Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 463,600 tests

Pass rate climbs 9.8 points across the cohorts — newer Kuga examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.

Pre-2018 cohort 348,742

Pass

80.3%

Fail

14.8%

PRS

4.4%

Avg mileage at test

79,150 mi

2018–2020 cohort 114,379

Pass

87.4%

Fail

9.2%

PRS

3.1%

Avg mileage at test

40,427 mi

2021+ cohort 479

Pass

90.2%

Fail

9.2%

PRS

0.0%

Avg mileage at test

27,051 mi

Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.

Generations on file · 3

Ford Kuga · UK market

Photos: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA / CC BY / public domain.

The picture

Ford Kuga Leads SUVs at 81% First-Time Pass

At 81.48% across 298,478 tests, the Kuga sits among the stronger performers in the family SUV segment. Brake pad wear below 1.5mm and tyre tread are the leading MOT failure reasons — both predictable maintenance items rather than structural concerns at its average of 62,425 miles. PHEV variants introduce a specific issue: at low annual mileage the 12V battery drains because the petrol engine rarely runs long enough to recharge it. Dealers have cited owner usage as the cause, which means it falls outside warranty in some cases. Budget for fresh pads, tyres, and — on PHEV models — confirm 12V battery condition before purchase.

ABI Insurance Group

Group 19–29

Around the UK fleet average for insurance cost. Lower groups cost less to insure; UK fleet average is around Group 22.

Source: ABI Group Rating Panel · administered by Thatcham Research · groups cover standard variants; performance trims may sit higher. Browse all insurance groups →

19–29

out of 50

Compare quotes →

Top ten reasons for rejection.

Filter failures:

Hide wear items to see the model's real defects.

01

a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm

9,983 occurrences · 2.2% of tests
02

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

9,566 occurrences · 2.1% of tests
03

A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

7,683 occurrences · 1.7% of tests
04

A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources

7,420 occurrences · 1.6% of tests
05

Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view

6,380 occurrences · 1.4% of tests
06

Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen

5,050 occurrences · 1.1% of tests
07

Wiper blade defective

4,320 occurrences · 0.9% of tests
08

A tyre cords visible or damaged

4,251 occurrences · 0.9% of tests
09

A tyre seriously damaged

4,162 occurrences · 0.9% of tests
10

A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened

3,978 occurrences · 0.9% 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 3 failures

£148–£290

If every one of this Kuga'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 →

Try the calculator

Build your own retest budget.

Year-band analysis

Best year to buy. Worst to avoid.

First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 9.8-point gap between bands means the year you buy Ford Kuga has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

90.2%

2021+ registration

the 2021-on band climbs to 90.2% — a 9.8-point improvement. Tests in this band average 27,051 miles — roughly 52K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: unable to be completed, has ply or cords damaged — 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

80.3%

Pre-2018 registration

On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 80.3% pass rate against a fleet average of 90.2% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, not working, and less than 1.5 mm thick. Average mileage on test for this band is 79,150 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.

Best band to buy: 2021+ (90.2% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (80.3% pass). That's a 9.8-point spread across 348,742 older tests and 479 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.

Year-spread leaderboard →

Tools that pre-empt a retest.

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

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

Item 02 · 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 03 · Amazon UK

H7 / W21W bulb pack

A spare-bulb kit lives in the boot. Test morning is not the time to find your stop-lamp's gone.

Search Amazon UK

My Motor World · affiliate

Parts & supplies for this fix

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Summit

Summit ADRG-18 Ford Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass LHS

£8.79

View at My Motor World →

Summit

Summit ADRG-10 Ford Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass RHS

£9.89

View at My Motor World →

Summit

Summit ADRG-47 Ford Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass LHS

£9.89

View at My Motor World →

Summit

Summit ADRG-85 Ford Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass RHS

£9.89

View at My Motor World →

Click Mechanic · affiliate

Book a mobile mechanic

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Mobile mechanic · UK-wide

Book a mechanic at your door.

Fixed-price quotes upfront. No garage needed. Click Mechanic sends a vetted local mechanic to you — home, work, or roadside.

Get a quote →

Owner reports · Honest John

What owners actually report.

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.

Recent owner-reported faults

7 Mar 2022
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

Recall history

105 UK recalls on record.

The Kuga has 105 official UK vehicle recalls covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.

See all recalls

Buying or keeping a Kuga?

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 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.