Chevrolet Equinox vs Kia Sportage: which is more reliable?
The Chevrolet Equinox and the Kia Sportage are level on the federal record — 76/100 against 73/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Chevrolet Equinox
- 15 model years scored
- 5,754 owner complaints on record
- about 56 complaints per year on the road
- 38 recall campaigns, 15 safety-critical
- best year 2017 (90/100) · worst 2025 (46/100)
Kia Sportage
- 15 model years scored
- 2,540 owner complaints on record
- about 26 complaints per year on the road
- 45 recall campaigns, 26 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (91/100) · worst 2023 (33/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Equinox against Sportage
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.
| Year | Equinox | Sportage | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 46 AVOID | 60 CAUTION | -14 |
| 2024 | 85 BUY | 67 CAUTION | +18 |
| 2023 | 84 BUY | 33 AVOID | +51 |
| 2022 | 78 BUY | 91 BUY | -13 |
| 2021 | 84 BUY | 89 BUY | -5 |
| 2020 | 72 BUY | 73 BUY | -1 |
| 2019 | 76 BUY | 89 BUY | -13 |
| 2018 | 71 BUY | 78 BUY | -7 |
| 2017 | 90 BUY | 46 AVOID | +44 |
| 2016 | 85 BUY | 87 BUY | -2 |
| 2015 | 69 CAUTION | 87 BUY | -18 |
| 2014 | 82 BUY | 86 BUY | -4 |
| 2013 | 71 BUY | 66 CAUTION | +5 |
| 2012 | 76 BUY | 65 CAUTION | +11 |
| 2011 | 72 BUY | 79 BUY | -7 |
What owners actually complain about
Chevrolet Equinox
- Engine — 2,316 complaints
- Visibility/Wiper — 891 complaints
- Power Train — 668 complaints
Kia Sportage
- Engine — 1,428 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 368 complaints
- Electrical System — 336 complaints
Both nameplates have Engine as their largest complaint group, so the choice between them is about how often, not about what.
Years to avoid on each
Chevrolet Equinox — avoid: 2025.
Kia Sportage — avoid: 2017, 2023.
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 Equinox prices at about $30,500 and a Kia Sportage at about $30,500 — they price within $1 of each other, which at this level is the same money, and they return 26.0 against 25.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Chevrolet Equinox or the Kia Sportage more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Chevrolet Equinox scores 76/100 against the Kia Sportage's 73/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Chevrolet Equinox and Kia Sportage years should I avoid?
Chevrolet Equinox: 2025. Kia Sportage: 2017, 2023. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Chevrolet Equinox and the Kia Sportage?
The largest complaint group on the Chevrolet Equinox is Engine (2,316 complaints); on the Kia Sportage it is Engine (1,428).
Is the Chevrolet Equinox or the Kia Sportage cheaper to own?
A recent used Chevrolet Equinox prices at about $30,500 and a Kia Sportage at about $30,500, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.