wheel My order
Mon-Sun 9am-8pm
470 400 8880
Metro Atlanta, GA
wheel My order
Home / Insights /

Honda vs Kia

Honda or Kia — what we actually found

Side by side from 526 Hondas and 133 Kias buyers asked us to inspect before purchase. The average car we check scores 61/100.

vs
Head to head
HondaKia
Cars inspected526133
Average condition56/10069/100
In good shape (60+/100)48%69%
Holds up to (avg dips below decent)~114k mi~121k mi
Repainted or replaced panel81%68%
Structural repair found8%1%
Fault codes recently cleared29%20%

Green = the better number of the pair. Condition reflects the mix of cars that came to us — age, price, model — so treat small gaps as a tie.

How they score
Honda
Excellent 18% Good 30% Mediocre 25% Poor 27%
Kia
Excellent 43% Good 26% Mediocre 20% Poor 11%
How long do they stay good?
Good cars by mileage
▬ Honda▬ Kia▬ all cars
0 25 50 75 100 Honda, 0–20k mi: 87% in good shape (15 cars)Honda, 20–40k mi: 85% in good shape (26 cars)Honda, 40–60k mi: 77% in good shape (44 cars)Honda, 60–80k mi: 72% in good shape (64 cars)Honda, 80–100k mi: 63% in good shape (70 cars)Honda, 100–120k mi: 45% in good shape (84 cars)Honda, 120–140k mi: 40% in good shape (67 cars)Honda, 140–160k mi: 19% in good shape (73 cars)Honda, 160–180k mi: 22% in good shape (32 cars)Honda, 180–200k mi: 12% in good shape (25 cars)Honda, 200–220k mi: 0% in good shape (8 cars) Kia, 0–20k mi: 100% in good shape (11 cars)Kia, 20–40k mi: 88% in good shape (25 cars)Kia, 40–60k mi: 100% in good shape (12 cars)Kia, 60–80k mi: 71% in good shape (24 cars)Kia, 80–100k mi: 59% in good shape (22 cars)Kia, 100–120k mi: 50% in good shape (16 cars)Kia, 120–140k mi: 40% in good shape (5 cars)Kia, 140–160k mi: 22% in good shape (9 cars)Kia, 160–180k mi: 50% in good shape (6 cars) 40k 80k 120k 160k 200k mileage when we inspected it
Good cars by age
▬ Honda▬ Kia▬ all cars
0 25 50 75 100 Honda, 1 years old: 86% in good shape (7 cars)Honda, 2 years old: 91% in good shape (11 cars)Honda, 3 years old: 91% in good shape (23 cars)Honda, 4 years old: 81% in good shape (26 cars)Honda, 5 years old: 79% in good shape (29 cars)Honda, 6 years old: 70% in good shape (40 cars)Honda, 7 years old: 63% in good shape (43 cars)Honda, 8 years old: 50% in good shape (30 cars)Honda, 9 years old: 52% in good shape (31 cars)Honda, 10 years old: 43% in good shape (46 cars)Honda, 11 years old: 54% in good shape (35 cars)Honda, 12 years old: 39% in good shape (36 cars)Honda, 13 years old: 28% in good shape (36 cars)Honda, 14 years old: 29% in good shape (24 cars)Honda, 15 years old: 11% in good shape (27 cars)Honda, 16 years old: 17% in good shape (24 cars) Kia, 1 years old: 100% in good shape (10 cars)Kia, 2 years old: 93% in good shape (14 cars)Kia, 3 years old: 90% in good shape (20 cars)Kia, 4 years old: 78% in good shape (9 cars)Kia, 5 years old: 60% in good shape (10 cars)Kia, 6 years old: 67% in good shape (12 cars)Kia, 7 years old: 56% in good shape (16 cars)Kia, 8 years old: 36% in good shape (14 cars)Kia, 9 years old: 78% in good shape (9 cars)Kia, 10 years old: 80% in good shape (5 cars)Kia, 11 years old: 20% in good shape (5 cars) 2y 4y 6y 8y 10y 12y 14y 16y vehicle age when we inspected it

Share in good shape (scoring 60+/100) by mileage and by age when we inspected them (each dot ≥5 cars; rolled-back odometers excluded from the mileage curve). Dashed grey = all cars we check.

Most common faults
Honda
Fuel trim out of range · Engine
60%
Oil leaks · Engine
54%
Tires condition & wear · Brakes and tires
41%
Active error codes · Electronic equipment
34%
Cracked or torn suspension bushings · Suspension
28%
Kia
Oil leaks · Engine
46%
Tires condition & wear · Brakes and tires
35%
Fuel trim out of range · Engine
32%
Low coolant / cooling system issues · Engine
23%
Active error codes · Electronic equipment
17%
Trajectory by generation
Honda ▬ Consistent across generations 40% 60% 80% 2012–14: 60% in good shape (age-adjusted; 53 cars, raw 57%) 60 2015–17: 63% in good shape (age-adjusted; 100 cars, raw 61%) 63 2018+: 55% in good shape (age-adjusted; 52 cars, raw 62%) 55 2009–11 2012–14 2015–17 2018+
Kia

Not enough Kias at the 5–10 year checkpoint yet to draw a generation trend.

Share in good shape when inspected at the same age (5–10 years, age-adjusted), by model-year generation; dashed = all-brand average. All brands →

Whichever badge wins on paper, the car in front of you is its own story. Get it inspected before you pay.
Book an inspection

Based on 659 inspections · updated Aug 22, 2026