Chevrolet Cruze vs Toyota Corolla: which is more reliable?
The Chevrolet Cruze and the Toyota Corolla are level on the federal record — 77/100 against 77/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Chevrolet Cruze
- 9 model years scored
- 3,958 owner complaints on record
- about 31 complaints per year on the road
- 44 recall campaigns, 31 safety-critical
- best year 2019 (92/100) · worst 2014 (54/100)
Toyota Corolla
- 15 model years scored
- 3,218 owner complaints on record
- about 27 complaints per year on the road
- 46 recall campaigns, 32 safety-critical
- best year 2015 (87/100) · worst 2020 (47/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Cruze against Corolla
The comparison that decides the purchase. A nameplate is not one car — a redesign can move the record sixty points inside two years, and the two nameplates rarely move together.
What owners actually complain about
Chevrolet Cruze
- Engine — 1,356 complaints
- Electrical System — 816 complaints
- Power Train — 707 complaints
Toyota Corolla
- Air Bags — 1,263 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 357 complaints
- Engine — 266 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Cruze's complaints concentrate in Engine, the Corolla's in Air Bags. That difference matters more to a buyer than the score gap, because it says which repair bill you are taking on.
Years to avoid on each
Chevrolet Cruze: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019.
Toyota Corolla — avoid: 2020.
A year scores below 45 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns. Every car’s years to avoid.
What each costs today
A recent used Chevrolet Cruze prices at about $14,300 and a Toyota Corolla at about $24,100 — the Chevrolet Cruze is roughly $9,800 less, and they return 32.0 against 34.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Chevrolet Cruze or the Toyota Corolla more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Chevrolet Cruze scores 77/100 against the Toyota Corolla's 77/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Chevrolet Cruze and Toyota Corolla years should I avoid?
Chevrolet Cruze: no year scores below 45. Toyota Corolla: 2020. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Chevrolet Cruze and the Toyota Corolla?
The largest complaint group on the Chevrolet Cruze is Engine (1,356 complaints); on the Toyota Corolla it is Air Bags (1,263).
Is the Chevrolet Cruze or the Toyota Corolla cheaper to own?
A recent used Chevrolet Cruze prices at about $14,300 and a Toyota Corolla at about $24,100, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.