Every Kona model year from 2018 to 2025, scored on reported failures weighted against how many were sold — and ranked against every other Compact SUV of the same year.
Across 8 scored model years the Kona needs fixing less often than its class, and repairs cost about what you would expect. The spread between years is what matters: 2018 is its strongest, 2019 its weakest.
Longer bar is better. Rank is against every Compact SUV sold that same model year.
| Year | Relative standing | Class rank | Pctl | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | #8 /27 | 73th | Best year | |
| 2019 | #27 /31 | 13th | Avoid | |
| 2020 | #25 /35 | 29th | ||
| 2021 | #26 /35 | 26th | ||
| 2022 | #25 /37 | 33th | ||
| 2023 | #24 /42 | 44th | ||
| 2024 | #31 /44 | 30th | ||
| 2025 | #21 /42 | 51th |
The line held a middling position through 2019, ran weak in 2020–2023, and has been middling from 2024 on. This 2025 car falls in a middling stretch.
All 12 systems, measured against the class average for each model year.
Every Kona model year is scored across 12 separate systems — engine, transmission, brakes, electrical, steering and suspension, structure, interior, and five more. Each system is compared against how often that same system fails on the average Compact SUV of the same year, so a common failure is judged against how common it is everywhere else.
Across the last three model years (2023–2025), the trouble concentrates in one place: structure & body. That system draws issue reports more often than the same system on the average Compact SUV of its year — which changes what you should be inspecting before you buy.
Real charts, sample vehicle. Open the lookup to see these for your Kona.
Your Kona is plotted against 42 rivals from 2025.
Look up your Kona →Your Kona is scored the same way, for every model year.
Look up your Kona →2018 is the strongest Kona model year on record, ranking #8 of 27 Compact SUVs that year.
2019 is the weakest year in the model's history, ranking #27 of 31.
The 2025 Kona ranks #21 of 42 Compact SUVs — the upper half of its class.
Failure reports filed with NHTSA — submitted by vehicle owners and repair shops alike — weighted against US sales volumes so a high-volume model is not penalised for selling well, then benchmarked within segment and model year.
All 12 systems scored, the whole class plotted, and a downloadable Full Model Report for any year — 6,000+ vehicles in the dashboard.
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