Which one, and which years, drew fewer problems per car sold
The short answer
Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Honda Civic drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 167 per 100,000 against 939 for the Ford Focus, or 82% fewer. For the newer 2019 to 2022 cars the two are about even. The best years to target are 2015 and 2017 for the Focus and 2020 and 2021 for the Civic.
Ford Focus
Honda Civic
By age group
| Model years | Focus | Civic | Fewer problems |
|---|---|---|---|
| Older (2012 to 2015) | 1,073 | 114 | Civic |
| Middle (2016 to 2018) | 666 | 214 | Civic |
| Newer (2019 to 2022) | n/a | 186 | About even |
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
| Year | Focus | Civic |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 1,547 | 149 |
| 2013 | 930 | 98 |
| 2014 | 1,212 | 91 |
| 2015 | 511 | 117 |
| 2016 | 709 | 295 |
| 2017 | 572 | 162 |
| 2018 | 735 | 185 |
| 2019 | n/a | 142 |
| 2020 | n/a | 92 |
| 2021 | n/a | 62 |
| 2022 | n/a | 718 |
| 2023 | n/a | Too new |
| 2024 | n/a | Too 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 Focus or Civic more reliable?
Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Honda Civic drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 167 per 100,000 against 939 for the Ford Focus, or 82% fewer. For the newer 2019 to 2022 cars the two are about even. The best years to target are 2015 and 2017 for the Focus and 2020 and 2021 for the Civic.
Which Focus and Civic years should I avoid?
For the Focus: 2012, 2014. For the Civic: 2016, 2022.