Jeep Cherokee vs Ford Escape Hev: which is more reliable?
The Ford Escape Hev is ahead of the Jeep Cherokee on the federal record, 75/100 against 66/100 — a real but narrow gap that a bad model year on either side closes.
The record, side by side
Jeep Cherokee
- 6 model years scored
- 2,801 owner complaints on record
- about 68 complaints per year on the road
- 29 recall campaigns, 11 safety-critical
- best year 2023 (92/100) · worst 2019 (25/100)
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: Cherokee 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
Jeep Cherokee
- Power Train — 1,357 complaints
- Engine — 680 complaints
- Electrical System — 591 complaints
Ford Escape Hev
- Structure — 203 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 133 complaints
- Engine — 100 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Cherokee's complaints concentrate in Power Train, 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
Jeep Cherokee — avoid: 2018, 2019.
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 Jeep Cherokee prices at about $27,900 and a Ford Escape Hev at about $30,500 — the Jeep Cherokee is roughly $2,600 less, and they return 24.0 against 39.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Jeep Cherokee or the Ford Escape Hev more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Ford Escape Hev scores 75/100 against the Jeep Cherokee's 66/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Jeep Cherokee and Ford Escape Hev years should I avoid?
Jeep Cherokee: 2018, 2019. 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 Jeep Cherokee and the Ford Escape Hev?
The largest complaint group on the Jeep Cherokee is Power Train (1,357 complaints); on the Ford Escape Hev it is Structure (203).
Is the Jeep Cherokee or the Ford Escape Hev cheaper to own?
A recent used Jeep Cherokee prices at about $27,900 and a Ford Escape Hev at about $30,500, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.