Dodge Dart vs Honda Civic Hybrid: which is more reliable?

The Honda Civic Hybrid is ahead of the Dodge Dart on the federal record, 81/100 against 71/100 — a real but narrow gap that a bad model year on either side closes.

The record, side by side

Dodge Dart
Dodge Dart · Wikimedia Commons

Dodge Dart

71/100 mean
  • 4 model years scored
  • 2,315 owner complaints on record
  • about 48 complaints per year on the road
  • 16 recall campaigns, 3 safety-critical
  • best year 2016 (84/100) · worst 2013 (47/100)
Honda Civic Hybrid
Honda Civic Hybrid · Wikimedia Commons

Honda Civic Hybrid

81/100 mean
  • 5 model years scored
  • 1,578 owner complaints on record
  • about 27 complaints per year on the road
  • 7 recall campaigns, 6 safety-critical
  • best year 2014 (85/100) · worst 2012 (73/100)

Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.

Year by year: Dart against Civic Hybrid

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.

YearDartCivic Hybrid Gap
201684 BUY——
201569 CAUTION74 BUY-5
201483 BUY85 BUY-2
201347 AVOID84 BUY-37
2012—73 BUY—
2011—75 BUY—

What owners actually complain about

Dodge Dart

  • Power Train — 907 complaints
  • Engine — 483 complaints
  • Service Brakes — 446 complaints

Honda Civic Hybrid

  • Air Bags — 411 complaints
  • Power Train — 312 complaints
  • Electrical System — 170 complaints

They do not fail the same way: the Dart's complaints concentrate in Power Train, the Civic Hybrid'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

Dodge Dart — avoid: 2013.

Honda Civic Hybrid: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015.

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 Dodge Dart prices at about $10,800 and a Honda Civic Hybrid at about $10,000 — the Honda Civic Hybrid is roughly $800 less, and they return 30.0 against 44.0 MPG combined.

Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.

FAQ

Is the Dodge Dart or the Honda Civic Hybrid more reliable?

On the NHTSA record the Honda Civic Hybrid scores 81/100 against the Dodge Dart's 71/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.

Which Dodge Dart and Honda Civic Hybrid years should I avoid?

Dodge Dart: 2013. Honda Civic Hybrid: 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 Dodge Dart and the Honda Civic Hybrid?

The largest complaint group on the Dodge Dart is Power Train (907 complaints); on the Honda Civic Hybrid it is Air Bags (411).

Is the Dodge Dart or the Honda Civic Hybrid cheaper to own?

A recent used Dodge Dart prices at about $10,800 and a Honda Civic Hybrid at about $10,000, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.

More head-to-heads