Jeep Renegade vs Subaru Crosstrek: which is more reliable?
The Subaru Crosstrek is clearly ahead of the Jeep Renegade on the federal record: 77/100 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)
Subaru Crosstrek
- 6 model years scored
- 800 owner complaints on record
- about 25 complaints per year on the road
- 14 recall campaigns, 8 safety-critical
- best year 2020 (93/100) · worst 2019 (51/100)
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 Crosstrek
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
Subaru Crosstrek
- Visibility/Wiper — 263 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 169 complaints
- Electrical System — 134 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Renegade's complaints concentrate in Engine, the Crosstrek's in Visibility/Wiper. 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 Renegade — avoid: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018.
Subaru Crosstrek: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2025.
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 Subaru Crosstrek at about $32,900 — the Jeep Renegade is roughly $5,000 less, and they return 26.0 against 29.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Jeep Renegade or the Subaru Crosstrek more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Subaru Crosstrek scores 77/100 against the Jeep Renegade's 65/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The Subaru Crosstrek carries about 25 complaints per year on the road against 28 for the Jeep Renegade.
Which Jeep Renegade and Subaru Crosstrek years should I avoid?
Jeep Renegade: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018. Subaru Crosstrek: 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 Subaru Crosstrek?
The largest complaint group on the Jeep Renegade is Engine (847 complaints); on the Subaru Crosstrek it is Visibility/Wiper (263).
Is the Jeep Renegade or the Subaru Crosstrek cheaper to own?
A recent used Jeep Renegade prices at about $27,900 and a Subaru Crosstrek at about $32,900, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.