Nissan Murano vs Hyundai Genesis: which is more reliable?

The Nissan Murano is ahead of the Hyundai Genesis on the federal record, 79/100 against 70/100 — a real but narrow gap that a bad model year on either side closes.

The record, side by side

Nissan Murano
Nissan Murano · Wikimedia Commons

Nissan Murano

79/100 mean
  • 15 model years scored
  • 1,074 owner complaints on record
  • about 8 complaints per year on the road
  • 24 recall campaigns, 18 safety-critical
  • best year 2021 (94/100) · worst 2015 (37/100)
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: Murano 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.

YearMuranoGenesis Gap
202564 CAUTION——
202491 BUY——
202392 BUY——
202293 BUY——
202194 BUY——
202083 BUY——
201989 BUY——
201892 BUY——
201765 CAUTION——
201663 CAUTION75 BUY-12
201537 AVOID39 AVOID-2
201470 BUY97 BUY-27
201389 BUY71 BUY+18
201280 BUY59 CAUTION+21
201180 BUY73 BUY+7

What owners actually complain about

Nissan Murano

  • Unknown Or Other — 214 complaints
  • Power Train — 201 complaints
  • Service Brakes — 124 complaints

Hyundai Genesis

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

They do not fail the same way: the Murano's complaints concentrate in Unknown Or Other, 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

Nissan Murano — avoid: 2015.

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 Nissan Murano prices at about $40,800 and a Hyundai Genesis at about $28,200 — the Hyundai Genesis is roughly $12,600 less, and they return 23.0 against 19.0 MPG combined.

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

FAQ

Is the Nissan Murano or the Hyundai Genesis more reliable?

On the NHTSA record the Nissan Murano scores 79/100 against the Hyundai Genesis's 70/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.

Which Nissan Murano and Hyundai Genesis years should I avoid?

Nissan Murano: 2015. 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 Nissan Murano and the Hyundai Genesis?

The largest complaint group on the Nissan Murano is Unknown Or Other (214 complaints); on the Hyundai Genesis it is Electrical System (245).

Is the Nissan Murano or the Hyundai Genesis cheaper to own?

A recent used Nissan Murano 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