在今年二月，谍照记者首次拍到了新款起亚秀尔，当时该车进行了重度伪装，正在进行雪地测试。而最近，有人在YouTube上发布了一段在科罗拉多州拍到的秀尔测试视频。而从视频中并未出现的雪地判断，这短视频就是最近拍到的。具体的拍摄地点是丹佛以西约70英里（约合112公里）的Silverthorne。这次拍到的秀尔也比上次少了一些伪装。前轮轮拱上的伪装拿掉了，透露出车身和轮拱更具雕刻感的线条，但也不排除这是另外增加的车身面板用来迷惑其他人。仔细看车辆前部，可以发现新的前大灯设计，而车尾的LED尾灯组向两侧延伸，提升了时尚感。该车据传将提供全轮驱动，只不过是作为选装件，标配还是前轮驱动。而新车动力系统选择预计与现行版一样，包括前驱版搭载的四缸引擎和全轮驱动版搭载的涡轮增压引擎。预计该车将在11月举行的洛杉矶车展或明年初的北美车展首次亮相。
2019 Kia Soul Caught Cruising In Colorado
It was all the way back in February when we got our first look at the new Kia Soul. Wrapped in heavy camo and testing in the snow, that first encounter gave us quite a few photos but we haven’t seen the plucky compact crossover since then. That is, until the guys from TFLnow on YouTube came upon a prototype enjoying slightly warmer weather in Colorado. The video posted yesterday, and the lack of snow on the ground tells us this is a very recent sighting.
From what we can see in the video, the exact location appears to be Silverthorne, Colorado, about 70 miles west of Denver. It also appears the Soul has lost a bit of its camo wrap since we last saw it, but not much. The wrap is gone from the fenders, revealing some sculptured body lines on both the fender and door, though it could just be some clever body cladding to throw us off. We do get a very good, close look at the new front clip beneath the covers, showing us a bit more of the new stacked headlight design. Similarly, we can see what appears to be LED tail lights that wrap around onto the hatch in a pretty dramatic fashion.
One thing we can’t determine from this short clip is the powertrain underneath the skin. The big rumor for the new Soul is that all-wheel drive will finally be offered as an option with front-wheel drive serving as the base platform. If that’s the case we expect to see engine options similar to what’s currently offered, with naturally aspirated four-cylinder mills turning the fronts and a turbocharged option for all-wheel drive.
The Soul has been a home run for Kia, and to the automaker's credit, the new model has been kept well under wraps. Given the amount of cover we still see on this prototype it’s likely a full reveal is some months away, possibly in November at the L.A. Auto Show or early next year in Detroit.