11,145,731 US VINs16,875,657 Dutch plates3,603,918 businesses in 233 countries
English
AfrikaansAzərbaycancaBahasa IndonesiaBahasa MelayuCatalàČeštinaDanskDeutschEestiEnglishEspañolFilipinoFrançaisGaeilgeHrvatskiÍslenskaItalianoKiswahiliLatviešuLietuviųMagyarMaltiNederlandsNorskOʻzbekchaPolskiPortuguês (Brasil)Português (Portugal)RomânăShqipSlovenčinaSlovenščinaSrpskiSuomiSvenskaTiếng ViệtTürkçeΕλληνικάБеларускаяБългарскиКыргызчаҚазақшаМакедонскиМонголРусскийУкраїнськаქართულიՀայերենעבריתاردوالعربيةفارسیनेपालीहिन्दीবাংলাதமிழ்සිංහලไทยລາວမြန်မာខ្មែរ한국어日本語简体中文繁體中文
Check a VIN
CarsLore / Compare / Small SUVs / Kuga vs Soul

Ford Kuga vs Kia Soul

Two small SUVs, compared on the same official records: MOT and inspection results, safety ratings, fuel use, recalls and owner complaints. 3 like-for-like measures: the Ford Kuga leads on 1, the Kia Soul on 1, 1 too close to call.

Where each one leads

Ford Kuga

  • Fewer Ford Kuga cars in the Netherlands carry an illogical odometer record (1.8% against 2.2%).

Kia Soul

  • New Kia Soul cars registered in Europe in 2022 average 0 g/km of CO₂ on the WLTP test, against 84 for the Ford Kuga in 2022.

Too close to call: MOT pass rate against cars of the same age.

Only measures that do not depend on how many cars were sold: pass and failure rates against cars of the same age, ratings, fuel use and CO₂. How we compare

At a glance

Ford KugaKia Soul
Model years in the US safety record—2010–2025
New cars registered in Europe1,252,947 (2010–2022)113,000 (2010–2022)
Licensed in the United Kingdom376,99924,286
On the road in the Netherlands58,6084,650
In traffic in Finland9,8891,161

EEA new-car registrations (CC BY 4.0) · DVLA licensed vehicles (OGL v3.0) · RDW (CC0) · Traficom (CC BY 4.0) · generations: Wikidata (CC0).

Reliability and problems

Ford KugaKia Soul
UK MOT first-time pass rate80%71%
… against cars of the same age+3%+1%
New York safety inspections failed—2.2%
… against cars of the same year—+33%
Illogical odometer records (NL)1.8%2.2%
US owner complaints—5,573
Most complaints about—Engine
Model year with most complaints—2014 (902)
US recall campaigns—15
Manufacturer service bulletins—1,346
NHTSA defect investigations—27

Complaint, recall and bulletin counts grow with the number of cars sold and are not adjusted for it. UK MOT: DVSA anonymised MOT results (OGL v3.0); New York: DMV inspections; complaints, recalls, bulletins and investigations: NHTSA (public domain); odometer: RDW (CC0).

Safety

Ford KugaKia Soul
NHTSA overall rating—4★ (2025)

NHTSA New Car Assessment Program, most recent rated model year (public domain).

Fuel, emissions and price

Ford KugaKia Soul
Official combined fuel use, Canada—7.9 l/100 km (2025)
Real-world use in Europe, petrol hybrid6.2 l/100 km—
Real-world use in Europe, diesel6.1 l/100 km—
Real-world use in Europe, petrol7.6 l/100 km—
Real-world use in Europe, diesel hybrid6.1 l/100 km—
Official CO₂ of new cars in Europe84 g/km0 g/km
Average power of new cars in Europe110 kW (147 hp)127 kW (171 hp)
Average mass in running order1,745 kg1,747 kg
Dutch list price when new (median)€43,896€34,190
Average odometer in Finland142,000 km139,000 km

Canada: NRCan Fuel Consumption Ratings, most frugal version of the latest year (OGL Canada). Europe: EEA monitoring of new-car CO₂ and on-board fuel meters (OBFCM), CC BY 4.0. Price: RDW catalogue price (CC0). Finland: Traficom (CC BY 4.0).