Compare the2022 Kia SoulVS 2022 Hyundai Kona

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 Kona doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

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

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Kia Soul is safer than the Hyundai Kona:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH, results indicate that the Kia Soul is safer than the Hyundai Kona:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Soul has a standard 760-amp battery. The Kona’s 640-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 Kona isn’t in the top three.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2020 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in initial quality, above the industry average. With 17 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is ranked 10th.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia third in reliability, above the industry average. With 4 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is ranked 7th.

The Soul Turbo’s standard 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder produces 54 more horsepower (201 vs. 147) and 63 lbs.-ft. more torque (195 vs. 132) than the Kona’s standard 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder.

In heavy traffic or at stop lights the Soul’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be disabled at the start of a trip. The Kona doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

The Soul has 1.1 gallons more fuel capacity than the Kona (14.3 vs. 13.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Soul stops much shorter than the Kona:

The Soul X-Line handles at .91 G’s, while the Kona SEL AWD pulls only .88 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Soul Turbo executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1 seconds quicker than the Kona SE (26.8 seconds @ .66 average G’s vs. 27.8 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

The Soul has 8.1 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Kona (102.2 vs. 94.1).

The Soul has .2 inches more front hip room, 1.7 inches more rear headroom, 3.6 inches more rear legroom, .6 inches more rear hip room and .2 inches more rear shoulder room than the Kona.

The Soul has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the Kona with its rear seat up (24.2 vs. 19.2 cubic feet). The Soul has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Kona with its rear seat folded (62.1 vs. 45.8 cubic feet).

The Soul uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Kona 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’s power window, power lock and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Kona’s passenger power window switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

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 Kona doesn’t offer a heated steering wheel.

The Soul EX/Turbo’s standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. The Kona doesn’t offer dual zone air conditioning.

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 Kona is rated higher at a number “8” 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 Kona only retains 44.01% to 46.2%.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Soul is less expensive to operate than the Kona because typical repairs cost much less on the Soul than the Kona, including $102 less for a water pump, $203 less for a muffler, $18 less for a fuel pump and $58 less for front struts.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Kia Soul will be $2846 to $4120 less than for the Hyundai Kona.