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Chevrolet Cruze vs Toyota Corolla

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

The short answer

Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Toyota Corolla drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 76 per 100,000 against 193 for the Chevrolet Cruze, or 61% fewer. For newer cars the picture flips: from 2019 to 2022 the Chevrolet Cruze has the cleaner record. The best years to target are 2017 and 2018 for the Cruze and 2018 and 2022 for the Corolla.

2017 Chevrolet Cruze LT front 5.26.18

Chevrolet Cruze

Complaints per 100k sold193
Recalls since 201223
Average crash rating4.9 of 5
'12'13'14'15'16'17'18'19
Best2017, 2018
Avoid2012
2020 Toyota Corolla SE 2.0L sedan, 12.28.19

Toyota Corolla

Complaints per 100k sold76
Recalls since 201221
Average crash rating4.8 of 5
'12'13'14'15'16'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Best2018, 2022
Avoidnone stand out

By age group

Model yearsCruzeCorollaFewer problems
Older (2012 to 2015)24588Corolla
Middle (2016 to 2018)10855Corolla
Newer (2019 to 2022)4880Cruze

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

YearCruzeCorolla
2012364153
201323667
201425880
201511261
201613159
201711057
20187647
20194868
2020n/a132
2021n/a76
2022n/a48
2023n/aToo new
2024n/aToo 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 Cruze or Corolla more reliable?

Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Toyota Corolla drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 76 per 100,000 against 193 for the Chevrolet Cruze, or 61% fewer. For newer cars the picture flips: from 2019 to 2022 the Chevrolet Cruze has the cleaner record. The best years to target are 2017 and 2018 for the Cruze and 2018 and 2022 for the Corolla.

Which Cruze and Corolla years should I avoid?

For the Cruze: 2012. For the Corolla: none stand out.

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