Ford
2,546 MOT tests analysed. sits above the UK fleet average — here's where Kuga ST Line Editions pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 15.7 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — a confident result.
Pass
93.2%
Pass-after-fix
1.8%
Fail
4.8%
Avg miles
23,180
Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%
Petrol cars first registered from January 2006 meet Euro 4 — compliant in London ULEZ, Birmingham CAZ, Bristol CAZ, and Glasgow LEZ.
Performance by cohort
2 year bands · 2,546 tests
Pass rate climbs 2.1 points across the cohorts — newer Kuga ST Line Edition examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.
Pass
91.2%
Fail
8.0%
PRS
0.8%
Avg mileage at test
29,327 mi
Pass
93.3%
Fail
4.6%
PRS
1.9%
Avg mileage at test
22,862 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
The picture
Across 2,546 MOT tests, the Kuga St-Line Edition returns 93.2% 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 23,180, 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
34 occurrences · 1.3% of tests
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
27 occurrences · 1.1% of tests
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
14 occurrences · 0.5% of tests
Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn
13 occurrences · 0.5% of tests
Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen
11 occurrences · 0.4% of tests
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen
9 occurrences · 0.4% of tests
A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage
9 occurrences · 0.4% of tests
A tyre seriously damaged
8 occurrences · 0.3% of tests
A lens defective which has no effect on emitted light
7 occurrences · 0.3% of tests
Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen
6 occurrences · 0.2% 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'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 2.1-point gap between bands is modest — the year you buy Ford Kuga ST Line Edition makes a small but real difference to MOT outcomes.
Best band to buy
93.3%
2021+ registration
the 2021-on band climbs to 93.3% — a 2.1-point improvement. Tests in this band average 22,862 miles — roughly 6K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. 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
91.2%
2018–2020 registration
On the 2018–2020 band, the data shows a 91.2% pass rate against a fleet average of 93.3% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: has a cut in excess of the…, less than 1.5 mm thick, and lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside…. Average mileage on test for this band is 29,327 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2021+ (93.3% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: 2018-2020 (91.2% pass). That's a 2.1-point spread across 125 older tests and 2,421 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 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.
