Compare the2022 Kia SoulVS 2021 Fiat 500X

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Soul are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The 500X doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety tests front crash prevention systems. With a score of 6 points, IIHS rates the Forward Collision Avoidance Assist optional in the Soul as “Superior.” The 500X scores only 4 points and is rated only “Advanced.”

The Soul’s optional driver alert monitor detects an inattentive driver then sounds a warning and suggests a break. According to the NHTSA, drivers who fall asleep cause about 100,000 crashes and 1500 deaths a year. The 500X doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Soul and the 500X have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, with its optional vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, with its optional vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its available headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Soul the rating of “Top Pick” for 2021, a rating granted to only 121 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The 500X last would have qualified as a “Top Pick” in 2017.

The Soul comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The 500X’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the Soul 6 years and 50,000 miles longer than Fiat covers the 500X. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the 500X ends after only 4 years or 50,000 miles.

There are over 2 times as many Kia dealers as there are Fiat dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Soul’s warranty.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Soul has a standard 760-amp battery. The 500X’s 500-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Soul first among small suvs in their 2020 Initial Quality Study. The 500X isn’t in the top three in its category.

The Soul Turbo’s standard 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder produces 24 more horsepower (201 vs. 177) than the 500X’s 1.3 turbo 4-cylinder.

On the EPA test cycle the Soul Turbo Auto turbo 4 cyl. gets better fuel mileage than the 500X (27 city/32 hwy vs. 24 city/30 hwy).

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the Kia Soul uses regular unleaded gasoline. The 500X requires premium for maximum efficiency, which can cost 20 to 55 cents more per gallon.

The Soul has 1.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the 500X (14.3 vs. 12.7 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Soul has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The 500X doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Soul offers an available sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The 500X doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

The Soul stops much shorter than the 500X:

For better traction, the Soul X-Line/GT-Line/Turbo’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the 500X (235/45R18 vs. 225/55R18).

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Soul’s wheelbase is 1.2 inches longer than on the 500X (102.4 inches vs. 101.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Soul is 1.3 inches wider in the front and 1.7 inches wider in the rear than on the 500X.

The Soul X-Line handles at .91 G’s, while the 500X pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Soul Turbo executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.9 seconds quicker than the 500X Trekking (26.8 seconds @ .66 average G’s vs. 28.7 seconds @ .59 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Soul’s turning circle is 1.5 feet tighter than the 500X’s (34.8 feet vs. 36.3 feet).

The Kia Soul may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 250 to 450 pounds less than the Fiat 500X.

The Soul has 10.5 cubic feet more passenger volume than the 500X (102.2 vs. 91.7).

The Soul has .3 inches more front headroom, .2 inches more front hip room, 1.2 inches more front shoulder room, 1.7 inches more rear headroom, 4 inches more rear legroom, .6 inches more rear hip room and 1.9 inches more rear shoulder room than the 500X.

The front step up height for the Soul is 3.2 inches lower than the 500X (16.2” vs. 19.4”). The Soul’s rear step up height is 2.2 inches lower than the 500X’s (17.4” vs. 19.6”).

The Soul has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the 500X with its rear seat up (24.2 vs. 14.1 cubic feet). The Soul has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the 500X with its rear seat folded (62.1 vs. 39.8 cubic feet).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Soul easier. The Soul’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 29.8 inches, while the 500X’s liftover is 31.4 inches.

The Soul’s cargo area is larger than the 500X’s in every dimension:

The Soul uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The 500X uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The Soul Turbo has a standard heads-up display that projects speed in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The 500X doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Soul has a standard locking fuel door with a remote release located convenient to the driver. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank. The 500X doesn’t offer a locking fuel door.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Soul’s available headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the 500X’s headlights are rated “Poor.”

The Soul has a standard automatic headlight on/off feature. When the ignition is on, the headlights automatically turn on at dusk and off after dawn. The 500X only offers an automatic headlight on/off feature as an extra cost option.

On extremely cold winter days, the Soul Turbo’s standard heated steering wheel provides comfort, allowing the driver to steer safely and comfortably before the vehicle heater warms up. The 500X doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

The Soul EX/Turbo has a standard center folding armrest for the rear passengers. A center armrest helps make rear passengers more comfortable and it can provide a boundary between children. The 500X doesn’t offer a rear seat center armrest.

For greater rear passenger comfort, the Soul has standard rear heat vents to keep rear occupants more comfortable. The 500X doesn’t offer rear vents.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Kia Soul X-Line/S/EX/GT-Line/Turbo has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) on the dashboard. The 500X doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

Insurance will cost less for the Soul owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Soul with a number “1” insurance rate while the 500X is rated higher at a number “5” rate.

The Soul will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Soul will retain 51.21% to 55% of its original price after five years, while the 500X only retains 35.86% to 41.94%.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Soul is less expensive to operate than the 500X because typical repairs cost much less on the Soul than the 500X, including $130 less for a water pump, $5 less for front brake pads, $144 less for fuel injection and $291 less for a fuel pump.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Kia Soul will be $3649 to $9720 less than for the Fiat 500X.