Toyota Rukus v Kia Soul 2010 Comparison

Overall rating: 3.0/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 2.5/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 3.5/5.0
Safety: 3.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 3.0/5.0
X-factor: 4.0/5.0

Kia Soul3

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $27,390
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): Nil
Price as tested: $ 27,390
Crash rating: Four-star (Euro NCAP)
Fuel: 91 RON unleaded
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 7.0L/100km
CO2 emissions (g/km): 167

Overall rating: 3.0/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 2.0/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 3.0/5.0
Safety: 3.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 2.5/5.0
X-factor: 4.0/5.0

About our ratings

If you've been thinking Toyota epitomises all that is practical, sensible and non-challenging in a motor vehicle, then how about the language used in the press kit for the new Rukus? Are "Hot and hip", "Chilled" and "Street cred" terms you'd normal ascribe a Toyota?

Goodness no... Such terminology is hardly likely to describe your average Camry/Corolla. Practical, sensible and non-challenging are more like it -- which is precisely the way Toyota has nurtured its image over all these years.

The Rukus, on the face of it, is quite a divergence. It invites the new language because it heads off at right angles from previous Toyota lines of thought. Thus the word play of ‘thinking inside the box' and the somewhat strained street-speak aimed at an unaccustomed demographic. For unaccustomed demographic, think Gen Y and think a little aberrant in terms of car choice.

For Toyota Australia, this is new and obviously the aspirations re volume are realistic rather than ambitious, with expectations of around 150 to 200 Rukuses a month. The little wheeled box will, it is hoped, add a little more depth if not a surge in sales.

But the Rukus does have competition.

Kia brought the very similarly conceived Soul to Australia early in 2009, with some excitement -- as it is intended to do for the Korean brand what the Rukus could do for Toyota. The result is we have two quirky cars that are seemingly close to interchangeable.

So the first questions to ask is how Rukus compares with the Soul which has had more than a year to settle into its market niche. (And it is a niche, with 407 Souls registered last year and 276 so far in 2010 on a year-to-date basis – up from 196 during the same period in 2009 but still Kia's slowest seller apart from the Rondo. This is far short of Toyota's already modest expectations, although the Japanese company has more grunt behind it to drive customer interest.)

Dimensionally, there's a little in the Toyota's favour, but only a little. The Rukus is around 150mm longer, 35mm higher and, at 2600mm, has 50mm more wheelbase. But it's a tad narrower than the Soul in both body width (25mm) and track width (45mm front, 55mm rear).

The packaging is similar too, with the Toyota picking up a little extra space due to its slight size advantage.

The Kia's big deficit is in engine capacity, although this is compensated quite a lot by the vehicle's lighter weight.

The Rukus sports a gutsy 2.4-litre four developing 123kW/224Nm while the Soul makes do with 1.6 litres and 91kW/156Nm. But the Korean weighs a good 200kg less, meaning the power-weight is not that far behind.

The smaller engine pays dividends in fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. Here the Korean blows the Japanese brand away with 7.0L/100km in four-speed auto form, compared with the auto-only Toyota's 8.8L/100km. The emissions are a lot better too, with readings of 167g/km of CO2 stacking up against the Toyota's 208g/km.

And whether people attracted to cars like the Rukus and Soul place a lot of emphasis on how it performs against the stopwatch is a moot point. The Soul is handy enough on the road, although there's never any question the Toyota is more relaxed and comfortable with a few people on board.

But the Soul does have something extra up its sleeve: It is also available with a 1.6-litre turbodiesel engine that makes a bit more power (94kW) and a lot more torque (260Nm) than the petrol engine. As well as being swifter on the road, it's also more economical, averaging 5.2L/100km in manual form or 5.9L/100km as an auto. It's also cleaner, with CO2 emissions of 137g/km and 155g/km respectively.

So the Rukus is a tad bigger the Soul, and more powerful than the petrol Kia but doesn't offer a diesel. There are price differences too. It's possible to step aboard a petrol Kia Soul, before on-road costs, for about $21,000 where the cheapest (auto only) Rukus is tagged at $27,490 before on-roads. The diesel manual Soul is $26,990 and the auto starts at $28,690.

Both cars are available in three basic levels before options. For Rukus it's all-auto with the Build 1 ($27,490), Build 2 ($29,990) and Build 3 ($31,790). The Kia comes in petrol-only base Soul form ($20,990), and steps up to petrol or diesel Soul2 ($23,190 petrol manual, $25,190 petrol auto, and $26,990 diesel manual and $28,690 diesel auto) and auto-only Soul3 (petrol $27,390, diesel $30,890).

