I quickly realized that the signs we have back in Canada have other meanings here in Korea. I barely avoided going against one-way traffic on multiple occasions. I also found out that Seoul's city grid is an extremely complex combination of streets and alleyways. Our poor guide had to use his GPS a lot to determine our exact location and get us back on the right track. He even resorted to the concierge from our hotel to get the proper directions.
One must be a bit insane or totally heedless to undertake such an adventure without any sort of preparation!
Out on the open road
Jason was understandably nervous minutes before the start of our journey on the open road. Traffic was dense and I continuously had to fight for my spot. There were tons of other Souls in the nation's capital and mine proved quite manoeuvrable and agile despite feeling slightly underpowered at times.
Admittedly, in such demanding and unfamiliar driving conditions, the back-up camera couldn't have been more helpful. How demanding? Well, I literally had to park on the sidewalk and wedge myself between pedestrians in order to let incoming cars pass by. And this was supposed to be a two-way street!
In less than two hours, we managed to cover a dozen kilometres only. My experience in Montreal traffic came in handy as I expertly navigated among other road users and even backed into private driveways to yield the right-of-way.
I also completed a (legal) U-turn on a 12-lane boulevard (6 in each direction) in order to resume the original itinerary. All the while, I could hear Jason giggling in the back.
It took us more than two hours to reach our destination through this seemingly illogical maze. The real winner (beside my personal driving skills) was obviously the Kia Soul, which showcased beyond doubt its ability to deliver solid ride and handling in tough conditions.
The Soul not only embodies Kia's unique design approach but also displays great competence in a wide range of driving scenarios. And believe me, this includes "extreme" driving scenarios.
 |
| Photo: Kim we soo |
One must be a bit insane or totally heedless to undertake such an adventure without any sort of preparation!
Out on the open road
Jason was understandably nervous minutes before the start of our journey on the open road. Traffic was dense and I continuously had to fight for my spot. There were tons of other Souls in the nation's capital and mine proved quite manoeuvrable and agile despite feeling slightly underpowered at times.
Admittedly, in such demanding and unfamiliar driving conditions, the back-up camera couldn't have been more helpful. How demanding? Well, I literally had to park on the sidewalk and wedge myself between pedestrians in order to let incoming cars pass by. And this was supposed to be a two-way street!
In less than two hours, we managed to cover a dozen kilometres only. My experience in Montreal traffic came in handy as I expertly navigated among other road users and even backed into private driveways to yield the right-of-way.
I also completed a (legal) U-turn on a 12-lane boulevard (6 in each direction) in order to resume the original itinerary. All the while, I could hear Jason giggling in the back.
It took us more than two hours to reach our destination through this seemingly illogical maze. The real winner (beside my personal driving skills) was obviously the Kia Soul, which showcased beyond doubt its ability to deliver solid ride and handling in tough conditions.
The Soul not only embodies Kia's unique design approach but also displays great competence in a wide range of driving scenarios. And believe me, this includes "extreme" driving scenarios.
 |
| Photo: Marc Bouchard/Auto123.com |
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