Kia Soul

Here's a burdened Soul! Our spies have caught a Kia Soul prototype towing a trailer in the Austrian Alps, undergoing brake testing before hitting showrooms in early 2009.

We've already bared the production Soul in issue 1,014, but Kia is still busy putting the final touches on the car it hopes will rival the Mini and Fiat 500 by offering a plethora of options and possible trim combinations.

Set to be officially unveilled at the Paris Motor Show in October, prices for the Soul are expected to start at around £7,000. However, if the small Kia really does emulate its rivals from Mini and Fiat, the majority of cars are likely to fetch far north of that once a few options boxes have been ticked.