Ford EcoSport vs Hyundai Kona: which is more reliable?
The Ford EcoSport and the Hyundai Kona are level on the federal record — 81/100 against 83/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Ford EcoSport
- 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)
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: EcoSport 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
Ford EcoSport
- Engine And Engine Cooling — 839 complaints
- Engine — 795 complaints
- Power Train — 217 complaints
Hyundai Kona
- Engine — 396 complaints
- Electrical System — 135 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 133 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the EcoSport's complaints concentrate in Engine And Engine Cooling, the Kona's in Engine. 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.
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 Ford EcoSport prices at about $23,700 and a Hyundai Kona at about $30,500 — the Ford EcoSport is roughly $6,800 less, and they return 25.0 against 27.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Ford EcoSport or the Hyundai Kona more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Hyundai Kona scores 83/100 against the Ford EcoSport's 81/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Ford EcoSport and Hyundai Kona years should I avoid?
Ford EcoSport: no year scores below 45. 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 Ford EcoSport and the Hyundai Kona?
The largest complaint group on the Ford EcoSport is Engine And Engine Cooling (839 complaints); on the Hyundai Kona it is Engine (396).
Is the Ford EcoSport or the Hyundai Kona cheaper to own?
A recent used Ford EcoSport prices at about $23,700 and a Hyundai Kona at about $30,500, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.