Subaru Impreza vs Honda Insight: which is more reliable?
The Subaru Impreza is ahead of the Honda Insight on the federal record, 76/100 against 68/100 — a real but narrow gap that a bad model year on either side closes.
The record, side by side
Subaru Impreza
- 8 model years scored
- 846 owner complaints on record
- about 11 complaints per year on the road
- 30 recall campaigns, 25 safety-critical
- best year 2025 (89/100) · worst 2013 (44/100)
Honda Insight
- 8 model years scored
- 336 owner complaints on record
- about 6 complaints per year on the road
- 47 recall campaigns, 46 safety-critical
- best year 2014 (86/100) · worst 2019 (31/100)
Mean score is the average across model years from 2013 on, where both records are comparable. How the score works.
Year by year: Impreza against Insight
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 Impreza
- Air Bags — 254 complaints
- Engine — 160 complaints
- Electrical System — 123 complaints
Honda Insight
- Engine — 78 complaints
- Air Bags — 53 complaints
- Forward Collision Avoidance — 51 complaints
They do not fail the same way: the Impreza's complaints concentrate in Air Bags, the Insight'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 Impreza — avoid: 2012, 2013.
Honda Insight — avoid: 2019.
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 Impreza prices at about $26,000 and a Honda Insight at about $18,700 — the Honda Insight is roughly $7,300 less, and they return 30.0 against 52.0 MPG combined.
Class-level estimates re-priced to your country, not a valuation of one car. Method.
FAQ
Is the Subaru Impreza or the Honda Insight more reliable?
On the NHTSA record the Subaru Impreza scores 76/100 against the Honda Insight'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 Subaru Impreza and Honda Insight years should I avoid?
Subaru Impreza: 2012, 2013. Honda Insight: 2019. Each of those scores under 45 out of 100 on complaints per year of exposure and recall campaigns.
What goes wrong on the Subaru Impreza and the Honda Insight?
The largest complaint group on the Subaru Impreza is Air Bags (254 complaints); on the Honda Insight it is Engine (78).
Is the Subaru Impreza or the Honda Insight cheaper to own?
A recent used Subaru Impreza prices at about $26,000 and a Honda Insight at about $18,700, before insurance and the maintenance band. Both pages carry the five-year running-cost figure.