Ford EcoSport vs Honda CR-V Hybrid: which is more reliable?

The Ford EcoSport is clearly ahead of the Honda CR-V Hybrid on the federal record: 81/100 against 66/100 across every model year we score.

The record, side by side

Ford EcoSport
Ford EcoSport · Wikimedia Commons

Ford EcoSport

81/100 mean
  • 5 model years scored
  • 1,840 owner complaints on record
  • about 55 complaints per year on the road
  • 12 recall campaigns, 1 safety-critical
  • best year 2022 (93/100) · worst 2018 (70/100)

Honda CR-V Hybrid

66/100 mean
  • 4 model years scored
  • 682 owner complaints on record
  • about 38 complaints per year on the road
  • 17 recall campaigns, 14 safety-critical
  • best year 2022 (81/100) · worst 2021 (38/100)

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

Year by year: EcoSport against CR-V 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.

YearEcoSportCR-V Hybrid Gap
2023—66 CAUTION—
202293 BUY81 BUY+12
202184 BUY38 AVOID+46
202077 BUY78 BUY-1
201980 BUY——
201870 BUY——

What owners actually complain about

Ford EcoSport

  • Engine And Engine Cooling — 839 complaints
  • Engine — 795 complaints
  • Power Train — 217 complaints

Honda CR-V Hybrid

  • Steering — 194 complaints
  • Forward Collision Avoidance — 132 complaints
  • Electrical System — 101 complaints

They do not fail the same way: the EcoSport's complaints concentrate in Engine And Engine Cooling, the CR-V Hybrid's in Steering. 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

Ford EcoSport: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022.

Honda CR-V Hybrid — avoid: 2021.

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 Ford EcoSport prices at about $23,700 and a Honda CR-V Hybrid at about $25,800 — the Ford EcoSport is roughly $2,100 less, and they return 25.0 against 37.0 MPG combined.

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

FAQ

Is the Ford EcoSport or the Honda CR-V Hybrid more reliable?

On the NHTSA record the Ford EcoSport scores 81/100 against the Honda CR-V Hybrid's 66/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Ford EcoSport carries about 55 complaints per year on the road against 38 for the Honda CR-V Hybrid.

Which Ford EcoSport and Honda CR-V Hybrid years should I avoid?

Ford EcoSport: no year scores below 45. Honda CR-V Hybrid: 2021. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.

What goes wrong on the Ford EcoSport and the Honda CR-V Hybrid?

The largest complaint group on the Ford EcoSport is Engine And Engine Cooling (839 complaints); on the Honda CR-V Hybrid it is Steering (194).

Is the Ford EcoSport or the Honda CR-V Hybrid cheaper to own?

A recent used Ford EcoSport prices at about $23,700 and a Honda CR-V Hybrid at about $25,800, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.

More head-to-heads