What’s hot?

• The distinctive, tall and sawn-off looks were one of the original Soul’s selling points. Kia have reworked the second-generation Soul, to include elements of the Track’ster concept and the new car is best described as better and bolder.
• Every new Kia model feels better made than the last and I reckon this Soul is the best yet. This is particularly obvious in the interior; gone are the scratchy, shiny plastics to be replaced with softer slush patterns and in the Mixx trim’s case – plenty of shiny piano black plastic finishes. I also liked the attention to detail that I’ve never seen before in a Kia, with the Soul’s steering wheel and dashtop stitched in contrasting colour.
• Mixx trim isn’t quite the range-topping Soul, but you’ll want for no equipment on this £19,750 Kia. Particular highlights are the eight-speaker Infinity sound system and 8″ touch-screen sat-nav.
• Cee’d underpinnings equal a spacious interior for the Soul.
• Our test car was powered by the 126bhp, 1.6-litre diesel, which although not particularly fast (60mph comes up in  10.8 seconds and the top speed is 112mph),it does its best work from low to medium revs, meaning you’ll use the light and precise six-speed manual gearbox less.

What’s not?

• 132 g/km emissions are disappointing, plus rivals offer better fuel consumption than the Soul’s 56.5mpg Combined figure.
• The high C02 emissions mean this Soul falls into the 22% company car tax band for 2014/15.
• The 1.6-litre CRDi diesel might be torquey, but it gets quite noisy when you accelerate hard.
• The Soul Mixx is fitted with 18-inch alloy wheels as standard; these and the stiff suspension make for an uncomfortable, choppy ride.
• Despite the tall, boxy shape, the Soul doesn’t roll too much in corners, but the steering is so vague you’ll have no fun finding out.