Chevrolet Trax vs Hyundai Kona: which is more reliable?
The Hyundai Kona is ahead of the Chevrolet Trax on the federal record, 83/100 against 74/100 — a real but narrow gap that a bad model year on either side closes.
The record, side by side
Chevrolet Trax
- 10 model years scored
- 932 owner complaints on record
- about 25 complaints per year on the road
- 20 recall campaigns, 12 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (94/100) · worst 2024 (44/100)
Hyundai Kona
- 8 model years scored
- 769 owner complaints on record
- about 23 complaints per year on the road
- 10 recall campaigns, 4 safety-critical
- best year 2018 (93/100) · worst 2024 (74/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Trax against Kona
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 Trax
- Engine — 261 complaints
- Electrical System — 239 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 151 complaints
Hyundai Kona
- Engine — 396 complaints
- Electrical System — 135 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 133 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 Trax — avoid: 2024, 2025.
Hyundai Kona: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 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 Trax prices at about $30,500 and a Hyundai Kona at about $30,500 — they price within $1 of each other, which at this level is the same money, and they return 30.0 against 27.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Chevrolet Trax or the Hyundai Kona more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Hyundai Kona scores 83/100 against the Chevrolet Trax's 74/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Chevrolet Trax and Hyundai Kona years should I avoid?
Chevrolet Trax: 2024, 2025. Hyundai Kona: no year scores below 45. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Chevrolet Trax and the Hyundai Kona?
The largest complaint group on the Chevrolet Trax is Engine (261 complaints); on the Hyundai Kona it is Engine (396).
Is the Chevrolet Trax or the Hyundai Kona cheaper to own?
A recent used Chevrolet Trax prices at about $30,500 and a Hyundai Kona at about $30,500, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.