Kia Optima vs Chrysler 200: which is more reliable?
The Kia Optima and the Chrysler 200 are level on the federal record — 67/100 against 69/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Kia Optima
- 10 model years scored
- 6,077 owner complaints on record
- about 54 complaints per year on the road
- 41 recall campaigns, 28 safety-critical
- best year 2020 (91/100) · worst 2013 (26/100)
Chrysler 200
- 7 model years scored
- 4,167 owner complaints on record
- about 57 complaints per year on the road
- 24 recall campaigns, 17 safety-critical
- best year 2017 (92/100) · worst 2015 (28/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Optima against 200
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
Kia Optima
- Engine — 3,075 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 787 complaints
- Electrical System — 722 complaints
Chrysler 200
- Electrical System — 1,220 complaints
- Engine — 1,207 complaints
- Power Train — 866 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Optima's complaints concentrate in Engine, the 200'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
Kia Optima — avoid: 2013, 2015.
Chrysler 200 — 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 Kia Optima prices at about $18,400 and a Chrysler 200 at about $13,900 — the Chrysler 200 is roughly $4,500 less, and they return 31.0 against 27.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Kia Optima or the Chrysler 200 more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Chrysler 200 scores 69/100 against the Kia Optima's 67/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Kia Optima and Chrysler 200 years should I avoid?
Kia Optima: 2013, 2015. Chrysler 200: 2015. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Kia Optima and the Chrysler 200?
The largest complaint group on the Kia Optima is Engine (3,075 complaints); on the Chrysler 200 it is Electrical System (1,220).
Is the Kia Optima or the Chrysler 200 cheaper to own?
A recent used Kia Optima prices at about $18,400 and a Chrysler 200 at about $13,900, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.