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Volkswagen Jetta 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 233 for the Volkswagen Jetta, or 67% fewer. The gap holds for the newer 2019 to 2022 cars too. The best years to target are 2018 and 2020 for the Jetta and 2018 and 2022 for the Corolla.

2019 Volkswagen Jetta front 7.11.18

Volkswagen Jetta

Complaints per 100k sold233
Recalls since 201237
Average crash rating4.8 of 5
'12'13'14'15'16'17'18'19'20'21'22'23'24
Best2018, 2020
Avoid2019
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 yearsJettaCorollaFewer problems
Older (2012 to 2015)28788Corolla
Middle (2016 to 2018)10955Corolla
Newer (2019 to 2022)25780Corolla

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

YearJettaCorolla
2012309153
201338667
201427580
201515061
201613659
201713857
20183547
201955068
202059132
202112976
202212648
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 Jetta 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 233 for the Volkswagen Jetta, or 67% fewer. The gap holds for the newer 2019 to 2022 cars too. The best years to target are 2018 and 2020 for the Jetta and 2018 and 2022 for the Corolla.

Which Jetta and Corolla years should I avoid?

For the Jetta: 2019. For the Corolla: none stand out.

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