Kia
20,792 MOT tests analysed. sits above the UK fleet average — here's where Optimas pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 5.5 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — a confident result.
Pass
83.0%
Pass-after-fix
2.6%
Fail
13.8%
Avg miles
77,071
Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%
Some examples of this model are borderline — a small number of diesels were certified Euro 6 before September 2015. Check your registration on the government's ULEZ checker to be certain. Daily charges if driven in the zone: London £12.50 · Birmingham £8.00 · Bristol £9.00 .
Performance by cohort
2 year bands · 20,785 tests
Pass rate climbs 3.8 points across the cohorts — newer Optima examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.
Pass
82.0%
Fail
14.8%
PRS
2.6%
Avg mileage at test
82,173 mi
Pass
85.8%
Fail
11.0%
PRS
2.7%
Avg mileage at test
63,929 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
The picture
The Kia K5, formerly known as the Kia Optima, is a mid-size car manufactured by Kia since 2000 and marketed globally through various nameplates. First generation cars were mostly marketed as the Optima, although the Kia Magentis name was used in Europe and Canada when sales began there in 2002.
MOT data from 13,380 tests puts this car on a 81.9% first-time pass rate, above the UK fleet average. Average mileage at test is 67,913 miles. The most common fail item is brake pads worn below 1.5mm, followed by tyre tread below the legal limit.
The Kia Optima is unlikely to get your blood pumping, but it will make sense for a lot of used buyers thanks to its spaciousness, generous equipment and the availability of a plug-in hybrid.
Buyers weighing up a used Optima 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
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 →
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a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
538 occurrences · 2.6% of tests
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
442 occurrences · 2.1% of tests
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
349 occurrences · 1.7% of tests
A tyre cords visible or damaged
255 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
237 occurrences · 1.1% of tests
Wiper blade defective
209 occurrences · 1.0% of tests
A tyre seriously damaged
199 occurrences · 1.0% of tests
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen
173 occurrences · 0.8% of tests
A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play
169 occurrences · 0.8% of tests
Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake
157 occurrences · 0.8% 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 4 failures
£208–£385
If every one of this Optima'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
First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 3.8-point gap between bands means the year you buy Kia Optima has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.
Best band to buy
85.8%
2018–2020 registration
the 2018–2020 band climbs to 85.8% — a 3.8-point improvement. Tests in this band average 63,929 miles — roughly 18K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: less than 1.5 mm thick, tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm — 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
82.0%
Pre-2018 registration
On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 82.0% pass rate against a fleet average of 85.8% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: less than 1.5 mm thick, tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, and damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view. Average mileage on test for this band is 82,173 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2018-2020 (85.8% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (82.0% pass). That's a 3.8-point spread across 14,988 older tests and 5,797 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
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
Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.
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Click Mechanic · affiliate
Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.
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
Roomy cabin. Excellent motorway cruiser. Low-emissions PHEV.
Recall history
The Optima has 3 official UK vehicle recalls covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.
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 an Optima 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.
