Model-year matrix

Hyundai Kona
which year?

Compare every Hyundai Kona model year the EPA recorded, 2018 to 2027. See complaint patterns, fuel economy and configurations side by side, then open any year for recall campaigns and the full dossier. Confirm against the official NHTSA recall search.

Evidence-led answer

Looking for the best Hyundai Kona year—or years to avoid?

The official records cannot honestly name a best, worst or most reliable year. Complaint totals have no sales, mileage or age denominator. They can show where more reports were filed and which components were named, giving you years to investigate more closely before checking the exact car and its VIN.

What is the best year for the Hyundai Kona?

No official dataset can support one universal best year. Use the table to compare complaint patterns and EPA figures, then open the shortlisted years for recall campaigns and exact specifications.

Which Hyundai Kona years should you avoid?

The records cannot justify a blanket avoid label. Years with more reports are surfaced below as research priorities, not predictions about every car from that year.

01 · More reports to inspect2019

187 indexed complaint reports; engine is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2019 dossier →02 · More reports to inspect2020

154 indexed complaint reports; engine is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2020 dossier →03 · More reports to inspect2021

114 indexed complaint reports; engine is the most-reported component label.

Open the 2021 dossier →

Do not read this as an avoid list. Older and higher-selling model years usually accumulate more reports. A low count can also mean a newer, rarer or poorly matched vehicle—not a safer one.

Read this as evidence, not a ranking.

Complaint totals are counts of owner-submitted allegations, not confirmed defects, and they carry no denominator: they are not adjusted for how many cars were sold, how old they are, how far they are driven, or how much publicity a fault received. A high-volume or older year will usually show more reports than a rare or recent one. The site does not convert these into a reliability score, because the data needed to do that honestly is not in the public record.

Direct comparison

Compare two Hyundai Kona model years.

Choose any two years. The URL keeps the pair so you can return to the same comparison. Every figure below is an observed official record or EPA estimate—not a reliability score.

First model year

2026 Hyundai Kona

NHTSA complaint allegations: 9
Combined EPA economy: 26–31 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 6
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $2,000–2,350
Fuel labels: Regular Gasoline

Most-reported component labelsunknown or other 3service brakes 2electrical system 1

Open the 2026 evidence dossier →

Second model year

2027 Hyundai Kona

NHTSA complaint allegations: 0
Combined EPA economy: 26–31 mpg/MPGe
EPA configurations: 4
Annual EPA fuel-cost estimate: $2,000–2,350
Fuel labels: Regular Gasoline

Most-reported component labelsNo component label indexed

Open the 2027 evidence dossier →

Observed complaint-record difference

2027 has 9 fewer indexed complaint allegations than 2026.

This is not a rate or reliability finding. The counts have no sales, mileage, age or exposure denominator, and newer years have had less time to accumulate reports.

Side by side

Hyundai Kona by year.

Complaint bars are scaled against this model’s own highest year, so they compare years with each other and with nothing else.

Hyundai Kona model years with NHTSA complaint totals, most-reported components, EPA fuel economy and configuration counts
Year	Complaints	Most-reported components	Combined MPG	EPA configs	Annual fuel cost	Dossier
2027	0	—	26–31	4	$2,000–2,350	Dossier →
2026	9	unknown or other 3service brakes 2electrical system 1	26–31	6	$2,000–2,350	Dossier →
2025	28	electrical system 9unknown or other 6forward collision avoidance 5	26–118	9	$650–2,350	Dossier →
2024	46	electrical system 33engine 8forward collision avoidance 6	26–118	8	$650–2,350	Dossier →
2023	63	electrical system 26unknown or other 17forward collision avoidance 15	23–120	6	$600–3,300	Dossier →
2022	96	engine 32unknown or other 26electrical system 22	23–120	6	$650–3,300	Dossier →
2021	114	engine 75unknown or other 18power train 14	27–120	5	$600–2,300	Dossier →
2020	154	engine 101power train 19unknown or other 17	27–120	5	$600–2,300	Dossier →
2019	187	engine 128unknown or other 20electrical system 18	27–120	5	$650–2,300	Dossier →
2018	74	engine 41unknown or other 25power train 11	27–30	4	$2,050–2,300	Dossier →

Evidence snapshot generated August 25, 2026. “Not indexed” means NHTSA holds no complaint record matching this exact year, make and model — not that no fault occurred. Recall campaigns are not summarised here: NHTSA publishes no bulk recall dataset, and fetching them per year would take longer than the page should. Each year’s dossier shows its recalls in full, live from NHTSA.