There were quite a few wry smiles when the Kia Soul Burner was delivered to the office car park last week.

With its black paintwork, black wheels, a bright red front grille and matching red wing mirrors, the Soul could easily be mistaken for a modern-day A-Team van.

Kia, however, have gone the extra mile and the whole car is also tattooed with a silhouette of a dragon in contrasting dark grey.

Distinctive to say the least, it is certainly the most eye-catching Kia I’ve ever driven and is probably a love-it-or-hate-it type of car.

There are just the two engines on this urban crossover, both 1.6-litre powered units – a diesel and petrol.

Both deliver 125bhp and their CO2 emissions range from 137g/km up to 157g/km.

In keeping with Soul’s rather individual character, every model has a high-end audio system capable of being linked to digital music players or other portable music devices such as your iPod.

There are also red disco lights that strobe in time with the music (yes really) and although this screams ‘chav’, you could say that features such as these are the very soul of the Soul.

At the rear, the Kia badge doubles as the tailgate handle to add a touch of fun.

Standard specification includes the fully enhanced audio system, including all the speaker enhancements and mood lighting systems; reversing sensors, chrome external door handles, rear spoiler and privacy glass.

Air-conditioning, all-round electric windows, remote central locking and six airbags are also fitted as standard.

The Kia Soul is refreshing, it stands out from the crowd and, believe it or not, is a real grower.

Factfile

Car: Kia Soul Burner 1.6 diesel

Price: £14,995

Top speed: 113mph

0-60mph: 11.3 seconds

Power: 126@4000rpm

Fuel: 47.9mpg (combined)

CO2 emissions: 137g/km