2023 Kia Soul

Is the 2023 Kia Soul a Good SUV?

The 2023 Soul is a great pick if you're shopping for a new SUV on a tight budget. The Soul starts at just under $20,000, yet it still comes packed with standard features like Apple CarPlay, forward automatic emergency braking and lane-keep assist. The interior is spacious, both for passengers and cargo, and the Soul manages to provide a comfortable ride with reasonably agile handling. Better still, Kia covers this boxy hatchback with a long 10-year/100,000-mile warranty.

If there is a trade-off, it's that the Soul can feel sluggish at highway speeds, even though it's quite peppy to drive around town. Also, all-wheel drive isn't available.

Should I Buy the 2023 Kia Soul?

The Soul's mix of value and practicality make it a standout choice in the subcompact SUV class. Still, it isn't the only good option. Before you buy, you might want to consider alternatives like the Mazda CX-30, Honda HR-V, Hyundai Kona and Kia's own Seltos. They're a bit pricier than the Soul, but they all offer all-wheel drive.

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2022 vs. 2023 Kia Soul: What's the Difference?

For 2023, the Soul receives a few important updates. Kia tweaked the Soul's exterior styling with the most noticeable changes to the grille, front bumper, headlights and taillights. Also, the 2023 Soul now comes standard with driver-assistance features – such as forward collision warning, forward automatic emergency braking, lane-keep assist and driver-attention monitoring – that were optional in previous models. On the downside, Kia discontinued the previously available turbocharged engine and dual-clutch automatic transmission, in addition to the Turbo and X-Line trims.

Compare the 2022 and 2023 Soul »

Here are the key changes for the Kia Soul over the last few model years:

• 2023: exterior styling receives light refresh; several previously optional safety features now standard; turbo engine and dual-clutch transmission discontinued
• 2022: manual transmission discontinued
• 2021: rear-seat alert became standard
• 2020: fully redesigned (start of third generation) with a larger touch screen, more standard and available features and a stronger base engine

If you're considering an older model, be sure to read our 2020 Soul, 2021 Soul and 2022 Soul reviews to help make your decision. Also, check out our Best New Car Deals and Best New Car Lease Deals pages to learn about savings and discounts you can find on new vehicles.

Pricing

How Much is a 2023 Kia Soul?

The 2023 Kia Soul has a base MSRP of $19,890, making it one of the most affordable vehicles in its class. The price rises to $22,390 for the midrange S trim, which adds amenities such as a 10.2-inch touch screen, navigation, wireless device charging and blind-spot monitoring. Stepping up to the EX will cost you $24,190, and among this trim's added features are heated front seats, a sunroof, an adjustable cargo shelf, a cargo cover and 17-inch alloy wheels. The top-tier GT-Line trim starts at $23,490, and it gains amenities like 18-inch wheels and synthetic leather upholstery with cloth accents.

Which Is the Best 2023 Kia Soul Model to Buy?

We think the entry-level LX trim is a great value thanks to its many standard features and enticing starting MSRP. Some of this trim's notable amenities include an 8-inch touch screen, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, forward automatic emergency braking and lane-keep assist, and you can purchase a package of additional safety features.

Check out our U.S. News Best Price Program for great savings at your local Kia dealer. You can also find excellent manufacturer incentives on our Kia deals page.

2023 Kia Soul Versus the Competition

Kia Soul vs. Hyundai Venue

The Hyundai Venue offers many of the same perks as the Soul. The Venue is zippy and maneuverable, it returns good gas mileage, it boasts a comparable suite of standard tech and safety features, and it's covered by a long 10-year powertrain warranty. The Venue even costs about $800 less than the Soul in its cheapest trim. But unless you're pinching pennies, the Kia stands out as the better option. It has a roomier back seat and a significantly larger cargo area.

Compare the Soul and Venue »

Kia Soul vs. Nissan Kicks

The Nissan Kicks has a similar appeal to the Soul as well. The Kicks is comparably priced at just under $20,000, and it impresses with its generous standard features, tidy handling and spacious cabin. The Kicks even tops the Soul, plus every other subcompact SUV, with its class-leading fuel economy (up to 31/36 mpg city/highway). Even so, the Soul feels like the more refined vehicle. It accelerates more quickly, has more cargo space and offers a longer warranty.

