Geneva 2008: Kia Soul

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Kia has a Soul - in triplicate. The Soul is a compact crossover SUV-hatch in a similar vein to the Nissan Qashqai. The three Geneva show cars demonstrate its suitability for customising and personalising.

Soul Diva is designed with fashion-conscious young women in mind; its black, white and gold cabin has quilted leather-effect upholstery and black deep-pile carpets, glittery surfaces and a full-length tinted glass roof panel.

Soul Burner has a satin black paint finish with tattoo-style dragon decals, LED daytime driving lamps and a two-tone cabin with four individual sports seats, the upper section red and the lower black.

Soul Searcher is the zen one: "it sets out to capture the spirit of Korean and Far Eastern culture with a focus on achieving personal inner peace and creating a calm cocoon for the occupants", says Kia. The bonnet, folding roof, powered tailgate panel, dashboard, door panels and steering wheel are all covered in distressed leather, and the seats and carpets are covered in grey-beige felt.

The Soul has been specifically developed to appeal to younger buyers; in the States it'll go up against the likes of the Scion xB when sales start late this year. US-spec versions of the Soul will have a 2.0-litre petrol engine and five-speed automatic gearbox, but Euro-market models will no doubt come with smaller engines, manual gearboxes and the option of a diesel. Expect all the latest communications and entertainment technologies. The production version will be unveiled at the Paris Motor Show this autumn.

Kia is also showing versions of its pro_ceed (three-door) and cee'd (five-door) hatchback designated eco_cee'd. These have improved fuel consumption (72.4mpg) and carbon dioxide emissions reduced to 104g/km (pro_cee'd) and 106g/km (cee'd). The technologies in these concepts will be applied to production models as of December 2008.