Kia: MOT pass rate and reliability

Kia vehicles pass the MOT first time 78.9% of the time, measured across 957,659 DVSA tests. That is 1.9 points better than the 77% national average, ranking Kia 20 of 50 major brands sold in the UK.

Looking at a written-off Kia rather than a roadworthy one? The median recorded closing bid for a damaged Kia was £475, from 148 ended listings across every Kia model. These bids are not independently confirmed sales.

Bidding on a damaged Kia at Copart? Run the lot through the salvage profit analyzer for the repair cost, fees, VAT and your maximum bid. Buying a used Kia, damaged or not? Run its registration through the free vehicle history check first: these are brand averages, that page checks the exact car.

Every brand ranked

1. Ferrari - 95.9%
2. LEVC - 95.4%
3. Aston Martin - 93.2%
4. Bentley - 92.5%
5. Porsche - 88.7%
6. Lexus - 87.7%
7. Tesla - 84.8%
8. Maserati - 84.3%
9. MG - 83.9%
10. BMW - 82.5%
11. Jaguar - 81.9%
12. Abarth - 81.8%
13. Audi - 81.6%
14. MINI - 81.6%
15. Toyota - 81.3%
16. Land Rover - 80.6%
17. Skoda - 80.6%
18. Mercedes-Benz - 79.9%
19. Suzuki - 79.5%
20. Kia - 78.9%
21. Hyundai - 78.8%
22. SEAT - 78.7%
23. Subaru - 78.6%
24. Honda - 78.3%
25. Dacia - 78.3%
26. Volvo - 78.2%
27. Jeep - 78%
28. Smart - 77.6%
29. Volkswagen - 77.1%
30. Mazda - 77%
31. Mitsubishi - 76.9%
32. DS - 76.2%
33. London Taxis International - 75.5%
34. Ford - 74.8%
35. Isuzu - 73.7%
36. Nissan - 73.4%
37. Peugeot - 73.2%
38. Fiat - 73%
39. Ssangyong - 73%
40. Vauxhall - 72.4%
41. Alfa Romeo - 72.4%
42. Citroen - 70.8%
43. Iveco - 70.2%
44. Rover - 70.2%
45. Saab - 69.1%
46. Renault - 68.1%
47. Chrysler - 67.2%
48. Daihatsu - 67.1%
49. Chrysler-Jeep - 67%
50. Chevrolet - 62.8%

