For the Shanghai Auto Show, Kia has decided that you can have your cake and eat it too. Now, being green no longer means losing your sense of individuality and the Kia SOUL Hybrid shown at Shanghai is out to prove it.

Kia’s boxy new hybrid disposes of the wind-cheating shape of the likes of Honda’s Insight, but underneath that bluff bodywork lies a green heart. The SOUL Hybrid may appear identical to the rest of the SOUL range, but hybrid running gear means a potential fuel economy of just 4.9 litres per 100km (48mpg).

Kia has previously shown a SOUL Hybrid concept at the Paris Auto Show. The only major external difference between that car and this model is the replacement of the concept’s clear bonnet with the regular SOUL’s steel item.

Under that steel bonnet, Kia has teamed its 1.6 litre petrol engine with a 15kW (20hp) electric motor and Constantly Variable Transmission. ‘Idle Stop & Go’ and a regenerative braking system also feature to help minimize fuel usage. The result: the SOUL Hybrid emits just 117 grams per kilometre of CO2.

[Images via Auto.Soho.com]