Is The Kia Soul Reliable? Here's What J.D. Power Says

We recently said RIP to the Kia Soul. It sold over 1.5 million units since it first debuted in 2009. That was a strong run, backed by not only the Soul's funky styling, but also a rewarding combination of low pricing and smart content. Consider the 2025 entry model: Despite an MSRP of $21,395 (which included destination charges), the Soul LX showcased standard features such as Android Auto/Apple CarPlay, WiFi compatibility, and a bundle of Kia's Drive Wise technologies. Those driver aids included automatic braking, lane-keeping assistance, and a driver-attention monitor. More than just feature-packed, though, the Soul earned drivers' trust with impressive reliability ratings from J.D. Power.

We'll get to the details below, but the bottom line is that J.D. Power has reviewed the Soul's reliability each year it's been in production, and it was only rated as low as "Average" twice. Now, to be clear, we're talking about the J.D. Power Consumer Rating for Quality & Reliability. It uses a 100-point score "based on hundreds of thousands of independent and unbiased opinions of verified car owners." We looked at how reliable Kias are according to Consumer Reports in September, and the short story there was one of generally improving reliability across the brand. And the Soul specifically goes off into the sunset with the sixth-highest CR score for Predicted Reliability in its 22-car segment — with higher marks than the non-hybrid versions of the 2026 Toyota Corolla and Honda Civic.

Backed by a fun-loving crew of anthropomorphic hamsters — who would go on to star in commercials with the likes of Lady Gaga — the Kia Soul made a major impact when it debuted for the 2010 model year. It won a string of awards, including placement on that year's Interior of the Year list from Ward's AutoWorld. Also helping the Soul's popularity was a strong value proposition that combined a starting price of $13,300 (not including destination fees) with standard air conditioning, at a time when that feature wasn't a given for small cars like the Soul.

In its first appearance in the J.D. Power data, the 2010 Soul checked in with an "Average" score for Quality & Reliability — only a few points behind the 2010 Toyota Corolla. The following year, the 2011 Soul's Q&R scores increased enough to claim a "Great" rating. The Soul was refreshed for 2012 with a new, more powerful and efficient engine, plus some design tweaks, but it stumbled back down to an "Average" Q&R rating — although the change was only a matter of five points.

The Soul rebounded to "Great" in 2013, setting the stage for the all-new second-generation model that debuted in 2014. This generation of the Soul sustained the "Great" ratings right up to the launch of the third and final Soul generation in 2020. Kia also sold an EV version of the Soul from 2015 to 2019, but it was never rated by J.D. Power.

The third-gen Kia Soul premiered for the 2020 model year and quickly caught the attention of J.D. Power — and not just for its reliability. Yes, the Soul once again earned a "Great" Q&R score, outscoring top names such as the 2020 Toyota Corolla, but what was new that year was the Soul's segment victories in the 2019 J.D. Power Multimedia Quality and Satisfaction Study and 2020 Initial Quality Study.

The Kia Soul carried over pretty much unchanged for 2021 and 2022, as did its "Great" Quality & Reliability results. In fact, 2021 was the Soul's high point in terms of J.D. Power Q&R ratings, when it received its highest Quality & Reliability rating ever, edging out luxury SUVs like the Lexus RX.

In 2023, the Soul received a mid-cycle refresh with some nice updates, but the writing was on the wall, with a reduced number of available trim levels spelling out its eventual demise. The brand did give a boost to the Soul's standard ADAS technologies, providing front automatic braking, lane-keeping assistance, a driver-attention warning, rear-occupant alert, and more for an MSRP of under $20,000, but it wasn't enough to save the hatchback. The Soul's final years saw a satisfying conclusion to its run of "Great" ratings for Quality & Reliability, getting the nod for 2024 and 2025 alike. Sadly, a surge in demand has driven up the cost of the final Souls. They now represent among the worst deals on new cars since some folks are willing to pay a mark-up to get into one.