Dodge Dart vs Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen: which is more reliable?
The Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen is clearly ahead of the Dodge Dart on the federal record: 82/100 against 71/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
Dodge Dart
- 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)
Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen
- 4 model years scored
- 1,594 owner complaints on record
- about 38 complaints per year on the road
- 4 recall campaigns, 4 safety-critical
- best year 2012 (90/100) · worst 2011 (79/100)
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 Jetta SportWagen
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
Dodge Dart
- Power Train — 907 complaints
- Engine — 483 complaints
- Service Brakes — 446 complaints
Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen
- Electrical System — 449 complaints
- Engine — 321 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 239 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Dart's complaints concentrate in Power Train, the Jetta SportWagen's in Electrical System. 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.
Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014.
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 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen at about $9,800 — the Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen is roughly $1,000 less, and they return 30.0 against 32.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Dodge Dart or the Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen scores 82/100 against the Dodge Dart's 71/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen carries about 38 complaints per year on the road against 48 for the Dodge Dart.
Which Dodge Dart and Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen years should I avoid?
Dodge Dart: 2013. Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen: 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 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen?
The largest complaint group on the Dodge Dart is Power Train (907 complaints); on the Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen it is Electrical System (449).
Is the Dodge Dart or the Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen cheaper to own?
A recent used Dodge Dart prices at about $10,800 and a Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen at about $9,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.