Hyundai Kona vs Toyota C-HR: which is more reliable?
The Hyundai Kona is ahead of the Toyota C-HR on the federal record, 83/100 against 76/100 — 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)
Toyota C-HR
- 5 model years scored
- 517 owner complaints on record
- about 14 complaints per year on the road
- 6 recall campaigns, 3 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (93/100) · worst 2018 (45/100)
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 C-HR
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
Toyota C-HR
- Power Train — 327 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 87 complaints
- Engine — 52 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Kona's complaints concentrate in Engine, the C-HR's in Power Train. 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….
Toyota C-HR — avoid: 2018.
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 Toyota C-HR at about $23,700 — the Toyota C-HR is roughly $6,800 less, and they return 27.0 against 29.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Hyundai Kona or the Toyota C-HR more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Hyundai Kona scores 83/100 against the Toyota C-HR's 76/100, 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 Toyota C-HR years should I avoid?
Hyundai Kona: no year scores below 45. Toyota C-HR: 2018. 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 Toyota C-HR?
The largest complaint group on the Hyundai Kona is Engine (396 complaints); on the Toyota C-HR it is Power Train (327).
Is the Hyundai Kona or the Toyota C-HR cheaper to own?
A recent used Hyundai Kona prices at about $30,500 and a Toyota C-HR at about $23,700, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.