2016 Hyundai Elantra vs 2016 Kia Optima
Two sedans from the same model year, side by side. Every figure is a raw NHTSA/EPA count — not normalized by how many were sold.
Side by side: 2016 Elantra has fewer recorded recall campaigns (2 vs 5), and 2016 Elantra has fewer recorded owner complaints (289 vs 748). 2016 Optima carries more NHTSA investigations (3 vs 1). Both carry NHTSA crash ratings, and both have EPA fuel-economy data.
| Metric | 2016 Hyundai Elantra | 2016 Kia Optima |
|---|---|---|
| Recall campaigns | 2 | 5 |
| Owner complaints | 289 | 748 |
| NHTSA investigations | 1 | 3 |
| NHTSA crash rating | Rated by NHTSA | Rated by NHTSA |
| EPA fuel economy | Available | Available |
Where these two actually differ
2016 Hyundai Elantra carries 3 fewer recall campaigns (2 against 5). Every campaign listed is repaired free by a dealer regardless of which side it falls on, so this gap matters most if the specific car you are looking at still has work outstanding.
2016 Kia Optima has drawn 459 more owner complaints (748 against 289). Complaints are self-reported to NHTSA and scale with how many were sold, so treat the pattern of what owners report as more informative than the total.
Both have been crash-tested by NHTSA, so their star ratings are directly comparable — they were assessed under the same program in the same year.
EPA fuel-economy figures exist for both, so running costs can be compared on the individual reports.
Counts are raw NHTSA and EPA totals for each model year. They are not adjusted for how many of each vehicle were sold, so a high-volume model will tend to show more of everything — a larger complaint count is not by itself evidence of a worse car. Use the per-vehicle reports for the underlying records.
How to read this
- A green check marks the lower raw count — fewer recorded issues, not a declared winner.
- Complaint totals are not normalized by vehicle population; a big-seller shows more of everything.
- Where a rating or EPA record is absent, that is missing data — not evidence of safety.