Compare the Soul and Kicks »

Compare the Soul, Venue and Kicks »

Soul Interior: Funky and Flexible

2023 Soul Interior Quality

The 2023 Kia Soul is an inexpensive vehicle, and its cabin largely reflects that. Most surfaces are trimmed with hard plastics, and there's a fair amount of wind noise intrusion at higher speeds. On the plus side, the interior feels quite sturdy, and the mix of accent colors and patterns liven up the otherwise dark space. The dashboard has a suitably modern and stylish appearance as well.

2023 Soul Infotainment, Bluetooth and Navigation

The Soul is available with a standard 8-inch touch screen or an available 10.2-inch version. The latter boasts crisp graphics and plenty of real estate to make selections. Overall, both systems are easy to use. The menus are straightforward, and the touch screens respond quickly to inputs. The basic audio and climate controls are adjusted by physical buttons and knobs on the dashboard, which makes it a cinch to change these settings without taking your eyes off the road.

• Standard infotainment features: an 8-inch touch screen, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, a six-speaker stereo, Bluetooth and a USB port
• Available infotainment features: a 10.2-inch touch screen, navigation, wireless device charging, satellite radio, a 10-speaker stereo and two additional USB ports 
• Additional standard features: a digital gauge cluster and remote keyless entry
• Other available features: dual-zone automatic climate control, push-button start, remote start and a sunroof

For more information, read What Is Apple CarPlay? and What Is Android Auto?

2023 Soul Cargo Space

The Soul has one of the largest cargo areas of any subcompact SUV. With 24.2 cubic feet of cargo space behind its rear seats and up to 62.1 cubic feet with these seats folded, it offers plenty of room for hauling luggage, boxes or camping gear. While the rear seats don't fold completely flush with the cargo floor, Kia does offer an accessory cargo shelf that can create a flat load space when adjusted to its highest position.

How Many People Does the 2023 Soul Seat?

The Soul is a four-door hatchback with five seats. The front seats are supportive and reasonably well-cushioned, and there's a surprising amount of headroom and legroom up front for taller occupants, especially given the Soul's dainty exterior. The driving position is comfy, and outward visibility is excellent to the front, sides and rear of the vehicle. The rear seats can even accommodate two adults in reasonable comfort for short drives, though this area is better served for seating kids.

Cloth upholstery and manually adjustable front seats are standard. Synthetic leather upholstery, heated front seats and a power-adjustable driver’s seat are available.

2023 Soul and Child Car Seats

The Soul has two complete sets of LATCH connectors for the rear outboard seats and a tether anchor for the rear middle seat. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave this LATCH system the second-highest rating of Acceptable for its ease of use because the lower anchors are set too deeply in the seats.

Read more about interior »

Soul Performance: Not-So-Hot Hatch

2023 Soul Engine

The 2023 Kia Soul comes equipped with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 147 horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque. A continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) and front-wheel drive are standard.

This powertrain can best be described as adequate. The Soul zips briskly off the line and around town, and it has enough muscle to keep pace with traffic, but it's a bit sluggish when hauling up to highway speeds – zero to 60 mph takes around nine seconds – and passing power is modest once there. The CVT is a good pairing for this engine though. It's smooth and responsive, and it simulates gear shifts like a conventional automatic.

2023 Soul Gas Mileage

The LX, S and GT-Line trims get an EPA-estimated 28 mpg in the city and 33 mpg on the highway. The Soul EX trim improves that slightly to 29/35 mpg city/highway. These are pretty good fuel economy estimates for a subcompact SUV, but they can't match the class-leading Nissan Kicks.

2023 Soul Ride and Handling

Driving the Soul may not set your heart racing, but the experience is at least spirited. The Soul is a breeze to maneuver and park in tight areas, and it feels quite nimble and composed when navigating along twisty roads. The steering is responsive and nicely weighted, and the brakes slow down the Soul confidently. The suspension softens the impacts from bumps and dips in the pavement, though the Soul doesn't glide over rough patches as smoothly as some rivals. The Soul's ride is firm but comfortable.

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Soul Reliability

Is the 2023 Kia Soul Reliable?

The 2023 Kia Soul has a predicted reliability score of 87 out of 100. A J.D. Power predicted reliability score of 91-100 is considered the Best, 81-90 is Great, 70-80 is Average, and 0-69 is Fair and considered below average.

2023 Kia Soul Warranty

Kia covers the Soul with a five-year/60,000-mile limited warranty and a 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty.

