Kia Soul Sport

It's small yet big, boxy yet stylish, dull yet sporty. It's hard to figure these new boxes entering the U.S. market, but the good news is that the Soul adds another option for people looking for this kind of inexpensive, economical and practical vehicle. Now with the Nissan Cube, buyers have real options including this Kia and cars such as the Honda Element and the Scion xB.

This one is good. I like the functional layout inside and the space, in the front and back seats and in the cargo area. Even though there's a lot of plastic inside, the use of bright color breaks it up and the fits are excellent. The driving position is good and comfortable, with controls easily within reach. Equipment is substantial, including steering-wheel audio controls, for instance. Kia even remembered to put a slider on the sun visor, to make sure it has enough reach to block the sun coming through the enormous side window. Smart, and missed by too many otherwise intelligent companies when designing these kinds of cars.

The engine is enough to move this box, especially with the five-speed manual gearbox to work with, but it's not going to excite anyone. I found the suspension fairly taut, almost too taut for our harsh road surfaces--pitching fore and aft and drumming the pavement imperfections into the cabin. But the tighter ride pays for itself by giving the Soul sportier handling than you might expect from a tall box.

I like the Soul, and I think anyone looking for a practical, functional and fun sort of car--for not a lot of money--will find it to their liking as well.

NEWS EDITOR GREG MIGLIORE: I did exactly what Kia would expect a young guy to do with this car: I took it to a Killers concert. Literally, that must be straight out of some kind of marketer's made-up scenario for what its target audience will do with this car. Unfortunately, I parked far away, so there was no chance to really gauge reaction from the crowd Kia is aiming for.

The look is over-the-top, I'll say that. It's different and weird. A lot of adjectives apply here, but it actually remains true to the concept of edgy and nonconformist wheels. Observing it in a parking space, the appearance is almost surreal, especially with those taillights and huge wheel arches.

The inside is a funhouse. I've never seen that much red plastic in one place. But it's functional, comfortable and offers a nice driving position for the road.

The five-speed is nice and the clutch is efficient. I encountered some turbulence on the road; a couple of times I reached speeds of about 70 mph on the expressway and had that shaky, about-to-tip-over feeling. OK, I get it--this isn't a low-slung Chrysler 300. But the Ford Escape and other small utes manage to avoid that lack-of-confidence feel. Most of the time, however, the drive experience was interactive and fun.

Honestly, the boxy, youthful segment doesn't do much for me. But among those competitors, this is a solid entry.

2010 Kia Soul Sport

Base Price: $17,645

As-Tested Price: $17,645

Drivetrain: 2.0-liter I4; FWD, five-speed manual

Output: 142 hp @ 6,000 rpm, 137 lb-ft @ 4,600 rpm

Curb Weight: 2,829 lb

Fuel Economy (EPA/AW): 26/32.3 mpg

Options: None

Projected Memorial Day traffic rises to 28 million travelers

Unless you've had your head glued to a computer monitor for the past month (like we have), odds are you know it's Memorial Day weekend. Thanks to a modestly improving economy and bottom-basement deals on accommodations and flights, this year's summer kick off is slated to see quite a few more travelers than last year. Consumer Reports says that all in all, 32.1 million Americans will be leaving home for a little R&R over the three-day weekend. That number is up a full two million travelers compared to 2009. They won't all be on the road, though. That figure takes into account air travel, buses and cruises, as well as people hopping behind the wheel.

As for us, a few of the Autoblog staff will be brave enough to do battle with the hordes taking to America's roadways this weekend, but the rest of the crew probably won't be going any farther than the back deck. So what about you, loyal readers? Where ya headed? Share your weekend TripTik or other auto-related plans with us in Comments.

Aston Martin to Race New Rapide at 24h

Aston Martin has taken the wraps off the race-spec version of its new Rapide sports saloon with which it will compete in the Nürburgring 24-hour race on 15-16 May, 2010.

The British firm said that the Rapide race car will be very close to the production model with changes including the addition of essential race safety modifications, the removal of the interior trim to reduce weight and a retuned suspension. It will also run on slick tires designed for track use.

The Rapide racer will be driven by a team of engineers from the company's Gaydon headquarters in Warwickshire, lead by the company's CEO, Ulrich Bez who had this to say about the car:

"This race represents the ultimate final engineering durability test for any sports car – it subjects the car to the toughest possible assessment under public scrutiny. The Rapide has the capability to carry four people in comfort but first and foremost it is a sports car and we will subject it to the same tests we would our other sports cars."

