Amongst all the amazingly extravagant show cars at Paris this year there were also several significant new car launches.
It’s just a hunch but I think one of the most significant may end up being the Kia Soul.
The Soul is a funky looking thing with scaled down SUV looks, clothing what are fairly straightforward front-wheel drive mechanicals. Yet, for some reason, the looks and concept of this thing are hugely appealing to me. I also managed to clock a pair of them parked on the streets of Paris and they looked great.
It’s due to go on sale next March for around £11,000 and should be available with lots of the sort of personalisation add-ons pioneered by the Mini. With these looks and for this money it deserves to succeed.
Kia has already proved that it can deliver us well-engineered, no nonsense cars. Wouldn’t it be something if it started appealing to the fashion conscious as well?