Kia Soul vs Kia Rio

The Kia Soul demonstrates that good ideas mean nothing without good execution. Launched for the 2010 model year, the Soul instantly drew attention with its distinctive boxy styling. But unlike the similarly styled Honda Element and Scion xB, the Soul has managed to stick around.

That’s because the Soul has style and substance in equal measure. It’s both a practical car and a good value, just one that happens to be more interesting to look at than most other vehicles sharing those traits. Now in its third generation, the Soul is an excellent compromise between car and crossover, boasting the tidy proportions of the former and the upright driving position of the latter. So, it makes sense to cross-shop it against both small hatchbacks and the gaggle of tiny crossovers that have hit the market since the Soul first appeared, such as the Hyundai Kona, Subaru Crosstrek, and Chevrolet Trax and Trailblazer.

The current-generation Kia Soul was introduced for the 2020 model year and gets a number of notable updates for 2023, including some styling tweaks. In Canada, the trim line-up now includes LX, EX, EX+, EX Premium, and GT-Line Limited. We drove the U.S. equivalent of a Kia Soul GT-Line Limited for this review.