Kia models

• Kia Sportage - 79.4%, 259,199 tests
• Kia Picanto - 75.7%, 181,656 tests
• Kia Ceed - 71.6%, 114,055 tests
• Kia Rio - 74.3%, 97,646 tests
• Kia Niro - 90.3%, 48,721 tests
• Kia Venga - 78.4%, 47,444 tests
• Kia Sorento - 72.6%, 33,349 tests
• Kia Soul - 73.7%, 22,681 tests
• Kia Stonic - 89.9%, 19,189 tests
• Kia Carens - 70%, 14,913 tests
• Kia Optima - 81.7%, 11,356 tests
• Kia Niro 4 + Ev - 91.6%, 8,472 tests
• Kia Niro 2 Ev - 93.3%, 8,223 tests
• Kia Niro 3 Ev - 91.4%, 5,856 tests
• Kia Niro 4 Ev - 89.9%, 5,761 tests
• Kia Sedona - 60.7%, 5,156 tests
• Kia Xceed 3 Isg - 89%, 4,134 tests
• Kia Sportage 2 Crdi Isg Mhev - 87.6%, 3,706 tests
• Kia Xceed 2 Isg - 88.3%, 3,451 tests
• Kia Sportage 2 Crdi Isg Mhev S-A - 88.4%, 2,585 tests
• Kia Ceed GT-Line Isg - 87.5%, 2,262 tests
• Kia Stinger - 88.2%, 2,093 tests
• Kia Soul First Edition Ev - 91.2%, 1,957 tests
• Kia Stonic 2 - 92.1%, 1,919 tests
• Kia Niro 2 Phev S-A - 93.8%, 1,908 tests
• Kia Sportage GT-Line Crdi Isg Mhev - 87.7%, 1,875 tests
• Kia Proceed - 62.1%, 1,531 tests
• Kia Proceed GT-Line Isg - 88.1%, 1,530 tests
• Kia Xceed 3 Isg S-A - 92.3%, 1,511 tests
• Kia Sportage Platinum Edition Isg - 90.5%, 1,384 tests
• Kia Ceed 2 Nav Isg - 88.2%, 1,259 tests
• Kia Xceed Edition Isg - 89.7%, 1,221 tests
• Kia Xceed 3 Phev S-A - 90.2%, 1,210 tests
• Kia Picanto X-Line S Auto - 90.9%, 1,164 tests
• Kia Sportage GT-Ln Crdi Mhev Sa - 85.9%, 1,115 tests
• Kia Stonic GT-Line Isg Mhev - 94.6%, 1,099 tests
• Kia Sportage Gtln S Crdi Mhev4x4sa - 91.3%, 1,002 tests
• Kia Picanto GT-Line S Isg - 87.9%, 994 tests
• Kia Stonic GT-Line S Isg Mhev - 96.3%, 986 tests
• Kia Sportage GT-Ln S Crdi Mhev Sa - 89.1%, 892 tests
• Kia Proceed GT Isg S-A - 85.5%, 851 tests
• Kia Ceed 2 Nav Crdi Isg - 87.9%, 818 tests
• Kia Stonic Connect Mhev - 94.5%, 815 tests
• Kia Sportage 3 Isg - 88.4%, 810 tests
• Kia Sportage GT-Ln Crdi Mhev4x4 Sa - 88%, 784 tests
• Kia Sorento 4 Hev Awd Auto - 90.3%, 780 tests
• Kia Ceed 2 Nav Crdi Isg Mhev - 86.7%, 767 tests
• Kia Sportage 3 Crdi Isg Mhev S-A - 87.6%, 761 tests
• Kia Cerato - 55.8%, 751 tests
• Kia Xceed First Edition Phev S-A - 89.8%, 736 tests
• Kia Stonic Maxx - 91.6%, 736 tests
• Kia Xceed 2 Crdi Isg - 88.7%, 711 tests
• Kia Sorento 3 Crdi Awd S-A - 89.8%, 697 tests
• Kia Sportage 3 Isg 4x4 - 90.6%, 671 tests
• Kia Stonic 2 S-A - 92.1%, 670 tests
• Kia Picanto GT-Line Auto - 89.9%, 636 tests
• Kia Rio 3 Mhev - 93.4%, 624 tests
• Kia Picanto Titanium Edition - 92%, 614 tests
• Kia Proceed GT-Line S Isg S-A - 85.7%, 610 tests
• Kia Picanto GT-Line Isg - 90.6%, 607 tests
• Kia Picanto Zest - 93.2%, 585 tests
• Kia Sorento 3 Hev Awd Auto - 88.2%, 584 tests
• Kia Magentis - 62.9%, 580 tests
• Kia Ceed 2 Crdi Isg Mhev - 86.5%, 579 tests
• Kia Xceed First Edition Isg S-A - 89.8%, 578 tests
• Kia Xceed First Edition Isg - 90.8%, 554 tests
• Kia Proceed GT-Line Isg S-A - 88.8%, 546 tests
• Kia Sportage 3 Crdi Isg Mhev - 85.9%, 539 tests
• Kia Stonic GT-Line S Isg Mhev S-A - 96.1%, 533 tests

Most common MOT failures across every Kia

Pooled across all Kia models, not just one: what actually fails on a Kia more than the UK average.

1. Parking brake inoperative on one side, 1.2% of tests (1.98x the national rate for this defect)
2. A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, 2.2% of tests (1.65x the national rate for this defect)
3. Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement, 2.1% of tests (1.59x the national rate for this defect)
4. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 1.4% of tests (1.34x the national rate for this defect)
5. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 2.7% of tests (1.28x the national rate for this defect)
6. Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen, 2.3% of tests (1.19x the national rate for this defect)
7. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 4.1% of tests
8. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 3.6% of tests
9. A tyre seriously damaged, 2.7% of tests
10. Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen, 1.9% of tests

From 961,462 DVSA-tracked Kia tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 6.27% of these flagged defects as "dangerous", against 5.11% nationally.

Most common MOT advisories across every Kia

An advisory doesn't fail the car - the tester flags it as worth watching, but it still passes. Pooled across all Kia models, this is a different list from the failures above.

1. Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake, 3% of tests (1.53x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
2. A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, 1.9% of tests (1.46x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
3. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 11.5% of tests (1.23x the national rate for this advisory), also fails
4. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 27.3% of tests, also fails
5. A tyre seriously damaged, 17.1% of tests, also fails
6. Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured, 11.8% of tests
7. A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, 10.9% of tests, also fails
8. Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded, 4.6% of tests
9. A suspension component excessively damaged or corroded, 4.2% of tests
10. Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn, 3.7% of tests

From 961,462 DVSA-tracked Kia tests, 2024.

More on brand reliability

• Britain's most and least reliable car brands: MOT pass rate by manufacturer
• Which car brands beat their age on the MOT test? 33 million tests, ranked
• The cheapest, most reliable makes to buy at salvage auction

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