Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and Soul have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Santa Fe Hybrid has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Soul’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.
Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited has standard Parking Collision Avoidance Assist that uses rear sensors to monitor and automatically apply the brakes to prevent a rear collision. The Soul doesn’t offer backup collision prevention brakes.
The Santa Fe Hybrid has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Soul doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.
The Santa Fe Hybrid’s standard lane departure warning system alerts a temporarily inattentive driver when the vehicle begins to leave its lane and gently nudges the vehicle back towards its lane. A lane departure warning system costs extra on the Soul and is only available on Soul X-Line/S/EX/GT-Line/Turbo.
The Santa Fe Hybrid Limited offers an optional Surround View Monitor to allow the driver to see objects all around the vehicle on a screen. The Soul only offers a rear monitor.
The Santa Fe Hybrid has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them and moves the vehicle back into its lane. A system to reveal vehicles in the Soul’s blind spot costs extra.
To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Santa Fe Hybrid has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Rear cross-path warning costs extra on the Soul.
Compared to metal, the Santa Fe Hybrid’s plastic fuel tank can withstand harder, more intrusive impacts without leaking; this decreases the possibility of fire. The Kia Soul has a metal gas tank.
Both the Santa Fe Hybrid and the Soul 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 and rearview cameras.
The Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid weighs 1042 to 1383 pounds more than the Kia Soul. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts. Crosswinds also affect lighter cars more.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is safer than the Kia Soul:
|
Santa Fe Hybrid |
Soul |
OVERALL STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
|
Driver |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
Neck Injury Risk |
16% |
26% |
Neck Stress |
149 lbs. |
168 lbs. |
Neck Compression |
13 lbs. |
38 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
50/51 lbs. |
49/286 lbs. |
|
Passenger |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
4 Stars |
HIC |
244 |
324 |
Chest Compression |
.4 inches |
2 inches |
Neck Injury Risk |
27% |
39% |
Neck Stress |
99 lbs. |
160 lbs. |
Leg Forces (l/r) |
222/167 lbs. |
237/154 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 and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Hyundai Santa Fe Hybrid is safer than the Kia Soul:
|
Santa Fe Hybrid |
Soul |
|
Front Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
61 |
142 |
Abdominal Force |
164 lbs. |
259 lbs. |
Hip Force |
415 lbs. |
490 lbs. |
|
Rear Seat |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
5 Stars |
HIC |
148 |
422 |
Spine Acceleration |
54 G’s |
73 G’s |
|
Into Pole |
|
STARS |
5 Stars |
3 Stars |
Spine Acceleration |
44 G’s |
46 G’s |
Hip Force |
576 lbs. |
1090 lbs. |
New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.
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, its standard vehicle-to-vehicle front crash prevention system, its standard vehicle-to-pedestrian front crash prevention system, and its standard headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Santa Fe Hybrid its highest rating: “Top Pick Plus” for 2021, a rating granted to only 74 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Soul is only a standard “Top Pick” for 2021.