Kia has introduced the Trail’ster concept at the Chicago Auto Show this week. It’s based on the Soul but it adopts an all-wheel drive system by mixing up a 1.6-liter 4-cylinder turbocharged gasoline engine with an electric motor. The former sends 188 HP and 185 lb-ft to the front axle while the latter generates 36 HP and 100 lb-ft transferred to the rear wheels. There’s also a lithium-ion polymer battery with a capacity of 1.2 kWh and a 6-speed automatic transmission. The Trail’ster concept can actually run solely on electric power for 2-3 miles but it was basically added to improve traction during off-road driving.
The Trail’ster concept looks significantly different than the 2015MY Soul as it wears a beefier body painted in Polar Pearl Snowdrift and benefits from a fully retractable canvas waterproof roof. It also has aluminum skid plates, LED headlights & taillights along with bespoke 19-inch alloy wheels wrapped around in 245/45/19 Pirelli Winter Carving snow tires.
Stepping inside the cabin, Kia’s Trail’ster concept looks just about the same as the interior of a Soul but we do notice the brown leather seats, aluminum inlays on the floor mats, all-wheel drive system controls, thickset gear shifter and a red ignition button.
Kia says the concept serves as a preview for a production all-wheel drive Soul.
Source: Kia
