Which one, and which years, drew fewer problems per car sold
The short answer
Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Toyota RAV4 drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 110 per 100,000 against 264 for the Kia Sportage, or 58% fewer. For newer cars the picture flips: from 2019 to 2022 the Kia Sportage has the cleaner record. The best years to target are 2021 and 2022 for the Sportage and 2016 and 2022 for the RAV4.
Kia Sportage
Toyota RAV4
By age group
| Model years | Sportage | RAV4 | Fewer problems |
|---|---|---|---|
| Older (2012 to 2015) | 629 | 107 | RAV4 |
| Middle (2016 to 2018) | 297 | 78 | RAV4 |
| Newer (2019 to 2022) | 88 | 133 | Sportage |
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 | Sportage | RAV4 |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 1,078 | 155 |
| 2013 | 1,156 | 120 |
| 2014 | 291 | 77 |
| 2015 | 272 | 97 |
| 2016 | 165 | 73 |
| 2017 | 555 | 79 |
| 2018 | 199 | 81 |
| 2019 | 80 | 203 |
| 2020 | 200 | 151 |
| 2021 | 61 | 125 |
| 2022 | 38 | 44 |
| 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.
Most reported problems
Questions
Is the Sportage or RAV4 more reliable?
Across the 2012 to 2022 model years, the Toyota RAV4 drew fewer owner complaints per car sold: 110 per 100,000 against 264 for the Kia Sportage, or 58% fewer. For newer cars the picture flips: from 2019 to 2022 the Kia Sportage has the cleaner record. The best years to target are 2021 and 2022 for the Sportage and 2016 and 2022 for the RAV4.
Which Sportage and RAV4 years should I avoid?
For the Sportage: 2012, 2013. For the RAV4: 2019.