2012 Kia Soul update confirmed for Oz

Kia Australia has confirmed a September launch for its updated 2012 Soul line-up, bringing a number of styling and equipment tweaks to the quirky-cool hatch.

Revealed late last month, the updated Soul features Kia's new 2.0 litre 'NU' petrol engine, boosting power to 120kW - up from the 91kW output of the current Soul's 1.6 litre petrol engine.

In the US market, fuel consumption for the 2.0 litre petrol engine is listed at 8.7 l/100km in city driving, and 7.0 l/100km on the highway.

Kia Australia's Kevin Hepworth said that while local timing for the NU engine has still to be confirmed, it is likely that it will feature when the Australian-delivered Soul range is updated in September.

A new GDI (gasoline direct injected) 1.6 litre petrol engine will also feature in the US line-up. Mr Hepworth said that cost and supply factors mean that, at least for the near future, it is unlikely to feature in the Australian range.

New six-speed manual and automatic transmissions are also expected to replace the current five-speed manual and four-speed automatic transmissions.