Which one, and which years, drew fewer problems per car sold
The short answer
Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Honda HR-V drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 145 per 100,000 against 189 for the Hyundai Kona, or 23% fewer. The gap holds for the newer 2019 to 2022 cars too. The best years to target are 2021 and 2022 for the Kona and 2021 and 2022 for the HR-V.
Honda HR-V
By age group
| Model years | Kona | HR-V | Fewer problems |
|---|---|---|---|
| Older (2012 to 2015) | n/a | n/a | About even |
| Middle (2016 to 2018) | 159 | 201 | Kona |
| Newer (2019 to 2022) | 194 | 111 | HR-V |
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 | Kona | HR-V |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | n/a | n/a |
| 2013 | n/a | n/a |
| 2014 | n/a | n/a |
| 2015 | n/a | n/a |
| 2016 | n/a | 296 |
| 2017 | n/a | 132 |
| 2018 | 159 | 187 |
| 2019 | 270 | 244 |
| 2020 | 212 | 102 |
| 2021 | 133 | 48 |
| 2022 | 170 | 77 |
| 2023 | Too new | Too new |
| 2024 | Too new | 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.
Questions
Is the Kona or HR-V more reliable?
Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Honda HR-V drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 145 per 100,000 against 189 for the Hyundai Kona, or 23% fewer. The gap holds for the newer 2019 to 2022 cars too. The best years to target are 2021 and 2022 for the Kona and 2021 and 2022 for the HR-V.
Which Kona and HR-V years should I avoid?
For the Kona: none stand out. For the HR-V: 2016, 2019.