Chevrolet Trax vs Subaru Crosstrek: which is more reliable?
The Chevrolet Trax and the Subaru Crosstrek are level on the federal record — 74/100 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 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)
Subaru Crosstrek
- 6 model years scored
- 800 owner complaints on record
- about 25 complaints per year on the road
- 14 recall campaigns, 8 safety-critical
- best year 2020 (93/100) · worst 2019 (51/100)
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 Crosstrek
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
Subaru Crosstrek
- Visibility/Wiper — 263 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 169 complaints
- Electrical System — 134 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Trax's complaints concentrate in Engine, the Crosstrek's in Visibility/Wiper. 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 Trax — avoid: 2024, 2025.
Subaru Crosstrek: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2025.
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 Subaru Crosstrek at about $32,900 — the Chevrolet Trax is roughly $2,400 less, and they return 30.0 against 29.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Chevrolet Trax or the Subaru Crosstrek more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Subaru Crosstrek scores 77/100 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 Subaru Crosstrek years should I avoid?
Chevrolet Trax: 2024, 2025. Subaru Crosstrek: 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 Subaru Crosstrek?
The largest complaint group on the Chevrolet Trax is Engine (261 complaints); on the Subaru Crosstrek it is Visibility/Wiper (263).
Is the Chevrolet Trax or the Subaru Crosstrek cheaper to own?
A recent used Chevrolet Trax prices at about $30,500 and a Subaru Crosstrek at about $32,900, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.