Land Rover
1,695 MOT tests analysed. sits above the UK fleet average — here's where Discovery Sport S D 4x2s pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 4.7 points above the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — a confident result.
Pass
82.2%
Pass-after-fix
4.8%
Fail
12.8%
Avg miles
33,683
Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%
Diesel cars registered from September 2015 generally meet Euro 6 — compliant in London ULEZ, Birmingham CAZ, Bristol CAZ, and Glasgow LEZ.
Performance by cohort
2 year bands · 1,695 tests
Pass rate is broadly flat across the cohorts — new and old Discovery Sport S D 4x2 examples track each other at the test bay.
Pass
82.2%
Fail
12.7%
PRS
5.0%
Avg mileage at test
38,186 mi
Pass
82.3%
Fail
12.9%
PRS
4.6%
Avg mileage at test
28,680 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
The picture
Across 463 MOT tests, the Discovery Sport S D 4x2 returns 78.4% first-time pass — roughly in line with the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is wipers that don't clear the screen. A seriously damaged tyre and the engine warning light staying lit round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 29,327, 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.
ABI Insurance Group
A high-group car — insurance costs will be significantly above average. 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 →
38–48
out of 50
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Wiper blade defective
42 occurrences · 2.5% of tests
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen
40 occurrences · 2.4% of tests
A tyre seriously damaged
37 occurrences · 2.2% of tests
Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction
36 occurrences · 2.1% of tests
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
20 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
20 occurrences · 1.2% of tests
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
19 occurrences · 1.1% of tests
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
11 occurrences · 0.6% of tests
Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction
11 occurrences · 0.6% of tests
Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn
11 occurrences · 0.6% 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
£100–£185
If every one of this Discovery Sport S D 4x2'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. Pass rates barely move across bands here, so the year you buy Land Rover Discovery Sport S D 4x2 makes little measurable difference to MOT outcomes.
Best band to buy
82.3%
2021+ registration
the 2021-on band climbs to 82.3% — a 0.1-point improvement. Tests in this band average 28,680 miles — roughly 10K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: has a cut in excess of the…, 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
82.2%
2018–2020 registration
On the 2018–2020 band, the data shows a 82.2% pass rate against a fleet average of 82.3% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: inoperative or indicates a malfunction, blade defective, and does not clear the windscreen effectively. Average mileage on test for this band is 38,186 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2021+ (82.3% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: 2018-2020 (82.2% pass). That's a 0.1-point spread across 892 older tests and 803 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
Bosch Aerotwin wiper blades
Cheap wipers fail the test on smear streaks. Bosch Aerotwins last a winter and clear a screen properly.
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
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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.
Where it falls short
Owner reports (6 entries) flag recurring problems with engine failure, turbo, air conditioning.
2017 Discovery now on its third engine replacement due to loss of compression in cylinder one. It had a new engine at 42,000 miles/23 months. Owner bought it at 6 5,000 miles and at 70,000 miles it needed another engine replacement. Now needs a third new engine for the same reason - cylinder one compression low 56 per cent. Dealer is replacing engine again under warranty FOC. * Terms and Conditions * Privacy * Cookies * Advertise on this site * Contact * Mobile) Website of the Year 2016, 2017 & 2018
Report of alarm of 2017 Land Rover Discovery 5 going off in September 2019. Had been standing outside for a week during a week of heavy rain. Investigation found a leak from the windscreen and water in the footwells that shorted the battery causing the alarm. Despite many attempts to fix it, the battery still shorts and drains.
Report of further spate of thefts of underslung spare wheels from Land Rover Discovery. The design had been changed so that the wheel was now held on a winch only accessible from inside the vehicle. So now the thieves simply cut this winch resulting in an increased cost to replace this as well as the wheel. Owner found that a number of people have paid to replace the wheel and winch, only to have it stolen again. This is confirmed by her insurance company who told her that they have a lot of claims for this, and many of them are repeat ones.
Report of problems with 47,000 mile 2017 Land Rover Discovery 5 bought from Land Rover dealer in April 2019. Developed a fault whereby it would stall in reverse gear and also in Drive mode. Car has been back to the dealer 3 times for analysis and repair but problem persists. Owner picked it up again 12 days ago. Turbo and crankshaft had been replaced and owner advised that extensive testing had taken place.
Report of problem with Auto Stop/Star function on June 2017 Land Rover Discovery, automatic 2.0 litre Diesel at 21,000 miles. Mobile connection issued fixed, but after this stop/start stopped working unless a/c and heating is switched off.
Report of V6 diesel engine failure of 2018 LandRover Discovery 5 on the M6 in late February 2019. Car towed to Lloyd Land Rover, Carlisle where the engine was replaced without question and owner was made a very generous offer to part-exchange into a new 2.0 litre Range Rover Velar.
Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 6 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 Discovery Sport S D 4x2 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.
