Video: 2020 Kia Soul, Soul EV: First Look

Well, that appears to be even more the case with this redesign of the 2020 model year Kia Soul, which gets an X line trim level that has a little more cladding on it to kind of look bulkier and maybe a little more off-road ready, even though it's just a front wheel drive hatchback. Still, lots more has changed about the Soul, including most dramatically, its front expression here. Gone is last year's kind of Kia tiger nose grill. There's actually this big kind of front bumper opening that replaces it down lower. The headlights are actually kind of splayed out to the side of that opening, not where you'd expect. Kind of where you might think fog lights are. The fog lights obviously sit below that. And up top are just daytime running lights that are joined by this kind of uni-brow sort of look. Kind of recalls in certain ways, the old Scion XB, another box car that was once a rival of the Kia Soul, no longer in the market. The Soul is kind of the only box car left, and well now it's kind of being marketed more as sort of a crossover, even maybe a little tiny SUV-type thing. In back, the Soul's tail lights take on a little more of a hockey stick design. There's also some dark trim that kind of separates them, as well as separating the roof to give a sort of floating roof look that's popular in many cars now. Overall dimensions, up about 2.2 inches for the Soul, wheel base is a little bit longer as well, but the car overall keeps kind of the boxy design for which it's been known. Inside, Kia says packaging has improved cargo volume by about five cubic feet, versus the outgoing Soul. And of course, it wouldn't be a Soul if there weren't funky textures and colors going on. Of course that is the case with this redesign. Front and center is a big 10-1/4-inch dashboard display. That's just big in any car, let alone a likely to be affordable compact model. You also get dual zone climate control and plenty of mood lighting that can alter to the beat of your music. There's actually six selectable moods now. There's hey yo, party time, traveling, romance, midnight city, and cafe. I'll take hey yo for 400, Alex. And if it's a daily double, I'll bet all of my money. Anyway, drive trains. The regular four cylinder works with a continuously variable automatic transmission or a six-speed manual, while the turbo four-cylinder works with a dual clutch automatic transmission. There's also going to be a Soul EV coming out, although Kia doesn't have full details on range and all that other good stuff. You won't find out that until early in 2019, but you can stay tuned to cars.com to read plenty more about the Soul and the Soul EV. The Soul goes on sale in the first half of 2019.