Mitsubishi Outlander vs Hyundai Genesis: which is more reliable?

The Mitsubishi Outlander and the Hyundai Genesis are level on the federal record — 68/100 against 70/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.

The record, side by side

Mitsubishi Outlander
Mitsubishi Outlander · Wikimedia Commons

Mitsubishi Outlander

68/100 mean
  • 14 model years scored
  • 1,105 owner complaints on record
  • about 14 complaints per year on the road
  • 67 recall campaigns, 23 safety-critical
  • best year 2012 (88/100) · worst 2022 (34/100)
Hyundai Genesis
Hyundai Genesis · Wikimedia Commons

Hyundai Genesis

70/100 mean
  • 6 model years scored
  • 1,039 owner complaints on record
  • about 14 complaints per year on the road
  • 26 recall campaigns, 23 safety-critical
  • best year 2014 (97/100) · worst 2015 (39/100)

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

Year by year: Outlander against Genesis

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.

YearOutlanderGenesis Gap
202576 BUY——
202474 BUY——
202362 CAUTION——
202234 AVOID——
202085 BUY——
201983 BUY——
201876 BUY——
201777 BUY——
201634 AVOID75 BUY-41
201538 AVOID39 AVOID-1
201487 BUY97 BUY-10
201384 BUY71 BUY+13
201288 BUY59 CAUTION+29
201179 BUY73 BUY+6

What owners actually complain about

Mitsubishi Outlander

  • Power Train — 256 complaints
  • Electrical System — 156 complaints
  • Engine — 145 complaints

Hyundai Genesis

  • Electrical System — 245 complaints
  • Engine — 232 complaints
  • Service Brakes — 190 complaints

They do not fail the same way: the Outlander's complaints concentrate in Power Train, the Genesis'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

Mitsubishi Outlander — avoid: 2015, 2016, 2022.

Hyundai Genesis — 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 Mitsubishi Outlander prices at about $40,800 and a Hyundai Genesis at about $28,200 — the Hyundai Genesis is roughly $12,600 less, and they return 27.0 against 19.0 MPG combined.

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

FAQ

Is the Mitsubishi Outlander or the Hyundai Genesis more reliable?

On the NHTSA record the Hyundai Genesis scores 70/100 against the Mitsubishi Outlander's 68/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.

Which Mitsubishi Outlander and Hyundai Genesis years should I avoid?

Mitsubishi Outlander: 2015, 2016, 2022. Hyundai Genesis: 2015. 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 and the Hyundai Genesis?

The largest complaint group on the Mitsubishi Outlander is Power Train (256 complaints); on the Hyundai Genesis it is Electrical System (245).

Is the Mitsubishi Outlander or the Hyundai Genesis cheaper to own?

A recent used Mitsubishi Outlander prices at about $40,800 and a Hyundai Genesis at about $28,200, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.

More head-to-heads