Jeep Cherokee vs Kia Sportage: which is more reliable?
The Kia Sportage is ahead of the Jeep Cherokee on the federal record, 73/100 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)
Kia Sportage
- 15 model years scored
- 2,540 owner complaints on record
- about 26 complaints per year on the road
- 45 recall campaigns, 26 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (91/100) · worst 2023 (33/100)
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 Sportage
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
Kia Sportage
- Engine — 1,428 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 368 complaints
- Electrical System — 336 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Cherokee's complaints concentrate in Power Train, the Sportage's in Engine. 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.
Kia Sportage — avoid: 2017, 2023.
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 Kia Sportage at about $30,500 — the Jeep Cherokee is roughly $2,600 less, and they return 24.0 against 25.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Jeep Cherokee or the Kia Sportage more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Kia Sportage scores 73/100 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 Kia Sportage years should I avoid?
Jeep Cherokee: 2018, 2019. Kia Sportage: 2017, 2023. 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 Kia Sportage?
The largest complaint group on the Jeep Cherokee is Power Train (1,357 complaints); on the Kia Sportage it is Engine (1,428).
Is the Jeep Cherokee or the Kia Sportage cheaper to own?
A recent used Jeep Cherokee prices at about $27,900 and a Kia Sportage at about $30,500, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.