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2023 Kia Soul Safety

Score: 9.3/10

2023 Soul Crash Test Results

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave the 2023 Kia Soul an overall safety rating of four out of five stars, with five stars in the side crash test and four stars in the frontal crash and rollover tests.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety gave the 2023 Soul the highest rating of Good in all six crash tests.

2023 Soul Safety Features

Standard driver-assistance features:

• Rearview camera
• Driver-attention monitoring
• Forward collision warning with pedestrian detection
• Forward automatic emergency braking
• Automatic high-beam headlights
• Lane-keep assist
• Rear-seat alert (reminds you to check the back seats for kids or pets before you exit the vehicle)

Available driver-assistance features:

• Blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert
• Lane-departure warning
• Adaptive cruise control
• Cyclist detection

2023 Soul Dimensions and Weight

The Kia Soul is 13.8 feet long. Its curb weight ranges from 2,888 to 2,998 pounds.

Where Is the 2023 Kia Soul Built?

Kia builds the Soul in South Korea.

2023 Kia Soul Models and Trims

The 2023 Kia Soul comes in four trims: LX, S, EX and GT-Line. Each is equipped with a 147-horsepower four-cylinder engine, a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) and front-wheel drive. All-wheel drive is not available. 

Kia Soul LX

The base LX has a starting MSRP of $19,890. Standard features include a digital gauge cluster, an 8-inch touch screen, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, a six-speaker stereo, Bluetooth, a USB port, remote keyless entry, cloth upholstery, manually adjustable front seats, a rearview camera, halogen headlights and 16-inch steel wheels. Kia's Drive Wise safety suite is also included, and it bundles driver-attention monitoring, forward collision warning, pedestrian detection, forward automatic emergency braking, automatic high-beam headlights, lane-keep assist and rear-seat alert.

The only option for this trim is a $500 Technology package that adds blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and 16-inch alloy wheels.

Kia Soul S

The uplevel S starts at $22,390. This trim adds a 10.2-inch touch screen, navigation, wireless device charging, satellite radio, two additional USB ports, push-button start, remote start, dual-zone automatic climate control, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, lane-departure warning and 16-inch alloy wheels.

Kia Soul EX

The EX trim costs $24,190 and adds heated front seats, a sunroof, an adjustable cargo shelf, a cargo cover and 17-inch alloy wheels.

Kia Soul GT-Line

The range-topping GT-Line starts at $23,490. This trim includes all of the features from the Soul S, plus synthetic leather upholstery with cloth accents, restyled front and rear bumpers, a center-exit exhaust and 18-inch alloy wheels. 

This trim is available with a $2,400 Technology package that adds adaptive cruise control, cyclist detection, LED headlights and fog lights, a 10-speaker stereo, heated front seats, a cargo cover and an adjustable cargo shelf.

Check out our U.S. News Best Price Program for great savings at your local Kia dealer. You can also find excellent manufacturer incentives on our Kia deals page.

See 2023 Kia Soul specs and trims »

Why You Can Trust Our Reviews

U.S. News & World Report has been ranking the best cars, trucks and SUVs since 2007, and our staff has more than 75 years of combined experience in the auto industry. 

This 2023 Soul review combines 26 professional reviews with concrete data like performance specs, fuel economy estimates and safety ratings and incorporates applicable research for all models in this generation, which launched for 2020. 

Check out excerpts from some of the reviews that drive our rankings and analysis.

• "The Kia Soul is one of the rare vehicles that defies easy categorization. On the outside, the Soul resembles a boxy SUV, but its car-like ride height and lack of all-wheel drive make it more like a hatchback. While its taxonomy might be confusing, the Soul's wide range of strengths makes it one of our favorite small runabouts." -- Edmunds (2022)
• "The Kia Soul straddles the line between subcompact SUV and hatchback. Whatever you want to call it, the boxy Soul is versatile, roomy, and an excellent value. It's one of the best ways to get a new car that stands out from the crowd on a modest budget. Just a few things we love about the Soul include the funky look, shockingly roomy interior, and one of our favorite infotainment systems in the business." -- Kelley Blue Book (2022)
• "While Kia markets the Soul as an SUV, the vehicle's lack of all-wheel drive and limited ground clearance make it seem like more of a large hatchback. Still, it possesses entertaining driving manners that complement its eccentric nature." -- Car and Driver (2021)