Kia Soul vs Ford Fusion: Which Years to Avoid
Kia Soul owners should avoid 2014-2016 and 2020, while Ford Fusion owners should avoid 2010-2013. Across all years, NHTSA logs 5,535 Soul complaints (15 recalls) versus 22,387 Fusion complaints (46 recalls); these totals aren't sales-normalized, so they can't show which model is more reliable overall.
Head to head
Kia Soul
- Model years
- 2010–2025 (16)
- NHTSA complaints
- 5,535
- Per model year
- 346
- Recall campaigns
- 15
- Years to avoid
- 2014, 2015, 2016, 2020
- Best years
- 2019, 2022, 2024, 2025
- Top problem area
- Engine
- Avg. EPA combined MPG
- 28.0
- Avg. NHTSA overall rating
- 4.4 ★
Ford Fusion
- Model years
- 2006–2020 (15)
- NHTSA complaints
- 22,387
- Per model year
- 1,492
- Recall campaigns
- 46
- Years to avoid
- 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
- Best years
- 2018, 2019, 2020
- Top problem area
- Steering
- Avg. EPA combined MPG
- 24.3
- Avg. NHTSA overall rating
- 4.8 ★
Year by year
Complaint Index is relative within each model (0 = that model’s best year, 100 = its worst). Complaints and recalls are raw counts.
| Year | Soul | Fusion | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Complaints | Recalls | MPG | Verdict | Complaints | Recalls | MPG | |
| 2006 | — | — | — | — | Caution | 730 | 4 | 23 |
| 2007 | — | — | — | — | Caution | 1,064 | 4 | 22 |
| 2008 | — | — | — | — | Caution | 1,353 | 5 | 22 |
| 2009 | — | — | — | — | Caution | 1,022 | 6 | 22 |
| 2010 | Good | 135 | 3 | 27 | Avoid | 5,129 | 11 | 23 |
| 2011 | Caution | 194 | 3 | 26.5 | Avoid | 2,786 | 7 | 23.5 |
| 2012 | Caution | 514 | 3 | 26.5 | Avoid | 2,516 | 5 | 23.5 |
| 2013 | Caution | 662 | 3 | 26.5 | Avoid | 1,791 | 19 | 26.5 |
| 2014 | Avoid | 900 | 5 | 26 | Caution | 1,330 | 19 | 26.5 |
| 2015 | Avoid | 898 | 4 | 26 | Caution | 993 | 13 | 26 |
| 2016 | Avoid | 812 | 2 | 26 | Caution | 1,627 | 13 | 26 |
| 2017 | Caution | 272 | 1 | 27 | Good | 1,110 | 4 | 25 |
| 2018 | Good | 218 | 1 | 27 | Best | 439 | 2 | 25 |
| 2019 | Best | 136 | 1 | 28 | Best | 315 | 3 | 25 |
| 2020 | Avoid | 381 | 1 | 30 | Best | 182 | 3 | 25 |
| 2021 | Caution | 233 | 2 | 29.5 | — | — | — | — |
| 2022 | Best | 88 | 1 | 30 | — | — | — | — |
| 2023 | Caution | 51 | 4 | 30.5 | — | — | — | — |
| 2024 | Best | 29 | 0 | 30.5 | — | — | — | — |
| 2025 | Best | 12 | 0 | 30.5 | — | — | — | — |
Complaint Index by year
Kia Soul
Ford Fusion
Frequently asked questions
- Which years should I avoid for the Kia Soul and Ford Fusion?
- For the Kia Soul, NHTSA data points to 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2020 as Avoid years. For the Ford Fusion, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 are the Avoid years.
- Which has more complaints, the Soul or the Fusion?
- NHTSA lists 22,387 total complaints for the Fusion across 15 model years versus 5,535 for the Soul across 16 model years. That works out to 1,492 complaints per model year for the Fusion and 346 for the Soul, but sales volumes aren't accounted for.
- Which model has more recalls?
- The Fusion has 46 total recall campaigns compared to 15 for the Soul.
- What are the top problem areas for each model?
- For the Soul, Engine complaints lead at 63% of all complaints, followed by Electrical System at 13%. For the Fusion, Steering leads at 26%, followed by Engine at 22%.
- How do the two compare on fuel economy?
- The Soul averages 28 mpg combined across its model years, while the Fusion averages 24.3 mpg combined.