When you think about the Kia Soul, you don’t automatically think of a vehicle with a huge towing capacity. You might be surprised, though, especially if you are looking to haul smaller items such as motorbikes, small pieces of furniture, or jet skis.
We get asked a lot about Kia Soul towing numbers, so we thought it might be a good idea to write a whole article about it. To be honest, we didn’t really know how much a Kia Soul can tow, but we were happy to do a little bit of research to get the information for you guys.
Surprisingly, the US Kia website doesn’t list the towing capacity of the Kia Soul, so we had to travel down under to the Australian version of the Kia website to get numbers.
While we were performing our research, we also found several posts from Soul owners using their vehicle to pull small trailers.
We also came across a cool YouTube video that showed a Kia Soul owner towing a small boat. That video is published at the end of this blog post if you want to check it out.
We know that it’s official figures you are after, though, so listed below is the towing capacity of the Kia Soul as listed on the Kia Australia website.
Kia Soul towing capacity numbers
| Towing capacity unbraked | 550 kg / 1.200 lbs |
| Towing capacity braked | 1100 kg / 2.400 lbs |
If the trailer does not come equipped with a brake, your Soul can tow 550 kg (1,200 lbs.). That number rises to 1,100 kg (2,400 lbs.) when a brake is included.
The odd thing here is that the US Soul owner’s manual says that the vehicle should not be used for towing.
NOTE: We are going to look for the 2022 Kia Soul towing specs for US models, and will update this piece when we find it.
Video: hauling a small boat
You can take our word for the towing capacity of the Kia Soul, or you can choose to see it in action for yourself.
The above video shows the owner of a Kia Soul easily pulling a small boat down at the lake. Makes you want to buy a boat and get on the water, doesn’t it?
How much to tow with Soul?
If you are looking to tow big heavy loads, the Kia Soul is not the vehicle you should be using for the job! Keep in mind that the US owner’s manual for the Kia says that you shouldn’t be towing, while the Aussie version of the site lists numbers.
The pictures and video displayed online show that the Soul is able to handle smaller loads, but at the end of the day it’s up to you whether you want to risk it or not. Safety, both for you and other drivers, should always be top priority.
