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Subaru Crosstrek vs Toyota RAV4

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 110 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 2016 and 2022 for the RAV4.

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 Toyota Rav4 XLE, Front Left, 09-30-2020

Toyota RAV4

Complaints per 100k sold110
Recalls since 201234
Average crash rating4.8 of 5
'12'13'14'15'16'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Best2016, 2022
Avoid2019

By age group

Model yearsCrosstrekRAV4Fewer problems
Older (2012 to 2015)155107RAV4
Middle (2016 to 2018)12378RAV4
Newer (2019 to 2022)94133Crosstrek

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

YearCrosstrekRAV4
2012n/a155
2013231120
201415177
201511297
201614273
20178979
201813581
2019218203
202059151
202191125
20222044
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.

Most reported problems

Questions

Is the Crosstrek or RAV4 more reliable?

Across the 2012 to 2022 model years the two are close, at 115 and 110 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 2016 and 2022 for the RAV4.

Which Crosstrek and RAV4 years should I avoid?

For the Crosstrek: 2013, 2019. For the RAV4: 2019.

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