Subaru Crosstrek vs Kia Seltos: which is more reliable?
The Subaru Crosstrek and the Kia Seltos are level on the federal record — 77/100 against 76/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
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)
Kia Seltos
- 5 model years scored
- 534 owner complaints on record
- about 28 complaints per year on the road
- 7 recall campaigns, 1 safety-critical
- best year 2025 (88/100) · worst 2021 (45/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Crosstrek against Seltos
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
Subaru Crosstrek
- Visibility/Wiper — 263 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 169 complaints
- Electrical System — 134 complaints
Kia Seltos
- Engine — 278 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 89 complaints
- Electrical System — 88 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Crosstrek's complaints concentrate in Visibility/Wiper, the Seltos'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
Subaru Crosstrek: no model year scores below 45; the strongest are 2017, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2025.
Kia Seltos — avoid: 2021.
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 Subaru Crosstrek prices at about $32,900 and a Kia Seltos at about $30,500 — the Kia Seltos is roughly $2,400 less, and they return 29.0 against 29.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Subaru Crosstrek or the Kia Seltos more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Subaru Crosstrek scores 77/100 against the Kia Seltos'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 Subaru Crosstrek and Kia Seltos years should I avoid?
Subaru Crosstrek: no year scores below 45. Kia Seltos: 2021. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Subaru Crosstrek and the Kia Seltos?
The largest complaint group on the Subaru Crosstrek is Visibility/Wiper (263 complaints); on the Kia Seltos it is Engine (278).
Is the Subaru Crosstrek or the Kia Seltos cheaper to own?
A recent used Subaru Crosstrek prices at about $32,900 and a Kia Seltos at about $30,500, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.