2020 Chevy Trax vs 2020 Kia Soul – Albany, NY

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  • 2020 Chevy Trax

    A black 2020 Chevy Trax 1LZ is angled left.

    Starting at

    $21,300

    2020 Kia Soul

    A red 2020 Kia Soul is angled right.

    Starting at

    $17,490

    167.6Overall Length (inches)165.2
    65.9Overall Height (inches)63
    AWD or FWDAvailable DrivetrainAWD or FWD

    Let’s say you’re looking for a fun, affordable new car that gives you a little bit more utility and style than a compact without breaking the bank. What’s the best fit? You might want to check out the subcompact SUV category. Once you do, you’ll be surprised at the number of options, but a few really stand out. We take a look at two front runners to give you an idea of what’s available in this growing category: the 2020 Chevy Trax vs 2020 Kia Soul.

    Now, these two fantastic options share a lot of characteristics. They’re economical, under $25,000, and offer a wide range of safety and infotainment options to satisfy even the pickiest buyers. The devil’s in the details, though! These two vehicles might seem very similar but look a little closer, and you’ll see a lot of significant differences.

    What do savvy buyers look for? Real value and lots of choices for configuring their new car to make it the perfect fit. It’s also important to examine how one vehicle might outperform another. Performance isn’t just one area, like fuel economy or price––it’s also small things like available features to tackle common driving challenges like inclement weather.

    Curious which vehicle takes the winner’s trophy? Here’s a hint: we think the 2020 Trax might just be the right vehicle for you. Even though its worthy competitor, the 2020 Soul, comes awfully close, Chevrolet might have found the perfect mix of price, options, overall look and feel, and attention-to-detail that will capture the hearts and minds of subcompact SUV buyers everywhere.

    Let’s put the magnifying glass on the 2020 Chevy Trax and the 2020 Kia Soul to find out which vehicle is going to come out the victor. We’ll look at a few important categories to help figure out which comes out on top and, most importantly, remove any doubts about why one is going to be just a little more desirable. You might just be surprised at what we find.

  • Powertrain and Warranty

    A blue 2020 Chevy Trax is driving under an bridge near Albany, NY.

    You can admire the design and style of a vehicle all you want, but some features are more fundamental and a little less obvious. Most buyers assume that carmakers have leveled the playing field with a warranty in order to stay competitive. That may be true on a basic level, but look a little closer, and you’ll see that what a manufacturer covers can speak volumes about its confidence in quality and reliability.

    Purchasing A New Chevy

    The 2020 Chevy Trax includes the first maintenance visit within the first 1-year/12,000-miles. That’s right! Your first dealer maintenance visit is absolutely free. At the time of purchase, you may overlook this as a minor detail, but when it comes time for that first oil change and tire rotation, you’ll be happy to save the nearly $100 this service visit may end up costing. Does the 2020 Kia Soul offer this perk? No.

    Performance Features

    One major difference between the Trax and the Soul is all-wheel drive. Namely, the 2020 Trax offers it, and the 2020 Soul does not. This is a pretty big deal, especially in cold climates. Varying weather conditions make driving a challenge even for the most skilled drivers. It helps to have every advantage. All-wheel drive is not just a great performance and handling benefit––it’s almost a necessity. Chevrolet makes all-wheel drive available on all three Trax trims, the base LS, the LT, and the Premier. Not only that, but it’s surprisingly affordable, bumping the price less than $2,000 and still staying well below $25,000. All-wheel drive is not available on any Soul trim lines.

  • Size and Appearance

    Two women are walking towards a blue 2020 Chevy Trax, winner of the 2020 Chevy Trax vs 2020 Kia Soul comparison, which is parked on a street.

    Everyone knows that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but when it comes to cars, most buyers agree that a timeless design is favorable to something more trendy. Comparing the curb appeal of the 2020 Chevy Trax to the 2020 Kia Soul, the differences are vast and immediately apparent. These differences could be the deciding factor when making a choice.

    The 2020 Chevy Trax vs the 2020 Kia Soul

    The 2020 Soul was recently refreshed but still maintains its very distinctive, boxy style, made famous by the quirky hamster commercials a few years back. There is no doubt this vehicle offers the utility and larger size that crossover buyers want, but its trendy design is very specific, and as a result, it will appeal to a narrower subset of buyers.

    The 2020 Trax, on the other hand, maintains clean SUV lines, giving buyers the kind of styling they’d expect in a larger SUV. It’s likely to offer a more universal appeal and lines up a little more consistently with other vehicles in the category from a design standpoint. Quirky is good with clothes and hairstyles, but sometimes a big-ticket item like a vehicle should––no pun intended––stay in its lane.

    Size Is Important

    Let’s look at overall size: the Trax is 167.6 inches long vs the Soul, which comes in at 165.2 inches. While that can seem like a small difference, in the subcompact SUV category, every inch is significant. Buyers want to look for the maximum amount of size and space to capture that big SUV feeling and differentiate the ride from a typical compact vehicle. The Trax offers more height, coming in at a max height of 65.9 inches versus the Soul, which is smaller at 63 inches. Many purchase SUVs for the extra headroom, so this is a huge advantage for the Trax.

    In general, curb appeal is about the look, feel, styling, design, as well as what emotions seeing the vehicle conveys to you personally, and how imposing that vehicle is relative to its purpose. An SUV in any category should portray size and volume as well as some basic attributes that clearly identify it as an SUV.

  • Safety

    Two people are shown inside a 2020 Chevy Trax and connecting a phone to the infotainment screen.

    Right out of the gate, the 2020 Chevy Trax is winning big time with an overall 5-star crash test rating by the National Highway Transportation Safety Board (NHTSB). The 2020 Kia Soul received an overall rating of just 4-stars. This is a big difference, and something buyers focused on safety need to consider.

    The 2020 Chevy Trax

    Let’s look at braking, an area often overlooked by buyers. In its review of the 2020 Chevy Trax, Car and Driver writes, “the Trax’s brakes are among the strongest in its class, and the pedal feels firm and confidence-inspiring.” Confidence-inspiring is high praise from an institution like Car and Driver. Chevrolet’s anti-lock braking system and stability control accomplish this nicely for the Trax.

    The 2020 Kia Soul

    The Soul also offers anti-lock brakes with Kia’s version of stability control, but the respected journalists at Car and Driver find the Trax’s braking system to work more effectively when considering the overall vehicle’s performance. Again, these small details and sometimes respected third-party opinions tell the whole story of a vehicle’s features and benefits over a competitor.

    How Do They Compare?

    Both vehicles offer a suite of driver-assist programs and systems that are designed to make your overall driving experience much safer. On a more traditional safety level, the 2020 Chevy Trax comes standard with ten airbags. The Soul is equipped with fewer. Remember, newer safety technology is a great addition to all vehicles because any systems that keep drivers and passengers safer are important, but traditional safety features like airbags are no less important.

    All Chevrolet vehicles, including the 2020 Trax, come standard with OnStar capability. The subscription-based OnStar is Chevy’s longstanding 24/7 live driver support service that gives drivers access to specially trained representatives that can help in the event of a crash or other issue. OnStar also acts as a concierge, providing assistance with directions and even dinner reservations. OnStar is widely recognized as an industry leader and a pioneer in subscription-based vehicle assist programs.

    Kia’s similar UVO system acts more as a smartphone interface and puts the focus on infotainment. Just like OnStar, it can monitor the vehicle for maintenance issues and other problems, but the subscription level will determine the range of features, and the live connection leads directly to a roadside assistance operator. The breadth of live services is not as robust as we see in the OnStar service.

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