Yahoo Finance 2022 Kia Soul adopts new Kia logo, drops manual transmission option
The 2022 Kia Soul strides into its new model year with a few small but notable updates. For one, Kia is refreshing it with the new, artsy “Kia” logo. The Telluride gained the new logo a short time ago, so Kia is slowly rolling it out across the lineup. You’ll see the new Kia logo slapped on the hood, liftgate and center wheel caps for 2022.
There’s news in the manual transmission department, too, and the news is that there will be no more manual transmission. Kia is making the CVT standard equipment on the base LX trim, which was the only trim that offered Kia’s six-speed manual. It wasn’t a particularly attractive offer anyway — Kia limited color choice to just white, gray and black with the manual. The fun-to-drive Soul Turbo wasn’t offered with a manual either, instead sticking with the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic.
More tech is on the way for 2022. The 10.25-inch touchscreen reserved for the Turbo model now trickles down the trim tree to the S, X-Line and GT-Line models — big upgrades from the seven-inch screen fitted to these trims previously. Those three also gain navigation, dual-zone climate control, push-button start, a wireless phone charger and dual USBs in front. Even the base LX model gets a small infotainment system upgrade, going from a seven-inch screen to an eight-inch screen.
Lastly, Kia is adding an LX Technology Package to the portfolio that allows you to tack on a whole suite of driver assistance systems to its lowest trim. That tech package bundles 16-inch alloy wheels with it as an upgrade from the standard steel wheels.
The base price rises dramatically this year on account of dropping the manual transmission. A 2021 Kia Soul LX with a manual started at $18,765. Adding the automatic brought that price up to $20,265. For 2022, the base LX has a starting price of $20,365. That’s only $100 more than last year’s equivalent Soul, but we’re still sad to see the ultra-cheap manual option go away. The Turbo model sees a price boost, as it goes up by $1,315 to $28,695. Other trims see slight price increases with the additional equipment onboard, too.
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