Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 473,678 tests

Pass rate climbs 8.7 points across the cohorts — newer Sportage examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.

Pre-2018 cohort 324,584

Pass

78.0%

Fail

18.2%

PRS

3.3%

Avg mileage at test

76,722 mi

2018–2020 cohort 116,469

Pass

86.0%

Fail

10.6%

PRS

3.0%

Avg mileage at test

40,446 mi

2021+ cohort 32,625

Pass

86.7%

Fail

8.4%

PRS

4.6%

Avg mileage at test

24,766 mi

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

Generations on file · 5

Kia Sportage · UK market

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

The picture

Kia Sportage: solid MOT record across 290,096 tests

The Kia Sportage is a series of automobiles manufactured by the South Korean manufacturer Kia since 1993 through five generations.

MOT data from 290,096 tests puts this car on a 80.0% first-time pass rate, above the UK fleet average. Average mileage at test is 60,700 miles. The most common fail item is tyre tread below the legal limit, followed by brake pads worn below 1.5mm.

In the fiercely contested family-sized SUV segment the Kia Sportage still provides a strong all-round package. Spacious, well-equipped, good value and with a wide engine choice, the facelifted model remains the default choice according to the sales charts.

Buyers weighing up a used Sportage 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 16–29

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 →

16–29

out of 50

Compare quotes →

Top ten reasons for rejection.

Filter failures:

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

01

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

13,673 occurrences · 2.9% of tests
02

a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm

11,963 occurrences · 2.5% of tests
03

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

7,749 occurrences · 1.6% of tests
04

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

7,009 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
05

Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen

5,792 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
06

Wiper blade defective

5,221 occurrences · 1.1% of tests
07

A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn

5,213 occurrences · 1.1% of tests
08

Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement

5,006 occurrences · 1.1% of tests
09

Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated

4,666 occurrences · 1.0% of tests
10

A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play

4,281 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 4 failures

£168–£335

If every one of this Sportage'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 8.7-point gap between bands means the year you buy Kia Sportage has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

86.7%

2021+ registration

the 2021-on band climbs to 86.7% — a 8.7-point improvement. Tests in this band average 24,766 miles — roughly 52K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: blade defective, does not clear the windscreen effectively — 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

78.0%

Pre-2018 registration

On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 78.0% pass rate against a fleet average of 86.7% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, less than 1.5 mm thick, and inoperative in the case of multiple lamps…. Average mileage on test for this band is 76,722 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.

Best band to buy: 2021+ (86.7% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (78.0% pass). That's a 8.7-point spread across 324,584 older tests and 32,625 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

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

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.

Hycote

Hycote Touch Up Colour Paint Brush Kia Titanium Silver Metallic 12.5ml

£6.59

View at My Motor World →

Hycote

Hycote Touch Up Colour Paint Brush Kia White 12.5ml

£6.59

View at My Motor World →

Hycote

Hycote Kia Clear White Double Acrylic Spray Paint 150ml

£6.59

View at My Motor World →

Hycote

Hycote Kia Titanium Silver Metallic Double Acrylic Spray Paint 150ml

£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.

Where it falls short

Looks are potentially divisive. Hybrid system’s noisy when pushed. Driving experience lacks sparkle.

Recall history

13 UK recalls on record.

The Sportage has 13 official UK vehicle recalls covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.

See all recalls

Buying or keeping a Sportage?

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 Sportage 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.