Kia Niro: MOT pass rate and reliability data
The Kia Niro passes its MOT first time more often than the average UK car, by 13.6 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 48,721 individual Kia Niro tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.
The numbers
| First-time pass rate | 90.3% |
| UK national average | 76.7% |
| Difference | +13.6 points |
| Tests analysed | 48,721 |
| Average mileage at test | 47,586 miles |
| Average year of manufacture | 2019 |
| Reliability rank | 643 of 2,005 models |
What this means if you are buying one
A 90.3% first-time pass rate means roughly 10 in every 100 Kia Niros presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is better than average, so a well-kept example is a reasonably safe used buy. The average Kia Niro tested had covered 47,586 miles and was built around 2019.
What this means at salvage auction
Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Kia Niro bought as a repairable salvage, the mechanical side is less likely to spring surprises, so your repair estimate should hold up reasonably well.
Before you bid: run the lot through the analyzer, check the car's own record, check the mileage, decode the VIN, and if it carries a marker use the write-off value calculator. Or compare it against another model.
Looking at a specific Kia Niro rather than the model in general? The free check covers its MOT and mileage history, and the full HPI report confirms the insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and whether it is recorded stolen, from licensed data for 5 credits. Already own one that has been damaged? Work out whether fixing it beats selling it with the repair or scrap calculator, and see what damaged Kia Niros actually sold for at UK salvage auction.
Most common MOT failures on a Kia Niro
- A tyre cords visible or damaged, 1.8% of tests (1.46x the national rate for this defect)
- A tyre seriously damaged, 1.9% of tests
- Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 1.4% of tests
- Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen, 1.2% of tests
- Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen, 0.3% of tests
- Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 0.3% of tests
- A direction indicator lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning, 0.3% of tests
- A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 0.3% of tests
- a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 0.2% of tests
- Service brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 0.2% of tests
From 73,091 DVSA-tracked Kia Niro tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 8.05% of these flagged Kia Niro defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.
Kia Niro pass rate by model year
Pass rates fall steadily as cars age, so the model year matters as much as the model. First-time pass rate for each Kia Niro year:
- 2016 Kia Niro - 87.6% first-time pass, 1,304 tests
- 2017 Kia Niro - 87.5% first-time pass, 4,548 tests
- 2018 Kia Niro - 89.7% first-time pass, 7,438 tests
- 2019 Kia Niro - 90.3% first-time pass, 10,501 tests
- 2020 Kia Niro - 92.1% first-time pass, 12,941 tests
- 2021 Kia Niro - 91.6% first-time pass, 10,951 tests
- 2022 Kia Niro - 93.4% first-time pass, 808 tests
Kia Niro by fuel type
Diesel and petrol versions of the same car fail on different things, so the fuel type moves the number:
- Hybrid Kia Niro - 90.7% first-time pass, 47,100 tests
- Electric Kia Niro - 88.9% first-time pass, 1,390 tests
Other Kia models
- Kia Sportage - 79.4%
- Kia Picanto - 75.7%
- Kia Ceed - 71.6%
- Kia Rio - 74.3%
- Kia Venga - 78.4%
- Kia Sorento - 72.6%
- Kia Soul - 73.7%
- Kia Stonic - 89.9%
Models with a similar pass rate
- Fiat Rapdio - 90.4%
- MG Rv8 - 90.4%
- Mercedes-Benz Glc 300 Amg Line Premium 4m A - 90.4%
- Volkswagen T-Cross - 90.3%
- Ford Fiesta Trend - 90.3%
- MG Zs Exclusive Vti-Tech - 90.3%
If this car is a salvage or write-off
- Britain's most and least reliable cars: 33 million MOT tests analysed
- What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
- What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
- Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences
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