Hyundai Sonata Hybrid vs Buick Regal eAssist: which is more reliable?
The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and the Buick Regal eAssist are level on the federal record — 84/100 against 87/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Hyundai Sonata Hybrid
- 13 model years scored
- 746 owner complaints on record
- about 6 complaints per year on the road
- 33 recall campaigns, 20 safety-critical
- best year 2019 (94/100) · worst 2012 (59/100)
Buick Regal eAssist
- 5 model years scored
- 288 owner complaints on record
- about 4 complaints per year on the road
- 0 recall campaigns, 0 safety-critical
- best year 2015 (93/100) · worst 2013 (75/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Sonata Hybrid against Regal eAssist
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 Sonata Hybrid
- Engine — 324 complaints
- Electrical System — 194 complaints
- Service Brakes — 101 complaints
Buick Regal eAssist
- Exterior Lighting — 87 complaints
- Electrical System — 68 complaints
- Engine — 53 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Sonata Hybrid's complaints concentrate in Engine, the Regal eAssist's in Exterior Lighting. 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 Sonata Hybrid: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018….
Buick Regal eAssist: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016.
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 Sonata Hybrid prices at about $28,100 and a Buick Regal eAssist at about $13,600 — the Buick Regal eAssist is roughly $14,500 less, and they return 47.0 against 28.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid or the Buick Regal eAssist more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Buick Regal eAssist scores 87/100 against the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid's 84/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and Buick Regal eAssist years should I avoid?
Hyundai Sonata Hybrid: no year scores below 45. Buick Regal eAssist: 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 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and the Buick Regal eAssist?
The largest complaint group on the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid is Engine (324 complaints); on the Buick Regal eAssist it is Exterior Lighting (87).
Is the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid or the Buick Regal eAssist cheaper to own?
A recent used Hyundai Sonata Hybrid prices at about $28,100 and a Buick Regal eAssist at about $13,600, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.