Compare the2023 Kia SoulVS 2022 Lexus UX

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 UX doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Both the Soul and the UX 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 Lexus UX:

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 Lexus UX:

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

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 UX’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 10,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the Soul 4 years and 30,000 miles longer than Lexus covers the UX. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the UX ends after only 6 years or 70,000 miles.

There are over 3 times as many Kia dealers as there are Lexus dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Soul’s warranty.

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 Lexus vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in reliability, above the industry average. With 14 more problems per 100 vehicles, Lexus is ranked 6th.

As tested in Motor Trend the Kia Soul is faster than the Lexus UX:

Both the Soul and the UX Hybrid have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. All Souls have a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily.

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

The Soul has 3.7 gallons more fuel capacity than the UX Hybrid’s standard fuel tank (14.3 vs. 10.6 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Soul has 1.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the UX’s standard fuel tank (14.3 vs. 12.4 gallons).

The Soul stops much shorter than the UX:

For better traction, the Soul GT-Line’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the UX (235/45R18 vs. 225/50R18).

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 UX’s 50 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 UX; it requires you to depend on its run-flat tires, which limits mileage and speed before they are repaired. If a run-flat is damaged beyond repair by a road hazard your vehicle will have to be towed.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Soul is 1 inch wider in the front and 1.4 inches wider in the rear than on the UX.

The Soul handles at .91 G’s, while the UX 200 Luxury pulls only .80 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Soul executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.4 seconds quicker than the UX 200 (26.8 seconds @ .66 average G’s vs. 28.2 seconds @ .62 average G’s).

The Kia Soul may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 400 to 600 pounds less than the Lexus UX.

The Soul is 11.8 inches shorter than the UX, making the Soul easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Soul has 11.8 cubic feet more passenger volume than the UX (102.2 vs. 90.4).

The Soul has 2.2 inches more front headroom, .5 inches more front shoulder room, 3.2 inches more rear headroom, 5.7 inches more rear legroom, .5 inches more rear hip room and 1.8 inches more rear shoulder room than the UX.

The Soul has a much larger cargo volume with its rear seat up than the UX (24.2 vs. 17.1 cubic feet).

The Soul uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The UX 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 power windows standard on both the Soul and the UX 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 UX 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 $640 less than the UX 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 $9694 to $13360 less than for the Lexus UX.

The Kia Soul outsold the Lexus UX by over four to one during the 2021 model year.