Jeep Renegade vs Hyundai Kona: which is more reliable?
The Hyundai Kona is clearly ahead of the Jeep Renegade on the federal record: 83/100 against 65/100 across every model year we score.
The record, side by side
Jeep Renegade
- 9 model years scored
- 2,196 owner complaints on record
- about 28 complaints per year on the road
- 24 recall campaigns, 13 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (89/100) · worst 2017 (40/100)
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)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Renegade against Kona
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 Renegade
- Engine — 847 complaints
- Electrical System — 615 complaints
- Power Train — 421 complaints
Hyundai Kona
- Engine — 396 complaints
- Electrical System — 135 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 133 complaints
Both nameplates have Engine as their largest complaint group, so the choice between them is about how often, not about what.
Years to avoid on each
Jeep Renegade — avoid: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018.
Hyundai Kona: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 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 Renegade prices at about $27,900 and a Hyundai Kona at about $30,500 — the Jeep Renegade is roughly $2,600 less, and they return 26.0 against 27.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Jeep Renegade or the Hyundai Kona more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Hyundai Kona scores 83/100 against the Jeep Renegade's 65/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Hyundai Kona carries about 23 complaints per year on the road against 28 for the Jeep Renegade.
Which Jeep Renegade and Hyundai Kona years should I avoid?
Jeep Renegade: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018. Hyundai Kona: 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 Jeep Renegade and the Hyundai Kona?
The largest complaint group on the Jeep Renegade is Engine (847 complaints); on the Hyundai Kona it is Engine (396).
Is the Jeep Renegade or the Hyundai Kona cheaper to own?
A recent used Jeep Renegade prices at about $27,900 and a Hyundai Kona at about $30,500, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.