Subaru Forester vs Kia Sportage: which is more reliable?
The Subaru Forester and the Kia Sportage are level on the federal record — 71/100 against 73/100 across the years we score. Which one to buy is decided by the model year, not the badge.
The record, side by side
Subaru Forester
- 15 model years scored
- 4,756 owner complaints on record
- about 52 complaints per year on the road
- 58 recall campaigns, 44 safety-critical
- best year 2024 (90/100) · worst 2019 (41/100)
Kia Sportage
- 15 model years scored
- 2,540 owner complaints on record
- about 26 complaints per year on the road
- 45 recall campaigns, 26 safety-critical
- best year 2022 (91/100) · worst 2023 (33/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Forester against Sportage
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.
| Year | Forester | Sportage | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 56 CAUTION | 60 CAUTION | -4 |
| 2024 | 90 BUY | 67 CAUTION | +23 |
| 2023 | 90 BUY | 33 AVOID | +57 |
| 2022 | 90 BUY | 91 BUY | -1 |
| 2021 | 83 BUY | 89 BUY | -6 |
| 2020 | 46 AVOID | 73 BUY | -27 |
| 2019 | 41 AVOID | 89 BUY | -48 |
| 2018 | 63 CAUTION | 78 BUY | -15 |
| 2017 | 65 CAUTION | 46 AVOID | +19 |
| 2016 | 76 BUY | 87 BUY | -11 |
| 2015 | 66 CAUTION | 87 BUY | -21 |
| 2014 | 84 BUY | 86 BUY | -2 |
| 2013 | 76 BUY | 66 CAUTION | +10 |
| 2012 | 75 BUY | 65 CAUTION | +10 |
| 2011 | 75 BUY | 79 BUY | -4 |
What owners actually complain about
Subaru Forester
- Visibility/Wiper — 986 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 747 complaints
- Electrical System — 707 complaints
Kia Sportage
- Engine — 1,428 complaints
- Unknown Or Other — 368 complaints
- Electrical System — 336 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Forester's complaints concentrate in Visibility/Wiper, the Sportage'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 Forester — avoid: 2019, 2020.
Kia Sportage — avoid: 2017, 2023.
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 Forester prices at about $32,900 and a Kia Sportage at about $30,500 — the Kia Sportage is roughly $2,400 less, and they return 29.0 against 25.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Subaru Forester or the Kia Sportage more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Kia Sportage scores 73/100 against the Subaru Forester's 71/100, averaged across every model year we hold. The gap is small enough that the model year matters more than the badge.
Which Subaru Forester and Kia Sportage years should I avoid?
Subaru Forester: 2019, 2020. Kia Sportage: 2017, 2023. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Subaru Forester and the Kia Sportage?
The largest complaint group on the Subaru Forester is Visibility/Wiper (986 complaints); on the Kia Sportage it is Engine (1,428).
Is the Subaru Forester or the Kia Sportage cheaper to own?
A recent used Subaru Forester prices at about $32,900 and a Kia Sportage at about $30,500, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.