built of 65 percent high strength steel, the Cherokee allows you to bring three or four people with you and shows off its firm, independent rear suspension climbing rocks or while holding steady as you carve precise cornering lines at highway speed. All the while, it registers up to and beyond the EPA highway estimated 31 miles per gallon.
The new standard MultiAir 2.4-liter TigerShark engine has a city 22 and highway 31 gas mileage EPA figures, an improvement of more than 45 percent over the engine it replaces in the Jeep line. The entirely new 3.2-liter V6 has EPA estimates of 19 city, 28 highway. With both engines, those figures seem conservative. I talked to one engineer who said he drove the V6 on a 200-mile highway trip and got 32.5 miles per gallon, with that number dropping to 28 when he drove much more aggressively on his return.
Jeep’s strongest trademark is its 7-slot grille, and the Cherokee has seven slots, but they have never been shaped so provocatively, with a convex bend near the upper area of the vertical slots, rather than the normal straight slab of slots. The tiny light enclosure that turns the corner on the upper extension of that contoured line adds afurther high-tech touch.
If Jeep officials didn’t decide to resurrect the name Cherokee, they could have called it the “Surprise,” because there’s nothing about the 2014 Jeep Cherokee that is not surprising.
- You could say the appearance is surprising, but that would be a giant understatement, because the dramatically contoured Cherokee looks more like a futuristic concept vehicle than a mainstream vehicle.
- The interior is every bit as surprising as the exterior, with firmly supportive bucket seats, and instrumentation that is straightforward and yet high tech, and everything is covered with high-quality material.
- The engines are surprising, because both the 3.2-liter V6 and the 2.4-liter MultiAir 4 are new, bristling with technical goodies from intake to exhaust, and the transmission is a surprisingly unique unit, too, being the first application of a new ZF 9-speed automatic.
- The trademark Jeep 4-wheel-drive capability is even surprising, with three entirely different choices of systems to choose from, all hooked up to a front-wheel-drive platform instead of the conventional rear-drive layout — the first-ever Jeep to be so designed.
- The Cherokee’s performance on the road is lean and agile, with precise road-holding control even if you drive it like a sports car around curvy 2-lane roadways.
- Such impressive on-road performance begs the question that the new Cherokee must be conceding something from Jeep’s long and proud off-road heritage, but is it? No. Surprisingly, no.
- Even the name is surprising. Sure, Jeep built a vehicle call the Cherokee for decades, but after it grew into the larger and more sophisticated Grand Cherokee, the plain old Cherokee disappeared from the scene. So it’s a bit of an ironic twist that Jeep, which has the Grand Cherokee, the Patriot, the Compass, and the traditional Wrangler, would bring out its newest and most high-tech offering ever, and bring back the long-gone but not forgotten Cherokee name.
All lined up with some rugged off-road terrain ahead, the Cherokee is equally at home in the rough.
Tundra Revises Look, Features for 2014
A taller grille and wider stance sets off the 2014 Tundra.
By John Gilbert
After years of passing every test thrown at it, Toyota would like to reverse roles with the Tundra — asking competitors to pass the same tests, and consumers to consider testing the redesigned 2014 Tundra when shopping for a new half-ton pickup.
Toyota isn’t making any outrageous claims for its new Tundra, avoiding the hype that dominates the ad campaigns of competitors in the most brand-loyal segment. Toyota also stops short of trying to steal customers from F-150s, Silverados or Rams, but merely asks such half-ton pickup buyers to test the the Tundra for whatever criteria is important to them.
Through its life, the Tundra started off too small, and has since been accused of being not rugged enough, and/or too fancy. The last major renovation, in 2007, seemed to solve the criticisms, and for 2014, the new Tundra has a focus on refinement, chiseling a more aggressive exterior, and using mostly soft-touch and luxury touches to refine the interior. Improving the interior appearance is interesting, because the creature comforts of the first Tundra caused me to define it as the Lexus of pickup trucks, and it has inspired the competition to drastically upgrade their interior amenities.
A bolder look and stance sets the new Tundra apart from the current model, and while the truck continues with the same powertrains that is more an affirmation that its powerful array of high-tech engines is already substantial enough to take on the improved power of the competition.
When it comes to the perpetual tests the half-ton pickup players always face, Chris Gomez, chief product planner for Toyota’s large trucks, said he is both curious and amused at the lavish claims made for towing as Tundra competitors seemingly escalate their limits to claim the highest number, while Toyota prefers to pass the approved standards.
