Compare the2023 Kia SoulVS 2021 Hyundai Tucson

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 Tucson doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Both the Soul and the Tucson 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, 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 Hyundai Tucson:

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

To reliably start during all conditions and help handle large electrical loads, the Soul has a standard 760-amp battery. The Tucson’s 600-amp battery isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Soul first among small suvs in their 2021 Initial Quality Study. The Tucson was rated second 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 Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia above average in initial quality. With 2 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is rated lower.

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 Hyundai vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia first in reliability, above the industry average. With 3 more problems per 100 vehicles, Hyundai is ranked third.

As tested in Motor Trend the Kia Soul is faster than the Hyundai Tucson:

On the EPA test cycle the Soul gets better mileage than the Tucson:

In heavy traffic or at stoplights the Soul’s engine automatically turns off when the vehicle is stopped, saving fuel and reducing pollution. The engine is automatically restarted when the driver gets ready to move again. If the conditions warrant or the driver wishes, the system can be manually disabled at any time for the duration of a trip. The Tucson doesn’t offer an automatic engine start/stop system.

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 Tucson doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Soul stops much shorter than the Tucson:

The Soul handles at .86 G’s, while the Tucson Limited AWD pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Soul executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.1 seconds quicker than the Tucson SE (26.8 seconds @ .66 average G’s vs. 27.9 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

The Kia Soul may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 400 to 750 pounds less than the Hyundai Tucson.

The Soul is 11.2 inches shorter than the Tucson, making the Soul easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Soul has .3 inches more rear headroom and .6 inches more rear legroom than the Tucson.

The front step up height for the Soul is 2.8 inches lower than the Tucson (16.2” vs. 19”). The Soul’s rear step up height is 2.6 inches lower than the Tucson’s (17.4” vs. 20”).

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

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 Tucson 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 Tucson because it costs $18 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost less on the Soul than the Tucson, including $2 less for a water pump, $153 less for a muffler, $41 less for fuel injection, $34 less for a fuel pump and $27 less for front struts.