We are still more than a year and a half away from the release of the 2019 Kia Soul, which is why it’s tough to make any sort of wild claims about what we can expect from the redesign.
That said, there are some rumors out there that we believe are definitely worth sharing.
The majority of these rumors come from FB pages, forums, and YouTube channels devoted to the Soul, most of which are usually eerily accurate.
Many of the people who post these nuggets are close to people within Kia Motors, which is why they are privy to sensitive information.
Some even have the ear of the Kia brass, and they tell them what current Soul owners would like to see in future models.
Latest Kia news update: 2022 Kia Soul goes on sale in US
We have 4 rumors about the 2019 Kia Soul for you, so let’s get right to them:
2019 Kia Soul to get all-wheel-drive?
Soul owners have been after an AWD model for some time now, and they might just get it with the 2019 model.
The new platform that the Soul will ride on is originally made for FWD, but it is also made with an option for AWD, which Kia should take advantage of given the demand for that option on the Soul.
2019 Kia Soul EV to offer longer driving range
The Kia Soul EV has been around for a little while now, and while the all-electric model has proven to be very reliable, it does fall a little short on driving range.
Kia are planning to change all that with major enhancements to their electric drivetrain technology, all of which adds up to more miles on a single charge.
Kia Soul release date
We are obviously still too far away from the unveiling to have an official release date for the new Kia Soul in Canada and the US, but we can hazard a few guesses as to when we will see it first.
The most likely places for an unveiling would be the 2018 Los Angeles Motor Show or the 2019 North American Motor Show.
The new generation Soul crossover vehicle should hit dealerships shortly after the official unveiling.
A rugged new design
If we are to believe the rumors of a 2019 Soul AWD model, then the rumors of a more rugged design would certainly seem to fit.
The Trail’ster AWD concept model from a few years back was designed to see what people would think of a more rugged Kia Soul, and the feedback was totally positive.
There are some who also believe that we may even see two different versions of the new generation Soul: a sleek, sporty model with FWD and a rugged one like the Trail’ster AWD.
Conclusion
We are going to have to wait for official word about any changes to the next-generation Kia Soul, but these 4 rumors certainly help to get us excited about the release.
One thing that we can be sure of is that the Kia boxy car will be as stylish and popular as it has always been.
We will bring you all the latest news on the new generation Kia Soul as soon as we can.
AWD would be great, but do not alter the shape. We want it to look like a Soul
Agreed as long as you dont screw the the actual design
I like the rumors too. Himi could this be on the Hyundai Kona platform?
An AWD Kia Soul would be aawesome – Kia won’t mess with the great body design. Rest assured!
I have a 2013 Kia Soul+. I love my Kia Soul. I would buy another Kia Soul. I am going to wait for the 2019 Kia Soul AWD. It would be great to have a Kia Soul AWD around here in Michigan. Diffently for the winter time. Michigan can get a lot snow. Kia Soul AWD great thing to have to get through the snow.
Hi, Meredith. I own a 2011 Kia Soul white base 5-speed stick. I love that thing! I would buy another Kia Soul – I don’t really need AWD, unless my wife and I move to a really cold, icy climate. Then the AWD would come in handy. Our Kia Soul’s stereo is great and is loud. Our seats are made with the kind of material that resists wear and staining, too. It is kind of slow in 1st and really even 2nd gear, but once it’s into 3rd gear the car really picks up speed. It’s a really fun car to drive – steers and tracks true and doesn’t let in a lot of road noise, either. Paid $11,995 for our Soul in July of 2014 – it’s a 2011 that had 35,875 miles on it. We’re at 86,297 miles right now. Love our 2011 Kia Soul!
Hey anyone every wondered why Kia needs the Cadenza over here in the USA? If their sales have declined, focus on what makes sense. We dont need the k900 or the Cadenza. The Stinger and Optima would probably sell better axing out the K9 and Cadenza in USA.
Sells are probably down because the Sportage is way over due for a redesign from the ground up. You have the new Nissan Rogue and Rav4 which are sellers right now. The Sportage model design is about 8 years old now.
The Forte design is an epic fail. It maybe better quality than the 1st generation but it doesnt look better. Im suprised its the best selling model in the US when CUV sells are increasing.
Sorento seems ok and its facelift is coming at perfect time.
Rio I expect that to see decline as B segment SUVs are picking up.
The Stonic and Soul in the same line up shouldnt be a bother in the states. As long as the two vehicle have two different personalities
From the looks this Soul on Spy shots seems to be more of a rugged or truck like CUV while the Stonic seems more like a sporty fast CUV.
My only thought is why still waste R&D for Cadenza and K900 when they can be replaced here with new models more of America’s needs?
The Stinger could had been cheaper base price and fullfill the role of the Avalon and the Lexus IS at the same time.
