Kia Soul Sport: Music for the souls of 20-somethings

Back before the Earth cooled, J.C. Penney and other fine retail outlets sold a component stereo system whose speakers pulsed with colored lights in time with the music. There was also, it seems to me, a Wurlitzer organ that had dancing lights in the speaker cabinet. In the 1970s, this qualified as staggeringly awesome.

So I was surprised -- and not a little nostalgic -- to see this "technology" show up in the 2010 Kia Soul Sport, a fervid box of discount hipness targeting audio-obsessed teens and 20-somethings.

Our $18,345 test car was equipped with six speakers (including a center channel and subwoofer) powered by an external amp pushing enough decibels to loosen one's grip on bodily functions. The door speakers have LED lights built in that throb to the music.

The Soul is a cool-looking little gizmo penned with confidence if not gall: the bold upward window-sill line, the deep beveling around the windows, the outsize fender flares, the frog-eyed headlamps and vertical tail-lamp assemblies.

Other than its resolute boxiness, the Kia Soul recommends itself primarily on the basis of price, and I must say the Soul delivers a significant amount of kit for the money: power accessories, keyless entry, fog lights, lots of tarty sport trim (roof spoiler, side sills, front bumper and side moldings), and fairly racy 18-inch wheels and tires.

Is it fun to drive? God, no. It's a shopping cart. Powered by a 2-liter, 142-horsepower four-cylinder engine and five-speed manual transmission, it moans under hard acceleration. The steering feels vague, and the car corners skittishly. The clutch and brake pedals couldn't feel more numb if you had an epidural, and the shift feels like a spoon in an empty bowl.

The Soul -- with MacPherson strut front suspension and torsion beam rear -- is built on a modified Kia Rio platform, not on anyone's list of mind-blowing sporters.

Note: If the anesthetized torpor of the five-speed-equipped car proves too much, you can choose a four-speed automatic for no extra cost. Still too hairy? The base model comes with a 1.6-liter, 122-horsepower four-banger.

Here's the thing, though: The target audience is not much interested in driving fun, per se, at least as we defined it back in my carbureted youth.

For the Kia's first-car audience, fun means being able to pile your friends in the back -- the vast rear doors and large back seat make that easy -- and heading out for an affordable night of self-inflicted hearing loss. Fun means a warranty that won't expire until after you get out of graduate school. Fun means being able to make your car payment. Fun means affording the gas.

For parents who may be financially assisting, the Soul offers the consolation of lots of safety gear, including stability control, six air bags and active headrests. The Soul scored five stars in both the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration's crash-test rating and Europe's NCAP.

The soul of this car resides in the interior, and it doesn't disappoint ... much. The seats are mounted on pedestals, so there's plenty of legroom to go with the vast headroom. The high-design, two-tone interior -- red/black in our "Molten" red test car -- looks great. The center stack's audio and climate controls are easy to reach and operate. Most of the dash is covered in soft plastic, like the rubbery grip tape you'd put on a skateboard.

The problem with the interior is that the hard plastic on the doors and interior panels is easily scuffed. The driver's door of the test car was pretty well scarred when I got it. I expect Kia soon will rethink its materials.

The Soul joins the Scion xB, Honda Element and the new Nissan Cube in the boxy boxing ring, and I think it will do just fine.