Kia Sportage vs Subaru Crosstrek: which is more reliable?
The Subaru Crosstrek is ahead of the Kia Sportage on the federal record, 77/100 against 73/100 — a real but narrow gap that a bad model year on either side closes.
The record, side by side
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)
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: Sportage 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
Kia Sportage
- Engine — 1,428 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 368 complaints
- Electrical System — 336 complaints
Subaru Crosstrek
- Visibility/Wiper — 263 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 169 complaints
- Electrical System — 134 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Sportage'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
Kia Sportage — avoid: 2017, 2023.
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 Kia Sportage prices at about $30,500 and a Subaru Crosstrek at about $32,900 — the Kia Sportage is roughly $2,400 less, and they return 25.0 against 29.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Kia Sportage or the Subaru Crosstrek more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Subaru Crosstrek scores 77/100 against the Kia Sportage's 73/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Kia Sportage and Subaru Crosstrek years should I avoid?
Kia Sportage: 2017, 2023. 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 Kia Sportage and the Subaru Crosstrek?
The largest complaint group on the Kia Sportage is Engine (1,428 complaints); on the Subaru Crosstrek it is Visibility/Wiper (263).
Is the Kia Sportage or the Subaru Crosstrek cheaper to own?
A recent used Kia Sportage prices at about $30,500 and a Subaru Crosstrek at about $32,900, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.