Kia Sportage vs Nissan Qashqai
The Kia Sportage wins this family-crossover duel on the number that matters most: first-time MOT pass rate. Across the 2024 public UK MOT record, the Sportage passed at 80.59%, while the Nissan Qashqai passed at 75.39%. That gives the Kia a 5.20 percentage-point lead, and the failure lists explain why the gap feels more practical than cosmetic.
Pass-rate split
The Sportage recorded
The Kia’s result is cleaner:
That margin is big enough to change a shortlist. It does not mean every Sportage is good or every Qashqai is tired. It means that, before you inspect the individual car, the Kia starts from the stronger statistical position.
The Qashqai’s defence is scale. It has more than twice the test count, and a larger older population will drag down a headline pass rate. That matters. But the cohort split does not rescue it fully, because the Qashqai’s older-car result is weak enough to leave a clear buying signal.
Where they fail
The Sportage’s top MOT failure items are mostly the familiar family-SUV wear basket: tyres, brake pads, rear number-plate lamps, glass damage and wipers. Its top named failure reasons are:
- Tyre tread depth below requirements: 13,673
- Brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm: 11,963
- Rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative: 7,749
- Windscreen or window damage not seriously affecting the driver’s view: 7,009
- Wiper blade missing or not clearing the screen: 5,792
That is not glamorous, but it is useful. Tyres, pads, lamps and wipers are visible, priceable and negotiable. A Sportage with four cheap tyres, thin pads and lazy wipers is not a hidden mystery. It is a car you can walk around, price, and either buy cheaper or leave behind.
The Qashqai’s list is harsher. Its top failure reasons are:
- Suspension joint dust cover severely deteriorated: 43,185
- Steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play: 37,127
- Suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn: 32,548
- Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated: 30,401
- Rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative: 30,077
That is the problem. The Qashqai has the usual lamps and pads, but its highest-volume failures lean into suspension joints, steering play, gaiters and dust covers. Those are still normal used-car items, but they are less friendly to a rushed driveway inspection and more likely to turn into “while we are in there” repair bills.
Cohort tells
The age-band split is where the story gets more interesting. The Sportage is not better in every slice. It wins the full sample because its older-car base is less troubled, even though the Qashqai looks strong among newer cars.
For pre-2018 cars, the Sportage recorded 324,584 tests and passed at 78.05%. The Qashqai recorded 793,128 tests and passed at 71.96%. That is the used-buying battleground for a lot of families shopping with their own money rather than company-car money. In that older band, the Kia is 6.09 points ahead.
For 2018-2020 cars, the Qashqai flips the result. It passed at 87.84% from 181,813 tests, while the Sportage passed at 85.98% from 116,469 tests. That says a tidy later Qashqai should not be dismissed. If you are looking at a 2019 car with clean history, decent tyres and no front-end advisory trail, the Nissan has a strong case.
For 2021-on cars, the Qashqai again leads: 90.65% from 29,559 tests versus 86.72% from 32,625 Sportage tests. That cohort is useful, but it is smaller and younger. Many cars in it have had less time to develop the older suspension and steering failures that dominate the full Qashqai record.
So the verdict depends on what you are buying. As a broad used-crossover default, the Sportage is the better risk. As a newer, well-kept 2018-on example, the Qashqai gets much closer and can beat the Kia on cohort pass rate.
Mileage tells
Mileage gives the Sportage win more weight. The Kia’s average mileage at test was 64,216. The Qashqai’s was 75,618. That is a big difference, and it partly explains why the Nissan’s full-sample pass rate is lower.
But mileage does not wipe away the result. The Sportage’s older pre-2018 cohort averaged 76,722 miles and still passed at 78.05%. The Qashqai’s pre-2018 cohort averaged 85,942 miles and passed at 71.96%. The Nissan is carrying roughly 9,220 more miles in that older band, so some extra wear is expected. The type of wear still matters: steering joints, suspension bushes and CV-related items show up heavily in the Qashqai record.
In the 2018-2020 band, the mileage story is almost a draw. Sportage cars averaged 40,446 miles; Qashqais averaged 38,877. The Nissan carries slightly less mileage and passes better, which is a fair point in its favour. If you are choosing between a clean 2019 Qashqai and a similar-age Sportage, do not let the headline result blind you. Inspect the individual cars.
In the 2021-on band, mileage is also close: 24,766 for the Sportage and 25,324 for the Qashqai. The Nissan leads there too. The catch is that newer MOT data can be flattered by warranty-age maintenance, fewer winters, and fewer years of kerb strikes, potholes and cheap tyres.
The practical lesson is simple: mileage is not just a number on the advert. It changes what the MOT record is telling you. A lower-mileage Qashqai with no repeat suspension advisories can be a stronger buy than a neglected Sportage. But when the histories look equally ordinary, the Kia’s full-sample advantage is hard to ignore.
The numbers we trust
These figures come from model-level 2024 MOT records. They measure recorded tests, first-time pass rate, fail rate, average mileage at test, fuel mix and the most common failure reasons. They do not price repairs. They do not know whether a car was serviced properly. They do not separate a careful private owner from a tired urban runabout that has spent its life on speed humps.
That limitation matters. A good MOT comparison is not a crystal ball. It is a filter. It tells you where to look first and how sceptical to be.
For the Sportage, the inspection list starts with tyres, pads, rear lamps, wipers, screen condition, parking brake performance and basic steering or suspension wear on older cars. Check for repeat advisories that were never fixed. A car that keeps appearing with the same tyre, brake or gaiter warnings is telling you about the owner’s maintenance habits.
For the Qashqai, be stricter underneath. Look for suspension joint dust covers, ball-joint play, rack gaiters, bushes, springs, CV boots, front tyre wear and lamps. If the MOT history mentions steering play or suspension wear more than once, assume the car needs proper inspection on a ramp before money changes hands.
The buying rule is not “Kia good, Nissan bad”. It is sharper than that. The Sportage is the safer default if you are looking at older family crossovers and the cars are similar on price, mileage and condition. The Qashqai can still be the right buy when it is newer, properly maintained and free of front-end advisory clutter.