Hyundai Kona vs Ford Escape Hev: which is more reliable?
The Hyundai Kona is ahead of the Ford Escape Hev on the federal record, 83/100 against 75/100 — a real but narrow gap that a bad model year on either side closes.
The record, side by side
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)
Ford Escape Hev
- 6 model years scored
- 716 owner complaints on record
- about 24 complaints per year on the road
- 0 recall campaigns, 0 safety-critical
- best year 2025 (92/100) · worst 2021 (47/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Kona against Escape Hev
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
Hyundai Kona
- Engine — 396 complaints
- Electrical System — 135 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 133 complaints
Ford Escape Hev
- Structure — 203 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 133 complaints
- Engine — 100 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Kona's complaints concentrate in Engine, the Escape Hev's in Structure. 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
Hyundai Kona: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023….
Ford Escape Hev — avoid: 2020, 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 Hyundai Kona prices at about $30,500 and a Ford Escape Hev at about $30,500 — they price within $1 of each other, which at this level is the same money, and they return 27.0 against 39.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Hyundai Kona or the Ford Escape Hev more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Hyundai Kona scores 83/100 against the Ford Escape Hev's 75/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Hyundai Kona and Ford Escape Hev years should I avoid?
Hyundai Kona: no year scores below 45. Ford Escape Hev: 2020, 2021. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Hyundai Kona and the Ford Escape Hev?
The largest complaint group on the Hyundai Kona is Engine (396 complaints); on the Ford Escape Hev it is Structure (203).
Is the Hyundai Kona or the Ford Escape Hev cheaper to own?
A recent used Hyundai Kona prices at about $30,500 and a Ford Escape Hev at about $30,500, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.