Ford
3,397 MOT tests analysed. sits above the UK fleet average — here's where Kuga ST Line Edition Ecoblues pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 13.1 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — a confident result.
Pass
90.6%
Pass-after-fix
1.6%
Fail
7.5%
Avg miles
28,919
Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%
Diesel cars registered from September 2015 generally meet Euro 6 — compliant in London ULEZ, Birmingham CAZ, Bristol CAZ, and Glasgow LEZ.
Performance by cohort
2 year bands · 3,397 tests
Pass rate climbs 3.5 points across the cohorts — newer Kuga ST Line Edition Ecoblue examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.
Pass
87.4%
Fail
10.8%
PRS
1.5%
Avg mileage at test
32,365 mi
Pass
90.9%
Fail
7.1%
PRS
1.6%
Avg mileage at test
28,544 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
The picture
Across 3,397 MOT tests, the Kuga St-Line Edition Ecoblue returns 90.6% first-time pass — comfortably ahead of the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is tyre tread under the limit. Brake pads worn below 1.5 mm and windscreen damage round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 28,919, which is the lens to read those failure rankings through. If you own one and the next test is close, the ranked list below is a sensible pre-test checklist.
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Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
56 occurrences · 1.6% of tests
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
38 occurrences · 1.1% of tests
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
35 occurrences · 1.0% of tests
A tyre seriously damaged
26 occurrences · 0.8% of tests
Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen
21 occurrences · 0.6% of tests
A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage
21 occurrences · 0.6% of tests
Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction
19 occurrences · 0.6% of tests
Wiper blade defective
19 occurrences · 0.6% of tests
Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen
13 occurrences · 0.4% of tests
Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction
12 occurrences · 0.4% of tests
Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.
Worst-case fix budget · top 2 failures
£140–£255
If every one of this Kuga ST Line Edition Ecoblue's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →
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Build your own retest budget.
Year-band analysis
First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 3.5-point gap between bands means the year you buy Ford Kuga ST Line Edition Ecoblue has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.
Best band to buy
90.9%
2021+ registration
the 2021-on band climbs to 90.9% — a 3.5-point improvement. Failures here are mostly wear items: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, less than 1.5 mm thick — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. Post-2020 examples are early in their MOT life and generally show the cleanest records.
Band to be cautious about
87.4%
2018–2020 registration
On the 2018–2020 band, the data shows a 87.4% pass rate against a fleet average of 90.9% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: inoperative or indicates a malfunction, not working, and provides insufficient washer liquid. Average mileage on test for this band is 32,365 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2021+ (90.9% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: 2018-2020 (87.4% pass). That's a 3.5-point spread across 333 older tests and 3,064 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.
Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.
Item 01 · Amazon UK
Digital tyre-tread depth gauge
Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.
Search Amazon UK
Item 02 · Amazon UK
Brake pad measurement gauge
Testers fail pads under 1.5mm. A wear gauge tells you if you've got two months left or two weeks.
Search Amazon UK
My Motor World · affiliate
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Click Mechanic · affiliate
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Mobile mechanic · UK-wide
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Owner reports · Honest John
Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.
What's good
Good looking family SUV comes with a decent amount of standard kit and is keenly priced. The plug-in hybrid powertrain available. More enjoyable to drive than most rivals.
Where it falls short
The interior finish could be a bit nicer. Boot isn't as big as in some rivals. The early infotainment interface looked dated, while its 2024 replacement was trickier to use.
Report of 12V battery drain on Kuga PHEV. Dealer has blamed owner's low mileage, with the car not using the petrol engine enough to recharge the battery. Turn Off Ads Now Faster Web Browsing with No Annoying Ads Total Adblock
Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 1 reports indexed
Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.
If you own a Kuga ST Line Edition Ecoblue and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.
