Volkswagen Jetta vs Kia Soul

With a base price just over $25,000 Canadian, the 2025 Volkswagen Jetta offers plenty of passenger space, a large trunk, and a fuel-efficient engine with plenty of zip. This year, Volkswagen tweaks this compact sedan’s styling, improves the interior, upgrades the handling, and adds more standard technology. Driving enthusiasts will appreciate the Comfortline’s available Sport package and the continued existence of the Volkswagen Jetta GLI, which still offers a manual transmission.

Verdict: While the changes to the 2025 VW Jetta are appealing, some are missteps, such as the touch-sensing climate control system interface. Also, the Jetta isn’t a leader in its segment regarding safety ratings. Nevertheless, its sensible German design and engineering shine through, giving it a distinctive driving experience unlike other compact cars.

The Kia Soul demonstrates that good ideas mean nothing without good execution. Launched for the 2010 model year, the Soul instantly drew attention with its distinctive boxy styling. But unlike the similarly styled Honda Element and Scion xB, the Soul has managed to stick around.

That’s because the Soul has style and substance in equal measure. It’s both a practical car and a good value, just one that happens to be more interesting to look at than most other vehicles sharing those traits. Now in its third generation, the Soul is an excellent compromise between car and crossover, boasting the tidy proportions of the former and the upright driving position of the latter. So, it makes sense to cross-shop it against both small hatchbacks and the gaggle of tiny crossovers that have hit the market since the Soul first appeared, such as the Hyundai Kona, Subaru Crosstrek, and Chevrolet Trax and Trailblazer.

The current-generation Kia Soul was introduced for the 2020 model year and gets a number of notable updates for 2023, including some styling tweaks. In Canada, the trim line-up now includes LX, EX, EX+, EX Premium, and GT-Line Limited. We drove the U.S. equivalent of a Kia Soul GT-Line Limited for this review.