KIA SOUL NAMED SEGMENT WINNER IN J.D. POWER 2019 MULTIMEDIA QUALITY AND SATISFACTION STUDY

Kia Motors America’s (KMA) beloved urban runabout – the Soul – has been awarded Best Multimedia Quality in its award segment in the J.D. Power 2019 Multimedia Quality and Satisfaction Study. The announcement follows Kia’s award as the highest ranked mass market brand in the J.D. Power Initial Quality Study for the fifth consecutive year, with the Soul recognized among the top 10 vehicles in the industry¹.

“The Soul has been an undeniable success since its launch in 2009, and with the redesign of this third-generation model, the technologically advanced Soul is equipped to be a strong contender in the marketplace,” said Michael Cole, chief operating officer and EVP, Kia Motors America. “Being named Best Multimedia Quality among Compact Vehicles by J.D. Power serves to further reinforce Kia’s commitment to world-class quality and a premium ownership experience.”

The all-new Soul delivers unmatched style, peppy performance, thrilling technology and urban practicality, evolving the popular subcompact into the most advanced and innovative Soul yet. For the 2020 model year, the Soul offers impressive technology, including standard Android Auto² and Apple CarPlay³ and a suite of available options including: Bluetooth^®4 Multi-Connection, interior mood lighting, a 10.25-inch HD color touchscreen⁵ with split screen functionality and a 640-watt Harman/Kardon⁶ audio system – twice the wattage of the previous generation Soul.

“Simply offering a variety of multimedia technologies isn’t enough,” said Brent Gruber, Senior Director, Automotive Quality Practice at J.D. Power. “In order to enhance the vehicle experience, owners want those technologies to be problem free and work as expected. In the compact segment no vehicle demonstrates that high level of multimedia quality better than the Kia Soul.”

The J.D. Power Multimedia Quality and Satisfaction Study measures the experiences and opinions of vehicle owners regarding the quality, design and features of their audio, communication, entertainment and navigation systems in the first 90 days of ownership. Multimedia system quality is determined by the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles, with a lower score reflecting higher quality – the Kia Soul scored a 9.0 PP100.