2014 Kia Soul Again Honored for International Design Excellence

Soul, GT4 Stinger Concept Win IDEA Medals

By Charles Krome

The inimitable style of the 2014 Kia Soul has been recognized once again by the global design community, this time with a 2014 International Design Excellence Award (IDEA) from the Industrial Designers Society of America. More specifically, the 2014 Kia Soul received a bronze medal in the transportation category of the 2014 IDEA program, which took into account factors such as innovation, benefit to the user, adherence to responsible-manufacturing guidelines, visual appeal and more.

Now, as design mavens may recall, this isn't the first time that the 2014 Kia Soul has captured a significant design award from the experts. Earlier this year, the recently redesigned Soul was recognized by WardsAuto as having one of the "10 Best Interiors" of 2014, joining an honor roll that also included the Chevy Corvette Stingray, Rolls-Royce Wraith, Mercedes-Benz S-Class and GMC Sierra Denali. Additionally, the current Soul garnered top international recognitions from two of Germany's most prestigious design organizations, claiming both an "iF Design Award" from the International Forum Design group and a "Red Dot Award" from Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen.

And neither was the 2014 Kia Soul the only Kia to come up with an IDEA. The judges also awarded a silver medal to the GT4 Stinger, a boldly styled sports-car concept that made its world premiere in Detroit at the 2014 North American International Auto Show.

“These IDEA honors are truly a testament to the abilities of the Kia Motors design team,” said Tom Kearns, chief designer of Kia Design Center America. “The GT4 Stinger was conceived selfishly, but to great effect: We wondered what it would be like for the California-based design team to execute our vision of the ultimate Kia performance car, with a keen focus on drop-dead-gorgeous exterior styling and unparalleled driving dynamics. As for the Soul, reinventing an icon is perhaps the biggest challenge our team has faced. You have to offer a fresh take without losing the essence of what made the original so appealing. In both cases, we couldn’t be happier with the results.”