Compare the2023 Subaru ImprezaVS 2023 Kia Soul

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Model Availability
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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The Subaru Impreza has a standard driver’s side knee airbag mounted low on the dashboard. The knee airbag helps prevent the driver from sliding under the seatbelts or the main frontal airbag; this keeps the driver better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. A knee airbag also helps keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Soul doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Impreza has standard Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats, which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the Whiplash-Reducing Front Seats system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The Soul doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Over 200 people are killed each year when backed over by motor vehicles. The Impreza Limited has standard Reverse Automatic Braking 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 Impreza has all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Soul doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

Compared to metal, the Impreza’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.

The Impreza Premium/Sport/Limited has standard STARLINK Connected Services, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Soul doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the Impreza 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, rearview cameras, available crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Subaru Impreza is safer than the Kia Soul:

	Impreza	Soul
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	198	253
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
HIC	117	324
Chest Compression	.7 inches	2 inches
Neck Injury Risk	34%	39%
Neck Compression	70 lbs.	86 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	76/57 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 Subaru Impreza is safer than the Kia Soul:

	Impreza	Soul
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Chest Movement	1 inches	1 inches
Hip Force	400 lbs.	490 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	363	422
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	3 Stars
HIC	201	322
Hip Force	824 lbs.	1090 lbs.

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 Impreza, with its five-star roll-over rating, is 5.2% less likely to roll over than the Soul, which received a four-star rating.

Warranty

The Impreza’s 5 year corrosion warranty has no mileage limitations, but the corrosion warranty on the Soul runs out after 100,000 miles.

Reliability

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Subaru vehicles are more reliable than Kia vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Subaru 2 places higher in reliability than Kia.

Engine

The Impreza’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder produces 5 more horsepower (152 vs. 147) and 13 lbs.-ft. more torque (145 vs. 132) than the Soul’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder.

The flat cylinder configuration of the boxer engine in the Impreza lowers its center of gravity, enhancing handling stability (That’s why Porsche uses boxer engines.). The Soul doesn’t offer a boxer engine configuration.

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Impreza 5-door gets better mileage than the Soul:

			MPG
Impreza 5-door
	Auto	2.0 DOHC flat-4	28 city/36 hwy
		Sport 2.0 DOHC flat-4	27 city/35 hwy
Soul
	Auto	2.0 DOHC 4-cyl.	28 city/33 hwy

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Impreza Sport’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Soul:

	Impreza Sport	Soul
Front Rotors	11.6 inches	11 inches
Rear Rotors	10.8 inches	10.3 inches

Tires and Wheels

The Impreza’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Soul LX/S’ standard 60 series tires. The Impreza Sport’s tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Soul GT-Line’s 45 series tires.

Suspension and Handling

For superior ride and handling, the Subaru Impreza has fully independent front and rear suspensions. An independent suspension allows the wheels to follow the road at the best angle for gripping the pavement, without compromising ride comfort. The Kia Soul has a rear torsion beam axle, with a semi-independent rear suspension.

The Impreza Premium/Sport/Limited has front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Impreza Premium/Sport/Limited flat and controlled during cornering. The Soul’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Impreza’s wheelbase is 2.7 inches longer than on the Soul (105.1 inches vs. 102.4 inches).

Chassis

The front grille of the Impreza Sport/Limited uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Soul doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Passenger Space

The front step up height for the Impreza Sedan is 3.5 inches lower than the Soul (12.7” vs. 16.2”). The Impreza Sedan’s rear step up height is 3.4 inches lower than the Soul’s (14” vs. 17.4”).

Cargo Capacity

A low lift-over trunk design makes loading and unloading the Impreza easier. The Impreza’s trunk lift-over height is 26 inches, while the Soul’s liftover is 29.8 inches.

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Impreza. The Soul doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Servicing Ease

The engine in the Impreza is mounted longitudinally (North-South), instead of sideways, as in the Soul. This makes it easier to service and maintain, because the accessory belts are in front.

Ergonomics

The Impreza’s front power windows open or close fully with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside the car. The Soul’s power window switches have to be held the entire time to close them fully. Only its driver’s window opens automatically.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Impreza’s available exterior PIN entry system (not available on Impreza Base). The Soul doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Impreza Limited’s LED headlights produce a whiter, brighter light (up to 3x) using five times less power than the Soul’s halogen headlights. LED lights also light instantly and last over twenty times longer than halogen.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Impreza Premium offers optional cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Soul doesn’t offer cornering lights. The Impreza Limited also has standard adaptive headlights to illuminate around corners automatically by reading vehicle speed and steering wheel angle.

The Impreza’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Soul offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Model Availability

The Subaru Impreza comes in sedan and station wagon bodystyles; the Kia Soul isn’t available as a sedan.

Economic Advantages

Insurance will cost less for the Impreza owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Impreza will cost $150 less than the Soul over a five-year period.

The Impreza will cost the buyer less in the long run because of its superior resale value. The IntelliChoice estimates that the Impreza will retain 53.58% to 57.04% of its original price after five years, while the Soul only retains 46.79% to 50.48%.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Impreza is less expensive to operate than the Soul because typical repairs cost much less on the Impreza than the Soul, including $45 less for a muffler, $38 less for fuel injection, $22 less for a timing belt/chain and $546 less for a power steering pump.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Subaru Impreza will be $227 to $4736 less than for the Kia Soul.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Subaru Impreza and the Kia Soul, based on reliability, safety and performance.