2012 Kia Sorento: MOT pass rate and reliability

65% of 2012 Kia Sorentos pass the MOT first time, measured across 1,884 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 104,707 miles.

How the 2012 compares

  • Against all Kia Sorentos (73.1%, 33,116 tests): -8.1 points
  • Against all 2012 cars (70.8%): -5.8 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Kia Sorento model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2012 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Kia Sorento:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2004 55.6% 531 114,740
2005 58.1% 913 114,560
2006 57.5% 1,718 115,739
2007 60.3% 1,182 113,163
2008 59.8% 905 108,467
2009 62.4% 1,241 105,846
2010 62.6% 1,783 113,515
2011 64.2% 1,600 110,262
2012 65% 1,884 104,707
2013 66.8% 2,114 97,831
2014 71.7% 2,887 88,003
2015 77.8% 3,988 81,043
2016 80.2% 3,136 73,116
2017 84% 3,104 62,391
2018 85.9% 2,741 53,892
2019 87.9% 2,770 43,566
2020 89.3% 450 37,358

What this means if you are buying a 2012 Sorento

The 2012 is a weaker year for this model, passing 8.1 points less often than the Kia Sorento average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2012 figure for all cars above rather than against newer examples. 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 14-year-old car fails on

A 2012 car is 14 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 above average and into the range where cambelts and water pumps are due if they have not already been done, so ask for the service history rather than take the mileage on trust. On a 2012 Kia Sorento the average at test was 104,707 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 2020 at 89.3%, and the weakest in our data is 2004 at 55.6%. That 33.7 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2012 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Kia Sorento MOT data · Every model