The Rapide will be joined at the Nurburgring race track by a V12 Vantage which in 2009 won its class and finished in 21st place overall in its racing debut.

Mansory's 'Prudent' Take on the New Rolls Royce Ghost

The 'King Julian' of car tuning, Mansory, showcased its individualization programme for the all-new Rolls Royce Ghost at the 2010 Geneva Salon. The Swiss-based tuner revamped both the look and the performance of the Phantom's smaller sibling in a way that's sure to grab people's attention and cause some heated comments.

Obviously a firm believer in the doctrine 'the gaudier the better', Mansory came up with a wild gold-on-blue paint job that sets the Ghost apart not only from its stock brethren but probably from anything on four wheels.

The 'discreet' paint theme is complemented by chunky 22-inch alloys finished in the same golden varnish as the exterior detailing and a bodykit comprising of a modified front bumper with supplementary LED lights and side air vents, side skirts, boot lid spoiler and a new rear apron with an integrated diffuser and unique tail pipes.

Mansory also adorned the Ghost's interior with diamond-quilted leather, light bamboo wood inlays render, decorative carbon trim and plenty of LEDs.

And yes, there's just as much "go" as there is "show" as Mansory's engineers fiddled around with the Ghost's 6.6-liter V12 engine by adding larger bi-turbochargers, a new exhaust system and an upgraded ECU.

These changes increase the V12's output from 570HP and 780Nm to 720HP and 1,020Nm or 752 lb-ft of peak torque respectively.

The tuned Ghost is now be able to sprint from zero to 100km/h (62) mph in just 4.4 seconds (down from 4.9 seconds) and reach a maximum velocity of 310km/h or 193 mph.

The all-wheel drive 335i xDrive coupe is slightly faster at 5.2 second

A little after a leaked brochure gave us our first taste of the lightly refreshed 2011 3-Series Coupe and Convertible models, BMW rushed out an official release and a whole bunch of pictures. For the 2011 model year, the Bavarian automaker's bread-and-butter coupe and cabriolet models receive some minor cosmetic touches and updated powerplants.

The most notable - that is, if you're a hardcore bimmer fan- changes on the outside concern the widened kidney grille, reshaped LED headlamps, front and rear bumpers with restyled lower fascias, new exterior mirrors and finally, reworked tail light cluster with a new color scheme.

According to BMW, these modifications slightly extend the front and rear overhangs by 1.14 and 0.12 inches respectively.

The only change in the cabin concerns the convertible models and the use of sun-reflective technology to mitigate temperatures on leather seating, armrest surfaces, headrests, and gear shifter. BMW says that this new treatment is able to reduce surface temperatures on dark interior colors by up to 20 Celsius degrees (36 Fahrenheit degrees) and by as much as Celsius degrees (27 Fahrenheit degrees)on light-colored upholstery.

In North America (we'll bring you details on the Euro spec models shortly), the 2011 3-Series Coupe and Convertible models will be offered once again in two flavors, the 328i and 335i.

As noted in our previous post, the 2011 335i is fitted with BMW's new twin scroll single turbocharged 3.0-liter straight six, designated N55, that replaces the previous model's N54 twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter straight six.

BMW says that even though output has remained the same as before at 300 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque, the new single turbo engine is more responsive, more fuel efficient, and cleaner-running than its predecessor.

The rear-wheel drive 335i Coupe and Convertible accelerate from 0 - 60 mph (96km/h) in just 5.3 (5.5 coupe automatic) seconds and 5.5 (5.7 cabrio automatic) seconds, respectively, when equipped with a six speed manual gearbox.

The all-wheel drive 335i xDrive coupe is slightly faster at 5.2 seconds (5.3 sec for the automatic model).

The 328i's 230 horsepower, 200 lb-ft, 3.0-liter inline-6 engine has been carried over unchanged from the 2010 model.

No word yet on the sporty 335is variants with a tweaked 3.0-liter twin-turbo churning out 322HP that were mentioned in the leaked sales leaflet (click here for details).

In the U.S. and Canada, the 2011 3 Series Coupe and Convertible models will go on sale in Spring 2010, with pricing set to be announced closer to the on-sale date.