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Subaru Crosstrek vs Mazda CX-30

Which one, and which years, drew fewer problems per car sold

The short answer

Across the 2012 to 2022 model years the two are close, at 115 and 111 owner complaints per 100,000 sold. For newer cars the picture flips: from 2019 to 2022 the Subaru Crosstrek has the cleaner record. The best years to target are 2020 and 2022 for the Crosstrek and 2020 and 2022 for the CX-30.

2019 Subaru Crosstrek 2.0 Premium, front right

Subaru Crosstrek

Complaints per 100k sold115
Recalls since 201217
Average crash rating5 of 5
'13'14'15'16'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Best2020, 2022
Avoid2013, 2019
2020 Mazda CX-30 AWD, front 1.23.20

Mazda CX-30

Complaints per 100k sold111
Recalls since 20127
Average crash rating5 of 5
'20'21'22'23'24
Best2020, 2022
Avoid2021

By age group

Model yearsCrosstrekCX-30Fewer problems
Older (2012 to 2015)155n/aAbout even
Middle (2016 to 2018)123n/aAbout even
Newer (2019 to 2022)94111Crosstrek

Owner complaints per 100,000 cars sold, pooled across the years in each group. Lower is better. A model counts as ahead only when it is at least 10% lower.

Year by year

YearCrosstrekCX-30
2012n/an/a
2013231n/a
2014151n/a
2015112n/a
2016142n/a
201789n/a
2018135n/a
2019218n/a
20205989
202191168
20222062
2023Too newToo new
2024Too newToo new

Complaints per 100,000 sold for each model year. Green is a good year for that model, amber average, red a year to watch out for.

Questions

Is the Crosstrek or CX-30 more reliable?

Across the 2012 to 2022 model years the two are close, at 115 and 111 owner complaints per 100,000 sold. For newer cars the picture flips: from 2019 to 2022 the Subaru Crosstrek has the cleaner record. The best years to target are 2020 and 2022 for the Crosstrek and 2020 and 2022 for the CX-30.

Which Crosstrek and CX-30 years should I avoid?

For the Crosstrek: 2013, 2019. For the CX-30: 2021.

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