Compare the2025 Kia SoulVS 2024 Toyota Rav4

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Soul are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Rav4 doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

Both the Soul and the Rav4 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, driver alert monitors, available blind spot warning systems and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Kia Soul is safer than the Toyota Rav4:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The Soul comes with a full 5-year/60,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Rav4’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 2 years or 24,000 miles sooner.

Kia’s powertrain warranty covers the Soul 5 years and 40,000 miles longer than Toyota covers the Rav4. Any repair needed on the engine, transmission, axles, joints or driveshafts is fully covered for 10 years or 100,000 miles. Coverage on the Rav4 ends after only 5 years or 60,000 miles.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Soul has a 150-amp alternator. The Rav4’s standard 100-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Soul third among small suvs in their 2024 Initial Quality Study. The Rav4 isn’t in the top three in its category.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2024 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Kia vehicles are better in initial quality than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Kia fourth in initial quality, above the industry average. With 29 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is ranked 17th.

As tested in Motor Trend the Kia Soul is faster than the Toyota Rav4:

On the EPA test cycle the Soul gets better mileage than the Rav4:

The Soul has a standard continuously variable transmission (CVT). With no “steps” between gears, it can keep the engine at the most efficient speed for fuel economy, or keep it at its peak horsepower indefinitely for maximum acceleration. The Rav4 doesn’t offer a CVT.

The Soul stops much shorter than the Rav4:

The Soul LX/S’ standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 60 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Rav4 LE/XLE’s standard 65 series tires. The Soul GT-Line’s tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Rav4 XLE Premium/Adventure/Limited’s 55 series tires.

The Soul has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Rav4 doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The Soul handles at .91 G’s, while the Rav4 TRD Off-Road pulls only .79 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Soul executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 2.1 seconds quicker than the Rav4 Limited (26.8 seconds @ .66 average G’s vs. 28.9 seconds @ .57 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Soul’s turning circle is 1.3 feet tighter than the Rav4 LE/XLE’s (34.8 feet vs. 36.1 feet). The Soul’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the Rav4 XLE Premium/Adventure/Limited/TRD Off-Road’s (34.8 feet vs. 37.4 feet).

The Kia Soul may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 500 to 650 pounds less than the Toyota Rav4.

The Soul is 1 foot, 3.7 inches shorter than the Rav4, making the Soul easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Soul has 3.3 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Rav4 (102.2 vs. 98.9).

The Soul has .4 inches more front headroom, .1 inches more front legroom, 1 inch more rear legroom and 5.1 inches more rear hip room than the Rav4.

The Soul uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Rav4 uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

The Soul Turbo has a standard heads-up display that projects speed in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Rav4 doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Soul’s power window, power lock and cruise control switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Rav4’s power window (except driver window) and power lock switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The Soul’s variable intermittent wipers have an adjustable delay to allow the driver to choose a setting that best clears the windshield during light rain or mist. The Rav4 LE’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent.

Insurance will cost less for the Soul owner. The Car Book by Jack Gillis rates the Soul with a number “1” insurance rate while the Rav4 is rated higher at a number “10” rate.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Soul is less expensive to operate than the Rav4 because it costs $9 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Soul than the Rav4, including $33 less for front brake pads, $132 less for a starter, $23 less for fuel injection, $297 less for a fuel pump and $497 less for a timing belt/chain.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Kia Soul will be $4576 to $9296 less than for the Toyota Rav4.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Kia Soul and the Toyota Rav4, based on reliability, safety and performance.