Compare the2022 Kia SoulVS 2021 Jeep Compass

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Transmission
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages

Safety

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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 Compass doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

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 Compass doesn’t offer a driver alert monitor.

Both the Soul and the Compass 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 and rear cross-path warning.

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 Jeep Compass:

	Soul	Compass
	Driver
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	26%	41%
Neck Stress	168 lbs.	445 lbs.
Neck Compression	38 lbs.	38 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	49/286 lbs.	326/489 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Compression	.7 inches	.8 inches
Neck Stress	160 lbs.	235 lbs.
Neck Compression	86 lbs.	92 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	237/154 lbs.	299/387 lbs.

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 Jeep Compass:

	Soul	Compass
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	611 lbs.	928 lbs.

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

Instrumented handling tests conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and analysis of its dimensions indicate that the Soul, with its four-star roll-over rating, is 5.5% to 5.9% less likely to roll over than the Compass, which received a three-star rating.

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 Compass last would have qualified as a “Top Pick” in 2017.

Warranty

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 Compass’ 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the Soul 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Jeep covers the Compass. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Compass ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

Reliability

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Soul has a standard 760-amp battery. The Compass’ 650-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 Compass isn’t in the top three in its category.

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 Jeep vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in initial quality, above the industry average. With 19 more problems per 100 vehicles, Jeep is ranked 11th.

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 Jeep vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia third in reliability, above the industry average. With 44 more problems per 100 vehicles, Jeep is ranked 24th.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2021 Auto Issue reports that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Jeep vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Kia 4 places higher in reliability than Jeep.

Engine

The Soul Turbo’s standard 1.6 turbo 4-cylinder produces 21 more horsepower (201 vs. 180) and 20 lbs.-ft. more torque (195 vs. 175) than the Compass’ 2.4 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Kia Soul is faster than the Jeep Compass:

	Soul 4 cyl.	Soul Turbo	Compass
Zero to 60 MPH	6.9 sec	6.5 sec	10.5 sec
Quarter Mile	15.2 sec	15 sec	17.8 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	91.3 MPH	93.7 MPH	76.1 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Soul EX CVT with its standard engine gets better fuel mileage than the Compass FWD 6-speed Auto (29 city/35 hwy vs. 22 city/31 hwy).

Transmission

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 Compass 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 Compass doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

Brakes and Stopping

The Soul stops much shorter than the Compass:

	Soul	Compass
60 to 0 MPH	114 feet	144 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	130 feet	151 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

The Soul LX/S’ standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Compass Sport’s standard 65 series tires.

Suspension and Handling

The Soul has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The Compass’ suspension doesn’t offer gas-charged shocks.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Soul is 1.3 inches wider in the front and 2.1 inches wider in the rear than on the Compass.

The Soul Turbo handles at .86 G’s, while the Compass Trailhawk pulls only .73 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Soul Turbo executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.8 seconds quicker than the Compass Trailhawk (26.8 seconds @ .66 average G’s vs. 29.6 seconds @ .53 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Soul’s turning circle is .5 feet tighter than the Compass Trailhawk’s (34.8 feet vs. 35.3 feet). The Soul’s turning circle is 1.5 feet tighter than the Compass’ (34.8 feet vs. 36.3 feet).

Chassis

The Kia Soul may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 350 to 600 pounds less than the Jeep Compass.

The Soul is 7.8 inches shorter than the Compass, making the Soul easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Passenger Space

The Soul has 2.6 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Compass (102.2 vs. 99.6).

The Soul has .2 inches more front headroom, 1 inch more rear headroom, .5 inches more rear legroom and 3.6 inches more rear hip room than the Compass.

The front step up height for the Soul is 3.2 inches lower than the Compass (16.2” vs. 19.4”). The Soul’s rear step up height is 3.3 inches lower than the Compass’ (17.4” vs. 20.7”).

Cargo Capacity

The Soul has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the Compass with its rear seat folded (62.1 vs. 59.8 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 Compass’ liftover is 31.1 inches.

Servicing Ease

The Soul uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Compass 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.

Ergonomics

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 Compass 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 Compass 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 Compass’ headlights are rated “Marginal” to “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 Compass only offers an automatic headlight on/off feature as an extra cost option.

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 Compass doesn’t offer wireless personal charging.

Economic Advantages

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 Compass is rated higher at a number “10” 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 Compass only retains 40.18% to 46.29%.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Soul is less expensive to operate than the Compass because typical repairs cost less on the Soul than the Compass, including $8 less for a water pump, $32 less for a muffler, $17 less for front brake pads, $154 less for a fuel pump and $196 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 $1670 to $5292 less than for the Jeep Compass.