Compare the2023 Kia SoulVS 2022 Honda CR-V Hybrid

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 Hybrid doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Both the Soul and the CR-V Hybrid 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, 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 Hybrid:

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 Hybrid.

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 Hybrid’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 Hybrid. 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 Hybrid ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Soul first among small suvs in their 2021 Initial Quality Study. The CR-V Hybrid isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2021 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 above average in initial quality. With 17 more problems per 100 vehicles, Honda is rated below 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 Hybrid:

The Soul stops much shorter than the CR-V Hybrid:

The Soul GT-Line’s tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the CR-V Hybrid Touring’s 55 series tires.

The Soul has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the CR-V Hybrid; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

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

The Soul handles at .91 G’s, while the CR-V Hybrid Touring pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Soul executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.2 seconds quicker than the CR-V Hybrid Touring (26.8 seconds @ .66 average G’s vs. 28 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

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

The Kia Soul may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 750 to 800 pounds less than the Honda CR-V Hybrid.

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

The Soul has 1.4 inches more front headroom, .4 inches more rear headroom and 3.3 inches more rear hip room than the CR-V Hybrid.

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

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

The power windows standard on both the Soul and the CR-V Hybrid 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 Hybrid prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

Insurance will cost less for the Soul owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Soul will cost $795 less than the CR-V Hybrid over a five-year period.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Kia Soul will be $2598 to $7366 less than for the Honda CR-V Hybrid.