Jeep Patriot vs Hyundai Genesis: which is more reliable?

The Jeep Patriot is ahead of the Hyundai Genesis on the federal record, 78/100 against 70/100 — a real but narrow gap that a bad model year on either side closes.

The record, side by side

Jeep Patriot
Jeep Patriot · Wikimedia Commons

Jeep Patriot

78/100 mean
  • 6 model years scored
  • 1,852 owner complaints on record
  • about 27 complaints per year on the road
  • 9 recall campaigns, 7 safety-critical
  • best year 2017 (94/100) · worst 2014 (61/100)
Hyundai Genesis
Hyundai Genesis · Wikimedia Commons

Hyundai Genesis

70/100 mean
  • 6 model years scored
  • 1,039 owner complaints on record
  • about 14 complaints per year on the road
  • 26 recall campaigns, 23 safety-critical
  • best year 2014 (97/100) · worst 2015 (39/100)

Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.

Year by year: Patriot against Genesis

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.

YearPatriotGenesis Gap
201794 BUY——
201664 CAUTION75 BUY-11
201579 BUY39 AVOID+40
201461 CAUTION97 BUY-36
201390 BUY71 BUY+19
201274 BUY59 CAUTION+15
2011—73 BUY—

What owners actually complain about

Jeep Patriot

  • Engine — 631 complaints
  • Electrical System — 313 complaints
  • Power Train — 291 complaints

Hyundai Genesis

  • Electrical System — 245 complaints
  • Engine — 232 complaints
  • Service Brakes — 190 complaints

They do not fail the same way: the Patriot's complaints concentrate in Engine, the Genesis's in Electrical System. 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 Patriot: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017.

Hyundai Genesis — avoid: 2015.

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 Patriot prices at about $21,800 and a Hyundai Genesis at about $28,200 — the Jeep Patriot is roughly $6,400 less, and they return 21.0 against 19.0 MPG combined.

Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.

FAQ

Is the Jeep Patriot or the Hyundai Genesis more reliable?

On the NHTSA record the Jeep Patriot scores 78/100 against the Hyundai Genesis's 70/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.

Which Jeep Patriot and Hyundai Genesis years should I avoid?

Jeep Patriot: no year scores below 45. Hyundai Genesis: 2015. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.

What goes wrong on the Jeep Patriot and the Hyundai Genesis?

The largest complaint group on the Jeep Patriot is Engine (631 complaints); on the Hyundai Genesis it is Electrical System (245).

Is the Jeep Patriot or the Hyundai Genesis cheaper to own?

A recent used Jeep Patriot prices at about $21,800 and a Hyundai Genesis at about $28,200, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.

More head-to-heads