2017 Kia Optima: MOT pass rate and reliability

83.7% of 2017 Kia Optimas pass the MOT first time, measured across 3,316 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 79,816 miles.

How the 2017 compares

  • Against all Kia Optimas (82.2%, 11,284 tests): +1.5 points
  • Against all 2017 cars (83.5%): +0.2 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Kia Optima model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2017 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Kia Optima:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2012 62.7% 641 99,975
2013 73.1% 327 97,314
2014 73% 597 92,294
2015 79.4% 602 84,128
2016 83.8% 1,260 80,273
2017 83.7% 3,316 79,816
2018 85.9% 2,703 71,190
2019 85.3% 1,667 62,243

What this means if you are buying a 2017 Optima

The 2017 sits close to the Kia Optima average, so there is no strong model-year signal either way. Judge the individual car on its own history. Check the exact car with the free MOT history checker before you buy, and run its VIN and mileage through our free VIN decoder and clocking check.

What a 9-year-old car fails on

A 2017 car is 9 years old now, and age drives the failure mix more than the badge does. Across all cars tested, these are the categories that actually cause failures:

  • Lights and electrical: 10.36% of all cars tested
  • Suspension: 8.65% of all cars tested
  • Tyres: 6.23% of all cars tested
  • Brakes: 6.1% of all cars tested
  • Visibility: wipers, washers, glass: 4.65% of all cars tested
  • Body, chassis and structure: 3.18% of all cars tested

That is a shade above the middle of the range, still ordinary wear rather than a red flag, but worth checking against the service book for the car's age. On a 2017 Kia Optima the average at test was 79,816 miles, so treat anything far above that as a car that has worked harder than its peers, and anything far below as one worth checking for the faults that come from standing still.

The strongest year for this model is 2018 at 85.9%, and the weakest in our data is 2012 at 62.7%. That 23.2 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2017 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Kia Optima MOT data · Every model