“In the half-ton pickup segment, we have something called the ‘SAE J-2807’ for towing standards,” said Gomez. “All truck manufacturers were at the table when we agreed on the tests and methods. The tests are done on a 12-degree grade, measuring acceleration, minimum speed, cooling system, braking distance, transmission locks, and every other characteristic, all done with a load, and in over 100-degree heat, to see how every component will function, and what its failure points might be.
“While everyone agreed on five primary tests and minimum requirements, Toyota is the only one that passed all the tests. None of the others meet the J-2807 standards, and Toyota has adhered to them since they were adopted in 2011.” Read more
New 1.8 Turbo Steals VW’s Base
VW may finally agree to give U.S. consumers the Scirocco.
By John Gilbert
ST. HELENA, CALIF. — The best thing Volkswagen is bringing to its lineup for the 2014 model year is more than skin deep — a new base engine for its whole car line. The best thing Volkswagen may bring to the U.S. for 2015 is the sportiest car in its whole lineup, a secret weapon that’s been sold only in Europe — the Scirocco.
Those were the main disclosures Volkswagen officials made to members of the automotive media, gathered at the Meadow Wood Resort near St. Helena, a small town in the heart of the Napa Valley wine-growing region north of San Francisco.
The engine is the hottest news. Volkswagen for years has stayed with a series of high-tech engines for its full line of vehicles, with a 2.5-liter 5-cylinder as its base engine, and upgrades that include a 2.0 TSi (turbocharged) 4-cylinder, and a 2.0 TDI (turbo diesel), with spot duty for a venerable V6 engine known as the VR-6.
Curiously, while the 2.5 is the largest-displacement engine in the basic Beetle, Golf, Jetta, and Passat, it also is the dullest engine in the fleet, because the 2.0 turbo has a lot more pizzaz and potential fuel economy, while the 2.0 TDi has remarkable torque and can get up to and beyond 50 miles per gallon of diesel fuel.
For 2014, Volkswagen is introducing a new 1.8-liter TSi 4-cylinder, which is remarkably engineered to coordinate less power into a lighter package but, with direct injection and turbocharging, make the little engine feel like a much larger displacement unit. A smaller derivative of the 2.0 TSi, the 1.8 Turbo feels quick and potent all the way up the RPM scale, and it also delivers better fuel economy on regular fuel, unlike the 2.0-turbo gas engine.
“The 1.8-TSi is built out of all-new architecture,” said Mark Trahan, the executive vice president of group quality for all Volkswagen and Audi vehicles. “It has all the latest technology, including direct injection, low-friction parts, and the exhaust manifold is designed right into the cylinder head. It has 170 horsepower and 184 foot-pounds of torque, and while that torque is 30 foot-pounds less than the 2.0 Turbo, the torque peaks at 1,500 RPMs.”
It is torque, and not horsepower, that gives a car brisk acceleration, and the new 1.8 Turbo proves that it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t have a lot of torque, as long as that torque all comes in when it’s most needed. In a car like the Jetta, the 1.8 hits peak torque at 1,500 RPMs, which is barely above idle speed, and it stays on a torque curve that is almost entirely flat all the way to the horsepower peak.
Compact Jetta will be among first to use the new 1.8 TSi engine with 170 horsepower and 184 foot-pounds of torque.
After driving several other VW models from Meadow Woods around the area roadways, I signed out a new Jetta with the new 1.8. When I hit second gear with the 6-speed stick, the car had so much mid-range punch that my first thought was that I’d mistakenly taken a turbo-diesel model. The turbo-diesel has so much torque at start-up that it rivals the hotter GTI/GLI sports models, and that’s the way the Jetta felt. But instead of the tubro-diesel, the Jetta had the new and plenty zippy 1.8-liter turbocharged gasoline 4-cylinder . VW has gone to fewer cylinders and smaller displacement to find a far superior engine. Read more
About the Author
John Gilbert is a lifetime Minnesotan and career journalist, specializing in cars and sports during and since spending 30 years at the Minneapolis Tribune, now the Star Tribune. More recently, he has continued translating the high-tech world of autos and sharing his passionate insights as a freelance writer/photographer/broadcaster. A member of the prestigious North American Car and Truck of the Year jury since 1993. John can be heard Monday-Friday from 9-11am on 610 KDAL(www.kdal610.com) on the "John Gilbert Show," and writes a column in the Duluth Reader.
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