Subaru Crosstrek vs Toyota C-HR: which is more reliable?
The Subaru Crosstrek and the Toyota C-HR 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)
Toyota C-HR
- 5 model years scored
- 517 owner complaints on record
- about 14 complaints per year on the road
- 6 recall campaigns, 3 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (93/100) · worst 2018 (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 C-HR
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
Toyota C-HR
- Power Train — 327 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 87 complaints
- Engine — 52 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Crosstrek's complaints concentrate in Visibility/Wiper, the C-HR's in Power Train. 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.
Toyota C-HR — avoid: 2018.
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 Toyota C-HR at about $23,700 — the Toyota C-HR is roughly $9,200 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 Toyota C-HR more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Subaru Crosstrek scores 77/100 against the Toyota C-HR'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 Toyota C-HR years should I avoid?
Subaru Crosstrek: no year scores below 45. Toyota C-HR: 2018. 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 Toyota C-HR?
The largest complaint group on the Subaru Crosstrek is Visibility/Wiper (263 complaints); on the Toyota C-HR it is Power Train (327).
Is the Subaru Crosstrek or the Toyota C-HR cheaper to own?
A recent used Subaru Crosstrek prices at about $32,900 and a Toyota C-HR at about $23,700, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.