Mitsubishi Outlander Sport vs Nissan Rogue Sport: which is more reliable?

The Nissan Rogue Sport is ahead of the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport on the federal record, 82/100 against 76/100 — a real but narrow gap that a bad model year on either side closes.

The record, side by side

Mitsubishi Outlander Sport
Mitsubishi Outlander Sport · Wikimedia Commons

Mitsubishi Outlander Sport

76/100 mean
  • 15 model years scored
  • 872 owner complaints on record
  • about 6 complaints per year on the road
  • 55 recall campaigns, 14 safety-critical
  • best year 2024 (93/100) · worst 2015 (34/100)

Nissan Rogue Sport

82/100 mean
  • 6 model years scored
  • 370 owner complaints on record
  • about 9 complaints per year on the road
  • 8 recall campaigns, 6 safety-critical
  • best year 2022 (90/100) · worst 2019 (70/100)

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

Year by year: Outlander Sport against Rogue Sport

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.

YearOutlander SportRogue Sport Gap
202592 BUY——
202493 BUY——
202392 BUY——
202290 BUY90 BUY+0
202190 BUY83 BUY+7
202087 BUY82 BUY+5
201978 BUY70 BUY+8
201889 BUY80 BUY+9
201772 BUY85 BUY-13
201636 AVOID——
201534 AVOID——
201465 CAUTION——
201367 CAUTION——
201289 BUY——
201171 BUY——

What owners actually complain about

Mitsubishi Outlander Sport

  • Power Train — 290 complaints
  • Engine — 144 complaints
  • Electrical System — 119 complaints

Nissan Rogue Sport

  • Engine — 85 complaints
  • Electrical System — 75 complaints
  • Unknown Or Other — 72 complaints

They do not fail the same way: the Outlander Sport's complaints concentrate in Power Train, the Rogue Sport's in Engine. 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

Mitsubishi Outlander Sport — avoid: 2015, 2016.

Nissan Rogue Sport: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022.

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 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport prices at about $30,500 and a Nissan Rogue Sport at about $23,700 — the Nissan Rogue Sport is roughly $6,800 less, and they return 26.0 against 28.0 MPG combined.

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

FAQ

Is the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport or the Nissan Rogue Sport more reliable?

On the NHTSA record the Nissan Rogue Sport scores 82/100 against the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport's 76/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.

Which Mitsubishi Outlander Sport and Nissan Rogue Sport years should I avoid?

Mitsubishi Outlander Sport: 2015, 2016. Nissan Rogue Sport: 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 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport and the Nissan Rogue Sport?

The largest complaint group on the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport is Power Train (290 complaints); on the Nissan Rogue Sport it is Engine (85).

Is the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport or the Nissan Rogue Sport cheaper to own?

A recent used Mitsubishi Outlander Sport prices at about $30,500 and a Nissan Rogue Sport at about $23,700, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.

More head-to-heads