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Kia Soul getting turbocharged variant, say hamsters

Last week, we reported on the return of Kia's Soul-promoting hamster mascots. They took on "Dueling Banjos," and it was adorable and entertaining and everything we expect from our favorite spokesrodents. But that same spot also hinted at something strange on the end slide – a Soul Turbo, coming this winter. One Autoblog staffer said I must have been so overcome by the return of my favorite spokeshamsters that I missed the end slide the first time around, and that might be true. Instead of debating that, let's focus on just what Kia revealed here. The company has long hinted that a higher-performance Soul was in the works, embodied by the Track'ster and Trail'ster concepts from 2012 and 2015. Both cars used a version of Hyundai/Kia's 1.6-liter, turbocharged four-cylinder, tuned to 250 hp in the Track'ster and 185 hp in the Trail'ster, which had the added bonus of a hybrid assist. Both added all-wheel-drive systems to the front-drive Soul package. A production Soul Turbo will likely fall between the hot-hatchback-like Track'ster and the off-road-focused Trail'ster. Expect Kia to pluck the corporate 1.6-liter turbo four for duty, with anywhere from 175 to 201 hp – we can hope for more, but that power spread covers Hyundai/Kia's current production trims for this engine. All-wheel drive seems like a given, based on Hyundai's approach to the Tucson, Kia's past few concepts, and the Soul's positioning as a sub-compact CUV. We've reached out to Kia for confirmation that the Soul Turbo is coming. As soon as we hear back, we'll update this post. And if you need a refresher on the video, we've embedded it below. The text in question pops up at 1:46. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Kia using quality and technology to increase sales and brand prestige

Kia is a long way from hawking the anonymous lozenge known as the Sephia on our shores. That was only 1994, though, and in less than 20 years the company has gone from judging its aspirations against Japanese budget competition to walking auto show floors checking out the German standard-bearers for tips on how to increase sales and brand prestige. In an interview with Automotive News, Kia executives laid out their plan for carving out a Volkswagen-like niche for the company whereby they could be viewed as the premium pick in a volume segment. Concepts like the Kia Cub, above, would seem to point in this direction.
Kia is keen to make sure its sales targets don't impinge on its quest for better and better quality.
Kia's prime directive is "an unrelenting focus on quality." The Japanese brands earned a reputation for bulletproof reliability, and Kia is keen to make sure its sales targets don't impinge on its quest for better and better quality - neither in-house nor for its suppliers, a trade-off we've seen go wrong before. It has a Pilot Center that studies each new model for potential production problems before being given the approval for manufacture, and it isn't until the quality control department gives the okay that manufacture can begin.

Ward's releases 10 Best Interiors list for 2014

While we're still a ways off from the automotive awards season proper, where things like North American Car and Truck of the Year, Motor Trend's Car of the Year and Car and Driver's Ten Best are named, that doesn't mean there aren't trophies being handed out to deserving automakers. Ward's 10 Best Interiors being one of them.
As the name might imply, the magazine focuses on the very best interior treatments in the US market. Whereas some awards purposely exclude extreme, high-dollar offerings, Ward's considers them - the only requirement is that a vehicle has a "new or significantly redesigned interior."
Ward's offered up the list of winners in simple, alphabetical order, and it only seems fair to do the same: