Price and Trims
Pricing for the 2020 Kia Soul has yet to be announced but is expected to be released in the first half of 2019. The 2019 Soul started at $16,490 and the 2019 Soul EV started at $33,950. Traditionally, vehicle redesigns cause the price of a vehicle to slightly increase and that is expected to be the case with the Soul and Soul EV.
The 2020 Soul will come in six trim levels: LX, S, X-Line, GT-Line, EX, and EX Designer Collection. Kia will also sell the redesigned Soul in an electric vehicle variant, the Soul EV. The GT-Line trim is differentiated by a sportier exterior featuring black side mirrors, fog lights, red accents, and unique front and rear fascia.
The X-Line model (pictured above) is more rugged looking with fog lights, overfenders, unique wheels, a roof rail, off-road inspired accents, and optional two-tone paint. The Soul’s EX Designer Collection grade features premium equipment like LED headlights and fog lights, a two-tone roof, and 18-inch alloy wheels with black spokes.
The 2020 Soul EV comes in two trims, a base grade and EV Designer Collection. The top EV Designer Collection trim includes two-tone paint, power-folding gloss black mirrors, a 10-speaker Harman Kardon sound system, wireless phone charging, a leather-wrapped steering wheel, heated front seats, and an auto-dimming rearview mirror.
Interior Styling
The cabin of the third-generation Kia Soul is influenced by music with shapes and textures designed to enhance the user’s sensory experience. The compact car’s interior styling will remind Soul owners of their current model with tweaks that keep the integrity of the car’s unique design intact. The 2020 version of the five-seater has a no-frills interior that is more upscale and modern than in the previous edition.
Interior Features
The biggest upgrades to the Soul for 2020 are in its list of standard and available features. Each trim level comes standard with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Bluetooth that is capable of connecting to two devices at the same time, an AUX port, and a 12-volt power outlet in the center console.
A 7-inch touch-screen display is standard on LX, S, and X-Line trims (up from a standard 5-inch screen in the 2019 model) while upper trims get a 10.25-inch touch-screen display with split screen capability.
In keeping with the car’s sound-inspired design, available interior accent lighting in six themes can synchronize to the beat of music. Wireless device charging, keyless entry, push-button start, two USB ports, a 12-volt power outlet in the cargo area, and dual-zone automatic climate control are available.
The Soul EV has a similar list of standard and available features.
Cargo Space
Kia notes that the 2020 Soul has 23.8 cubic feet of space. Its liftgate is wider and has a lower opening than the outgoing generation. Like the second-generation Soul, the new model features a dual-level cargo board.
Information regarding the amount of cargo space of the Soul EV has yet to be released.
Powertrain
The 2020 Kia Soul comes standard with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. This means Kia has discontinued the underwhelming base 1.6-liter power plant that was in the 2019 model in favor of the formerly optional upgraded engine. It achieves 147 horsepower and 132 pound-feet of torque.
The GT-Line trim (engine pictured above) comes with the buyers’ choice of either the base engine or an upgraded turbocharged 1.6-liter power plant that generates 201 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque. It is the only grade that comes with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
A six-speed manual transmission is standard on the 2020 Soul’s LX grade. S, X-Line, GT-Line 2.0, EX, and EX Designer Collection models come with a continuously variable transmission.
The Kia Soul EV, in both its grades, is powered by a 64 kWh lithium-ion polymer battery pack. It achieves 201 horsepower and 291 pound-feet of torque. That’s up significantly from the 201 pound-feet of torque in the outgoing model. The car has four drive modes: Eco, Comfort, Sport, and Eco+. Paddle shifters control manage the regenerative brakes in three different intensity levels.
Kia reports that the Soul EV will take 59 hours to charge from empty to full on a Level 1 charger. Using a Level 2 charger reduces that time to 9 hours and 35 minutes.
Fuel Economy
No EPA-estimated fuel economy ratings have been released for the 2020 Kia Soul. The Soul EV’s range is expected to be announced closer to the car’s on-sale date.
The 2019 Soul features subpar fuel economy for the class at 24 mpg in the city and 30 on the highway.
Safety Features
Kia offers the Soul with its Kia Drive Wise suite of safety technology, which includes forward collision avoidance, forward collision avoidance with pedestrian detection, lane keeping assist, lane change assist, driver attention warning, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, and high beam assist.
None of those technologies come standard or are available in the base model. Most come standard in the Soul’s top trim levels.
The Soul EV (pictured above-left) comes standard with forward collision warning and avoidance, lane departure warning, lane keeping assist, driver attention warning, and adaptive cruise control with stop and go assist. Blind-spot monitoring, rear- cross-traffic alert, and parking distance warning are available.
Competition
The Kia Soul is an untraditional small car that competes against sedans, crossovers, and hatchbacks. The Kia Forte, Volkswagen Golf, Hyundai Kona, Ford Focus, Mazda3, and Honda Civic are its main competition. The Soul EV has competition chiefly from the Kia Niro, Hyundai Ioniq, Chevrolet Bolt, and Nissan Leaf.
Production and Availability
The 2020 Kia Soul and Soul EV are built at the Gwangju plant in South Korea and will arrive on U.S. shores in mid-2019.
For additional photos of the 2020 Kia Soul, click through the following pages.
2020 Kia Soul: Additional Photos
GT-Line front grille
2020 Kia Soul: Additional Photos
GT-Line exhaust
2020 Kia Soul: Additional Photos
GT-Line interior
2020 Kia Soul: Additional Photos
GT-Line interior
2020 Kia Soul: Additional Photos
Soul EV Front 3/4
2020 Kia Soul: Additional Photos
Soul EV Profile
2020 Kia Soul: Additional Photos
Soul EV Headlight
2020 Kia Soul: Additional Photos
Soul EV Front
More Shopping Tools From U.S. News & World Report
If you’re looking to get a great deal on the Soul, Soul EV, or any other Kia model, head over to our best Kia deals page. If you’re interested in a different vehicle, check out our best lease deals and financing deals pages. There, we’ve compiled a list of all the best incentives manufacturers are offering. You can even compare the Soul to its competition in our compact car rankings and the Soul EV in our hybrid and electric car rankings.
Before you sign on the line, ensure you’ve gotten the best price on your new Soul or Soul EV by using our Best Price program, which saves buyers an average of more than $3,000.
In addition to savings off MSRP, getting the best interest rate on your car loan can save you thousands. Compare rates from up to four lenders with MyAutoloan to get the best deal.
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Kia’s Soul Gets a Complete Redesign for 2020
Remember the dancing hamsters? The Kia Soul gained popularity alongside its popular rodent-driven ad campaign. The second-generation of the untraditionally shaped car is a value buy that has ample passenger and cargo space while proving to be a good daily driver.
At the Los Angeles Auto Show back in 2018, Kia debuted the new third-generation of the Soul and Soul EV. Read on to learn more about the 2020 Kia Soul and 2020 Kia Soul EV.