Kia rolled out its 2014 Soul during the New York Auto Show.

It can be risky tinkering with success. The auto industry is full of stories about one-time hits that failed to connect with buyers after a big redesign – think the second-generation of the boxy Scion xB. So excuse the folks at Kia for being as nervous as they are boastful as they roll out the next generation of the quirky Soul hatchback as the New York International Auto Show’s media preview gets underway.

True, it got a bit of a bit from its equally funky ads starring a bunch of hip-hop hamsters, but there’s no question the original Kia Soul connected with buyers in a big way, becoming one of the Korean carmaker’s biggest hits and helping it score a series of annual sales records since launching in 2009.

“When the first Soul was introduced in 2009, everyone at Kia believed we had a hit on our hands, but we didn’t realize how big that hit was going to be,” said Michael Sprague, executive vice president of marketing and communications at Kia Motors America. “The Soul moved the needle significantly from a sales and marketing perspective.”

What’s particularly significant about the outgoing Kia Soul is how it has maintained momentum in a niche that is normally filled with what industry analysts call “18-month wonders,” vehicles that come out blazing then all but vanish from the sales charts.

As Scion learned when it made the original, mini-box xB larger and a bit less edgy, redesigns can be a major risk. But eventually, even the strongest products have to go through a redesign or steadily lose momentum. That’s all the more so in fashion-forward segments.

So, how to put more Soul into the 2014 Soul? It helped to have landed another hit with the Track’ster concept car Kia introduced early last year. The show vehicle told designer Tom Kearns and his team they were on track and offered a few hints for additional refinements.

“The all-new Soul was one of the more difficult assignments we’ve taken on,” said Kearns. “Striking the right balance between the wonderful design of the current car with the audacious proportions and stance of the Track’ster was (nonetheless) daunting.”

The large trapezoidal lower air intake is a direct lift from Track’ster, as were the low-mounted foglamps.

Though it’s almost an inch longer and about a half-inch wider, a critical decision was made to maintain the basic look and feel of the 2014 Soul remake, targeting what might, in the fashion world, might be considered the accessories that can surprise and delight and keep the vehicle current. That includes some subtle tweaks to the front and rear, along with new LED accent lights. The familiar, tall taillamps didn’t go anywhere.

On a functional level, Kia did useful things like widening the rear cargo opening by 2.4 inches. And, in keeping with general industry trends, the automaker worked hard to give the interior a more tight and upscale feel, adding plenty of soft-touch materials – instead of hard plastic – to the doors, dash and center console. And Kia has upgraded and expanded the range of services available through the UVO eServices infotainment system found in Soul. That includes the integration of the Pandora music service.

The interior is where the most significant changes in design were made, again borrowing from the 2012 concept, said Kearns. “With the previous Soul, we kind of dipped our toe in the water when it came to incorporating circular patterns,” he explained. “But for the all-new Soul, we really wanted to lift as many of the Track’ster’s circular interior reference points as possible.”

Kia claims to have significantly stiffened the platform of the new 2014 Soul, which should yield both improved ride comfort and better handling. The updated model will offer a 130-horsepower 1.6-liter aluminum four-cylinder engine, and a 164-horsepower 2.0-liter I-4. Both engines, the maker said, were re-tuned to deliver more low-end torque. That should help address one of the few consistent complaints about the funk-mobile: off-the-line acceleration. Depending upon models there will be choices of a six-speed automatic or a six-speed manual.

Three different trim levels will be offered when the 2014 Kia Soul reaches showrooms around the end of summer.