The only cars that fullfills Kia being the sporty brand over Hyundai are Stinger, Optima, Sportage, Ceed, Soul, Rio, Niro and Stonic.
If the Stonic comes here it needs a better name by the way.
If Kia wants to see increased sells again they need to stop trying to fullfill every segment toyota has and focus on what where demand in sales are really at. D SEGMENT cars are getting larger every redesign, it is almost pointless these days to need an E segment car.
And C segment cars are nearly as big as D segment cars. What is the point of the Cadenza?
And When is Genesis brand going to release some Utility Vehicles?
Target Buick, Cadillac and Lincoln CUVs their Compact CUVs seem to be the high demand. Genesis should focus on that segment the Cadillac XT5 and Lincoln MKC are the segments good for Genesis brand.
I would love to see a camera forward and back to record in case oof any accident proof.,
Already in many car, as the reverse camera already exist on the soul, this feature should be easy to intall.
A serious plus would be to have the sunroof or skyline available to the uk on the Ev model as well as the Mobile phone system to warm your car at distance……
Competition is coming, Kia need to upgrade his take if they really want to be with the Top dog of the car in the U.K
Also why oh mighty why do you not give the U.K the cooling seat as you do in the U.K
This option will make a difference as i often use cool hair on my feet, am I the only one, from my experience No
@Jtz – the Sportage isn’t that old and sales are relatively low b/c of lack of supply (only around 8k on the lots right now) as Kia didn’t increase capacity enough and the Sportage is a big seller in Europe, Australia, NZ, etc.
As for the Soul – adding AWD should help to prevent sales being taken by the increasing # of subcompact CUVs (even if certain models like the CH-R also don’t offer AWD); this is important as it seems that the Stonic is not slated for the US market – with NA getting a different subcompact CUV later.
Going back to the Soul – maybe an e-AWD system would be enough for most.
The Cadenza is nice for what it is (better than the Lexus ES), but when the Stinger arrives – will be hard for the Cadenza to compete against the similarly priced Stinger.
The K900 is fine even if it hardly sells. It’s replacement will be a giant step forward.
If the next Forte looks anything like the Novo concept – should sell well.
What Kia really needs is a full-size, 3-row crossover and maybe a luxury crossover sharing underpinnings with the Stinger.
Good points, BD!
I would like to add that Kia should also concentrate on EVs. Those are the future of automotive industry and they should invest heavily into that segment.
There was a time when I also thought that all-electric propulsion was the future for automobiles. Now it looks like it is not – the infrastructure has been built painfully slow – buy-in from the car-buying public has been ultra-cautious and slow, too. Range is too small – alternative battery packs must be built and the process further refined in such a way that the public trusts it – and it needs to be more affordable. That is a huge challenge and is not going to be easy compared to the existing ICE infrastructure.
LK December 29,2017
I would like for the Kia Soul to have Lane departure warning,parking sensors, rain-sensing wipers, and forward collision alert.
I would love to know if any of the above features are in the works for the 2019 Kia Soul with the turbo engine?
i hope kia designers use their brains for the 2019 soul. i was going to get a 2018, but once again as in the 2017, they put a cheap and ugly interior in the ! trim. you can buy t he lesser trims with leather interior, but not the top trim. makes no sense! they also need to add some decent colors to their line. vw has a beautiful blue in their beetle, the anvil color by jeep is amazing and there are so many great colors other than black, red, white and silver. c’mon kia….it’s a fun car. let’s get some fun colors and leather !!!
and i’ll say it again !!!!!
i hope kia designers use their brains for the 2019 soul. i was going to get a 2018, but once again as in the 2017, they put a cheap and ugly interior in the ! trim. you can buy t he lesser trims with leather interior, but not the top trim. makes no sense! they also need to add some decent colors to their line. vw has a beautiful blue in their beetle, the anvil color by jeep is amazing and there are so many great colors other than black, red, white and silver. c’mon kia….it’s a fun car. let’s get some fun colors and leather !!!
I have a kia soul exclaim 2012 and it is the best car I have ever owned. by the way it’s the dark grey SHARP. You just can’t beat the warranty either. If kia comes out with an awd soul,I will be buying that instead of a subaru which in fairness is a great car too. But let be serious here and I hope kia will heed what I have to say. PRICE IS EVERYTHING!!! If the awd version is under 25,000 then you have A HIT ON YOUR HANDS!!!
the spy pix of the 2019 soul look like they replaced the panoramic sunroof with a regular sized sun roof. is that possible?? did they screw up the best feature of the soul??
Is there any way to upgrade the 2017 battery for longer range, especially in colder weather when my range dropped to 74 miles at 100% charge? Should the range drop from original 94 miles in colder weather?