Compare the2023 Kia SoulVS 2022 Honda CR-V

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 CR-V doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Both the Soul and the CR-V 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, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available 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 Honda CR-V:

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 is 1.7% less likely to roll over than the CR-V.

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 CR-V’s 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 Honda covers the CR-V. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the CR-V ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Soul has a standard 760-amp battery. The CR-V’s 410-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 27 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 16th, below the industry average.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are more reliable than Honda vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in reliability, above the industry average. With 85 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is ranked 24th.

As tested in Motor Trend the Kia Soul is faster than the Honda CR-V:

On the EPA test cycle the Soul gets better mileage than the CR-V:

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

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Kia Soul higher (7 out of 10) than the Honda CR-V (6). This means the Soul produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the CR-V every 15,000 miles.

The Soul stops shorter than the CR-V:

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 CR-V LX/SE’s standard 65 series tires. The Soul GT-Line’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the CR-V Touring’s 55 series tires.

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

The Soul handles at .91 G’s, while the CR-V Touring pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Soul executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.5 seconds quicker than the CR-V Touring (26.8 seconds @ .66 average G’s vs. 28.3 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Soul’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the CR-V’s (34.8 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

The Kia Soul may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 450 to 550 pounds less than the Honda CR-V.

The Soul is 1 foot, 4.9 inches shorter than the CR-V, making the Soul easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Soul has .3 inches more rear headroom and 3.3 inches more rear hip room than the CR-V.

The front step up height for the Soul is 2.8 inches lower than the CR-V (16.2” vs. 19”). The Soul’s rear step up height is .6 inches lower than the CR-V’s (17.4” vs. 18”).

The Soul uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The CR-V 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 CR-V doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The power windows standard on both the Soul and the CR-V have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Soul is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The CR-V prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

The Soul’s variable intermittent wipers have an adjustable delay to allow the driver to choose a setting that best clears the windshield during light rain or mist. The CR-V LX’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent.

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 CR-V is rated higher at a number “10” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Soul is less expensive to operate than the CR-V because typical repairs cost much less on the Soul than the CR-V, including $227 less for a starter, $83 less for fuel injection, $202 less for a fuel pump and $72 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 $341 to $2703 less than for the Honda CR-V.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Kia Soul and the Honda CR-V, based on reliability, safety and performance.