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Kia Soul vs Kia Forte

Kia Soul vs. Kia Forte

Compare repair costs, reliability, and owner reviews

Kia Soul

$437

Average Annual

Repair Cost

Kia Forte

$451

Average Annual

Repair Cost

Overall Reliability Rating

Excellent

The Kia Soul Reliability Rating is 4.5 out of 5.0, which ranks it 3rd out of 7 for subcompact SUVs. The average annual repair cost is $437 which means it has excellent ownership costs. The severity and frequency of repairs are both much lower than other vehicles, so the Soul is one of the more reliable vehicles on the road.

Excellent

The Kia Forte Reliability Rating is 4.5 out of 5.0, which ranks it 6th out of 36 for compact cars. The average annual repair cost is $451 which means it has excellent ownership costs. The severity and frequency of repairs are both much lower than other vehicles, so the Forte is one of the more reliable vehicles on the road.

Cost

Average annual repairs total

$437

inexpensive

expensive

$451

inexpensive

expensive

Frequency

Average annual repair shop visits

0.17

not often

very often

0.19

not often

very often

Severity

Percentage of annual repairs that are urgent

not urgent

urgent

not urgent

urgent

Overall Car Ratings & Details

(10 Reviews)

(4 Reviews)

5		(2)
4		(7)
3		(0)
2		(1)
1		(0)

Read reviews

The Kia Soul ranks highest in value and ranks lowest in fuel economy.

“AWESOME car!!! love everything about it!!!! :)”

108 known problems

21 known recalls

5		(2)
4		(2)
3		(0)
2		(0)
1		(0)

Read reviews

“I LOVE my Kia Forte! Everything is wonderful, including the price I paid for it: $15k at The Kia Depot. The no-cost "extras" like Bluetooth, 3 months of Sirius radio and the manual shift option...”

“I LOVE my Kia Forte! Everything is wonderful, including the price I paid for it: $15k at The Kia...”

69 known problems

10 known recalls

Vehicle Comparison Rundown

The Kia Soul and the Kia Forte are two small vehicles made by Kia. The Kia Soul is a subcompact two-row SUV. The Kia Forte is a compact four-door sedan. Both come with front-wheel drive.

In the power department, there are some similarities and some differences between the Soul and Forte. The smaller subcompact Soul has a less powerful 130-horsepower standard engine than the larger Forte, which comes with 147 standard horsepower. Both the Soul and the Forte share the same optional engine, with 201 turbocharged horsepower.

Comparing interior volume and cargo space is tricky with the Kia Soul and the Kia Forte, because the Soul is a boxy SUV and the Forte is a sedan with a separate trunk. In terms of passenger volume, the Soul’s 101 cubic feet is a little more than the Forte’s 96.2 cubic feet. The Soul gives you 18.8 cubic feet of “trunk” space behind its rear seat, compared to 14.9 cubic feet in the Forte’s actual trunk. But the Soul wins the maximum hauling contest with 49.5 cubic feet of usable space, once you fold the rear seats down.

One place where these vehicles are the same is in their warranties. Both have Kia’s 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty. It’s an excellent warranty, superior to what most other brands offer.

The decision here comes down to form factor. Would you rather have the utility of a box on wheels, or does the sedan format appeal to you more?

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