Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 64,557 tests

Pass rate climbs 13.3 points across the cohorts — newer Santa FE examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.

Pre-2018 cohort 57,742

Pass

73.4%

Fail

21.8%

PRS

4.1%

Avg mileage at test

95,656 mi

2018–2020 cohort 5,794

Pass

88.5%

Fail

8.9%

PRS

2.3%

Avg mileage at test

45,091 mi

2021+ cohort 1,021

Pass

86.7%

Fail

10.3%

PRS

2.3%

Avg mileage at test

29,148 mi

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

Generations on file · 5

Hyundai Santa FE · UK market

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

The picture

Hyundai Santa FE: mixed MOT record across 43,594 tests

The Hyundai Santa Fe is a series of crossover SUVs produced across five generations by the South Korean manufacturer Hyundai since 2000. It is named after the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and was introduced for the 2001 model year as Hyundai's first SUV.

MOT data from 43,594 tests puts this car on a 72.8% first-time pass rate, below the UK fleet average. Average mileage at test is 88,173 miles. The most common fail item is failed number plate light, followed by transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated.

You'll love or hate the boxy design of the new Hyundai Santa Fe. If you can see past that, though (and the high price tag), the Santa Fe has a lot of appeal. Its interior is superb, while it's good to drive and ought to be relatively cheap to run.

Buyers weighing up a used Santa FE should treat the failure breakdown as a pre-purchase checklist. The pass rate is reasonable, but the gap between first attempt and a clean sheet narrows with age and mileage.

ABI Insurance Group

Group 30–40

Above average — worth comparing quotes before buying. 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 →

30–40

out of 50

Compare quotes →

Top ten reasons for rejection.

Filter failures:

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

01

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

2,499 occurrences · 3.9% of tests
02

A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated

2,005 occurrences · 3.1% of tests
03

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

1,746 occurrences · 2.7% of tests
04

A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn

1,620 occurrences · 2.5% of tests
05

A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc

1,528 occurrences · 2.4% of tests
06

a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm

1,459 occurrences · 2.3% of tests
07

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

1,401 occurrences · 2.2% of tests
08

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

1,345 occurrences · 2.1% of tests
09

A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play

1,198 occurrences · 1.9% of tests
10

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

893 occurrences · 1.4% 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

£88–£275

If every one of this Santa FE'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 15.2-point gap between bands means the year you buy Hyundai Santa FE has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

88.5%

2018–2020 registration

the 2018–2020 band climbs to 88.5% — a 15.2-point improvement. Tests in this band average 45,091 miles — roughly 51K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: less than 1.5 mm thick, blade defective — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. The stricter post-2018 MOT test rules meant manufacturers had to tighten up emissions and electrical checks, but this band still shows far fewer major failures on suspension and bodywork than the older fleet.

Band to be cautious about

73.4%

Pre-2018 registration

On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 73.4% pass rate against a fleet average of 88.5% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: inoperative in the case of multiple lamps…, constant velocity boot severely deteriorated, and not working. Average mileage on test for this band is 95,656 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.

Best band to buy: 2018-2020 (88.5% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (73.4% pass). That's a 15.2-point spread across 57,742 older tests and 5,794 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

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.

Hycote

Hycote Touch Up Colour Paint Brush Hyundai Sleek Silver Metallic 12.5ml

£6.59

View at My Motor World →

Hycote

Hycote Touch Up Colour Paint Brush Hyundai Polar White 12.5ml

£6.59

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Hycote

Hycote Touch Up Colour Paint Brush Hyundai Electric Red 12.5ml

£6.59

View at My Motor World →

Hycote

Hycote Touch Up Colour Paint Brush Hyundai Creamy White 12.5ml

£6.59

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

Recall history

19 UK recalls on record.

The Santa FE has 19 official UK vehicle recalls covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.

See all recalls

Buying or keeping a Santa FE?

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 Santa FE 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.