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 531 and 525 owner complaints per 100,000 sold. For newer cars the picture flips: from 2019 to 2022 the Hyundai Sonata has the cleaner record. The best years to target are 2019 and 2021 for the Sonata and 2018 and 2019 for the Optima.
Hyundai Sonata
Kia Optima
By age group
| Model years | Sonata | Optima | Fewer problems |
|---|---|---|---|
| Older (2012 to 2015) | 663 | 657 | About even |
| Middle (2016 to 2018) | 493 | 395 | Optima |
| Newer (2019 to 2022) | 218 | 255 | Sonata |
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 | Sonata | Optima |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 743 | 677 |
| 2013 | 994 | 926 |
| 2014 | 359 | 391 |
| 2015 | 567 | 642 |
| 2016 | 445 | 616 |
| 2017 | 669 | 285 |
| 2018 | 365 | 240 |
| 2019 | 197 | 223 |
| 2020 | 258 | 320 |
| 2021 | 204 | n/a |
| 2022 | 221 | n/a |
| 2023 | Too new | n/a |
| 2024 | Too new | n/a |
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 Sonata or Optima more reliable?
Across the 2012 to 2022 model years the two are close, at 531 and 525 owner complaints per 100,000 sold. For newer cars the picture flips: from 2019 to 2022 the Hyundai Sonata has the cleaner record. The best years to target are 2019 and 2021 for the Sonata and 2018 and 2019 for the Optima.
Which Sonata and Optima years should I avoid?
For the Sonata: 2012, 2013. For the Optima: 2012, 2013.