The Best Kia Soul Tires You Can Buy

Sandy B
Dec 9, 2020

The sporty feel and superior handling of the Kia Soul make it the type of car you love to drive. To keep it working its best, you need to replace the worn tires over time. Finding the Kia Soul best tires for your needs may mean comparing a few options.

What are the best tires for the 2020 Kia Soul?

Blue 2020 Kia Soul With White Background

Choosing the best tires for your Kia Soul depends on multiple factors, including how you plan to drive it. It’s always wise to invest in quality tires, but you don’t want to overspend on tires that don’t offer direct benefits. How do you know? Here are our insights.

Best Tires for the 2020 KIA Soul

Whenever you buy tires for a car, you need to consider more than just the size needed. You also have to consider the way you plan to drive the car. Conditions, location, and feel all matter here. There are a few key things to keep in mind.

Touring – $170.99/Tire

The Kia Soul may benefit from touring tires. This type of tire adds more comfort and good, year-round traction for most needs. It also adds better handling, which you’ll appreciate in this lightweight vehicle. Touring tires are also a better option if you drive at high speeds often.

The Kia Soul doesn’t require touring tires, but they are a good option if you want more performance from your car. They only offer fair traction in the winter months. Another drawback is their shorter tread life. You’ll replace these sooner.

Touring tires will give you that smooth ride you want, especially in the Soul with its spiced-up suspension system (depending on year and trim). Remember that touring tires are a good option for an improved sporty feel but not always best for traction.

Consumers report brand matters here, and that’s really the case. A good-quality touring tire will last for more miles and offers decent protections. However, some of the highest-priced touring tires may not offer a noticeable improvement in handling, which may be money not well spent.

Performance – $141.99/Tire

Performance tires are lower in price, but they tend to be a good overall option for most Kia Soul drivers. These tires handle well and are very responsive, even in changing road conditions. They offer decent winter traction, which is why you’ll find these on most vehicles.

At the same time, you can improve that performance in wet conditions if you go with a high-performance or ultra-high performance model. These give you better ride quality, but they often increase the overall tread life.

Some high-end performance tires are not good for winter driving. If you live in an area with a lot of snow, these are rarely a recommended option because their ability to grab and hold the snow is limited (depending on quality again).

Consumers offer mixed reviews on performance tires. If you want to add some styling and a cool look to your car, you can find performance tires to do it. At the same time, they are not always the best in wet or icy conditions, and for routine drivers in the north, that’s a concern.

Winter/Snow – $144.18/Tire

Winter tires are the type of tires you need to have when it comes to staying safe on the road in deep snow. The problem is that these are not always ideal or beneficial to drive during the summer months. That’s why it is best to choose wisely if you are buying this type of tire.

Winter tires are very important if you need to drive in compacted snow – whether it is a paved or unpaved surface. This type of tire gives you the best overall traction in these conditions because it helps to push snow out of the way because of the big grooves in the tread.

You may want to skip the studded snow tires unless you will be doing significant driving in the compacted snow. These provide the highest level of grip, but they tend to not last long, and they have the loudest sound on paved roads.

Customers say winter tires in the North are a must, but for a Kia Soul, they are only good if you are likely to drive on an icy or snowy road all of the time. They can provide peace of mind, some note.

People Also Ask

Many people have questions about the Kia Soul’s best tires. Finding the right tires for your vehicle is a must, but you may have other questions, too.

Does the 2020 Kia Soul come with a spare tire?

That’s a trick question. The Kia Soul for 2020 does not have a spare tire. Rather, it has something called a Tire Mobility Kit (TMK). This kit includes a tire gauge, tire sealant, a compressor, and a filling hose. There are various other components to this kit as well.

This kit is designed to be a “better” option over changing a spare tire. You’ll use the components to patch the tire from leaks. This lasts just long enough to get the car into a repair technician. At that point, you need to replace the tire.

Full instructions on how to use the Tire Mobility Kit are in your owner’s manual. Older models of the Kia Soul may still have a spare tire.

What’s the recommended tire pressure for a 2020 Kia Soul?

mechanic checking tire pressure

Normally, tire pressure varies based on the trim model. That may be the case in your situation. However, most 2020 Kia Soul models require the following:

  • 33 PSI on the front tires
  • 33 PSI on the back tires

It’s that easy. There is a bit of range in there, but all trim models have the same recommendations overall.

How do you reset the tire pressure indicator on a 2020 Kia Soul?

If the tire pressure indicator sensor comes on, it’s time to pull over at a gas station and check it yourself. This can mean the tire pressure sensor is bad, or, more commonly, the tire needs air. If it needs air, fill it first.

Most often, filling the air to the proper level will turn the light off (though you may have to drive the car over 50 mph for about 10 minutes for that to happen). If that doesn’t work, turn the key to the “On” position in the ignition. Let it run for 20 minutes.

The tire pressure monitor reset button can then be depressed. This button is under the steering wheel. Press and hold it for three flashing lights.

avatar Sandy B
Sandy B. has written for The New York Times, Cleveland Magazine, and many online publications. She long-ago ditched the minivan life for the off-roading Ford Explorer (and hoping to restore a Shelby Mustang!)
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