At top level as tested here, standard equipment favours the Build 3 Toyota. Both cars get standard stability control (the base Soul doesn't), antilock brakes and six airbags, but the Rukus includes cruise control, Bluetooth, leather trim and a sunroof. And it comes with standard climate control where the top Soul3 offers just air-conditioning. Importantly though, the Soul comes with a five-year, unlimited-kilometres factory warranty where the Toyota makes do with the standard three years.

Next question, now the Rukus has been put into some sort of context with its Korean counterpart, is how effectively it makes its bold step into a previously unexplored landscape.

In terms of space and general demeanor, the Rukus does a decent job. The ride is generally smooth and absorbent and, even if it doesn't pretend to be at all sporty, the turn-in via the electrically assisted steering (2.9 turns lock to lock) and general cornering behaviour rank as better than good.

This compares favourably with the Kia, which at Soul3 level wears massive 18-inch boots compared with the Toyota's 16-inch alloys and, with its meaty 225/45 rubber, is decidedly firm. The steering is slightly sharper than the Toyota with 2.75 turns lock-to-lock, and would give the Kia the nod in terms of handling were it not for the awful electric assistance that, in certain situations, is hesitant and far from smooth.

Likewise with the engine response which, although not at all a problem around town, leaves the Kia wanting out on the open road where the four-speed auto constantly changes up and down when dealing with moderate inclines. It could do with a sequential shifter.

With its massive (50 per cent) capacity advantage, the Rukus never gets into difficulties - although the chickens do come home to roost at fill-up time. We averaged 8.6L/100km on test though, which is a touch better than the official claim.

And the Rukus gives you cruise control -- although like many others it tends to run away on only moderately steep descents.

In terms of general amenity, both fulfill their chosen role very well. The driver and passengers sit high in the manner of a small SUV, entry and exit is easy with nicely judged hip points and, even if the boot is smallish in both cases there's the amenity of a split-fold rear seat.

In surprising obeisance to styling rather than function, the Kia does have a restrictive tailgate opening that limits the ability to load even moderately bulky items. The Toyota's tailgate by contrast is appropriately wide and generous.

Both have space-saver spare tyres.

Interior presentation, in either car, is perhaps a little less outlandish than you'd expect.

The Rukus is reminiscent of an old Nissan X-Trail with its ordinary-looking central-speedo dash, and the Kia only appears special if you order the neat contrasting glovebox interior colour and get off on the pulsating lights in the door speakers. And if, unlike the Rukus, the Soul doesn't give you standard Bluetooth, then it does provide a standard headlight adjuster on the dash.

Otherwise, in both instances, it's the usual array of hideaway places and prolific cupholders. The Rukus gets a centre bin between the front seats where the Kia doesn't, and also has a handy hidden storage area under the rear floor.

The Toyota does offer more passenger space too, with plenty of front and rear legroom and, as mentioned earlier, has a more easily accessible rear load area. The Soul is tighter for passenger legroom in the back although Kia does claim it will swallow a couple of mountain bikes with the seats folded -- something many of us either want, or would just like to know. Both are ‘lifestyle' vehicles after all.

Both go for broke with their sound systems: The Soul3, apart from its flashing disco speakers, offers 315-Watt Psychoacoustic PowerBass technology and eight speakers. The top-shelf Rukus comes with an external amplifier and nine speakers including a centre speaker and sub-woofer. Doof!

When Mr Music stops the Toyota appears to have an on-road edge with its stronger (petrol) engine and more refined ride/handling, but it's not as clean, or as fuel-efficient as the Kia. And, in the end, it's the more expensive choice.

A big advantage for the Kia is its diesel option, which nulifies any power advantage enjoyed by the petrol Rukus, and is cleaner and thriftier again. The company claims one tank will take you close to 1000km in the diesel.

The bottom line is the bottom line. If a few grand is important to your average Gen Y buyer, then the Kia Soul has the advantage. If it isn't, the Toyota Rukus gives you a bit more space, and easier open-road driving.

Both have the ability to turn heads on the street and both, at the end of the day, are well priced for their intended market. And both -- particularly the Kia Soul -- offer plenty of options to express individual personalities.

It's a case of how conventionally quirky you'd like to be.

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