Pope Francis Picks Kia Soul as Limo to Visit Korea

Pope Francis is very frugal and sincere and his lovely qualities have reflected on

his car pick. He will be visiting South Korea during five days and will be moving

around on a Kia, Soul Compact car instead of a Limo.

The head of the Roman Catholic Church initially asked to ride in the “smallest car

in Korea” during his first papal trip to Asia. Upon his request, several compacts

such as Kia Motors’ Morning and Ray and GM Korea’s Chevrolet Spark were cited

as possible candidates for the Popemobile. 

Safety issues made the Kia Soul as the car of choice for the Pope, which is slightly bigger than most compact cars at 1,600 cc. The

starting sticker price of the Soul stands at A$14,100. But choosing the Soul is a reflection of the pope’s thrifty lifestyle.  “It hurts me

when I see a priest or nun with the latest-model car. You can’t do this,” the pope said earlier in an interview. “A car is necessary to do a

lot of work, but, please, choose a more humble one.”

Since an assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in 1981, the head of the Roman Catholic Church has used the custom-made,

bullet-proof Popemobile. Despite such risks, Pope Francis has preferred an open-topped vehicle for tours through crowds in St. Peter’s

Square.  Francis’ commuting limo in the Vatican is a Ford Focus, on the contrary, Pope Benedict, his predecessor, used to ride in a BMW

X5 or a Mercedes.

Most predict that Kia, an affiliate of Hyundai Motor, would have the chance to raise its brand awareness during his visit as the pope’s

tours to Korean cities would be broadcasted globally through the international media. 

2,300 units of the car have been sold in the first half of this in Korea only, sold 75,000 in the United States, 4,400 in Europe and 2,800

in South America.

By Adriana Rueda

Source: The Korea Herald

Image: The Korea Herald