All generations and engines together · 23,240 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 46k
Split by first-registration year. Cars registered in a changeover year can belong to either generation.
Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.
Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.
The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 7,318 tests in this band.
Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
Owners report front discs and pads wearing or rusting out well before you'd expect, sometimes under 20,000 miles, and caliper slider pins seizing so a pad drags on the disc. It's worse on cars used for short runs or left standing for a week or more. The measured MOT data lines up with this: brakes is the single most common fail category on the Soul, ahead of steering or suspension. A set of discs and pads runs roughly £150-£300 an axle at an independent garage; a seized caliper adds more if the slider pins need replacing rather than just greasing.
Cars fitted with the 7-speed dual-clutch automatic (offered on the 1.6 CRDi diesel from 2014 and the 1.0 T-GDi petrol from 2019) can judder or hang between gears from a standing start, and hunt for the right ratio in slow traffic. It's a well-worn complaint on Kia and Hyundai DCTs generally, and forum owners describe dealers swapping clutch packs or the whole mechatronic unit under warranty. Out of warranty a proper repair runs into four figures, £1,000-£2,000 or more. No UK recall covers this specifically, so treat it as owner-reported rather than a confirmed manufacturer fault.
The direct-injection petrol engines (1.6 GDI in the second generation, 1.0 T-GDi in the third) don't get their intake valves washed by fuel the way an old port-injected engine does, so carbon cakes onto the valves over time. Owners report a rough or hunting idle and hesitation from around 40,000-50,000 miles, worst on cars doing mostly short trips. A walnut-shell blast to clean the valves typically runs a few hundred pounds and isn't covered once the car's out of warranty. Kia hasn't acknowledged this as a specific fault; it's the same generic direct-injection problem seen across the industry.
A batch of 2013 Souls had a steering gearbox that could develop noise when turning the wheel, progressing to premature wear and potential failure of the rack. Kia issued a UK recall (R/2014/093) in August 2014, with the fix being a replacement pinion bolt and dust cap assembly. If you're looking at a car from this build period, get the dealer to check the recall was actually carried out against the VIN.
Like most small diesels, the 1.6 CRDi's particulate filter needs a regular motorway run to burn off soot and regenerate properly. Cars used mainly for short, low-speed trips can clog the filter early, triggering a warning light, a forced limp mode, or eventually needing a costly replacement, from around £150 for a forced regen at a garage up to four figures for a new filter. It's not a manufacturing fault as such, but buyers doing town-only driving should budget for it or avoid the diesel.
Built from the two sections above.
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