Hyundai Kona vs Honda CR-V Hybrid: which is more reliable?
The Hyundai Kona is clearly ahead of the Honda CR-V Hybrid on the federal record: 83/100 against 66/100 across every model year we score.
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)
Honda CR-V Hybrid
- 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: Kona 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.
What owners actually complain about
Hyundai Kona
- Engine — 396 complaints
- Electrical System — 135 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 133 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 Kona's complaints concentrate in Engine, 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
Hyundai Kona: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023….
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 Hyundai Kona prices at about $30,500 and a Honda CR-V Hybrid at about $25,800 — the Honda CR-V Hybrid is roughly $4,700 less, and they return 27.0 against 37.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Hyundai Kona or the Honda CR-V Hybrid more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Hyundai Kona scores 83/100 against the Honda CR-V Hybrid's 66/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Hyundai Kona carries about 23 complaints per year on the road against 38 for the Honda CR-V Hybrid.
Which Hyundai Kona and Honda CR-V Hybrid years should I avoid?
Hyundai Kona: 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 Hyundai Kona and the Honda CR-V Hybrid?
The largest complaint group on the Hyundai Kona is Engine (396 complaints); on the Honda CR-V Hybrid it is Steering (194).
Is the Hyundai Kona or the Honda CR-V Hybrid cheaper to own?
A recent used Hyundai Kona prices at about $30,500 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.