Honda CR-V vs Kia Sportage: which is more reliable?
The Kia Sportage is clearly ahead of the Honda CR-V on the federal record: 73/100 against 58/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
Honda CR-V
- 15 model years scored
- 10,020 owner complaints on record
- about 122 complaints per year on the road
- 64 recall campaigns, 48 safety-critical
- best year 2012 (88/100) · worst 2019 (26/100)
Kia Sportage
- 15 model years scored
- 2,540 owner complaints on record
- about 26 complaints per year on the road
- 45 recall campaigns, 26 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (91/100) · worst 2023 (33/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: CR-V against Sportage
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.
| Year | CR-V | Sportage | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 43 AVOID | 60 CAUTION | -17 |
| 2024 | 42 AVOID | 67 CAUTION | -25 |
| 2023 | 39 AVOID | 33 AVOID | +6 |
| 2022 | 75 BUY | 91 BUY | -16 |
| 2021 | 70 BUY | 89 BUY | -19 |
| 2020 | 67 CAUTION | 73 BUY | -6 |
| 2019 | 26 AVOID | 89 BUY | -63 |
| 2018 | 31 AVOID | 78 BUY | -47 |
| 2017 | 29 AVOID | 46 AVOID | -17 |
| 2016 | 83 BUY | 87 BUY | -4 |
| 2015 | 78 BUY | 87 BUY | -9 |
| 2014 | 85 BUY | 86 BUY | -1 |
| 2013 | 86 BUY | 66 CAUTION | +20 |
| 2012 | 88 BUY | 65 CAUTION | +23 |
| 2011 | 72 BUY | 79 BUY | -7 |
What owners actually complain about
Honda CR-V
- Engine — 1,923 complaints
- Electrical System — 1,369 complaints
- Steering — 1,366 complaints
Kia Sportage
- Engine — 1,428 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 368 complaints
- Electrical System — 336 complaints
Both nameplates have Engine as their largest complaint group, so the choice between them is about how often, not about what.
Years to avoid on each
Honda CR-V — avoid: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024, 2025.
Kia Sportage — avoid: 2017, 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 Honda CR-V prices at about $30,500 and a Kia Sportage at about $30,500 — they price within $1 of each other, which at this level is the same money, and they return 28.0 against 25.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Honda CR-V or the Kia Sportage more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Kia Sportage scores 73/100 against the Honda CR-V's 58/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Kia Sportage carries about 26 complaints per year on the road against 122 for the Honda CR-V.
Which Honda CR-V and Kia Sportage years should I avoid?
Honda CR-V: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024, 2025. Kia Sportage: 2017, 2023. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Honda CR-V and the Kia Sportage?
The largest complaint group on the Honda CR-V is Engine (1,923 complaints); on the Kia Sportage it is Engine (1,428).
Is the Honda CR-V or the Kia Sportage cheaper to own?
A recent used Honda CR-V prices at about $30,500 and a Kia Sportage at about $30,500, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.