Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 5,266 tests

Pass rate climbs 1.1 points across the cohorts — newer Musso examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.

Pre-2018 cohort 1,119

Pass

72.3%

Fail

23.9%

PRS

3.3%

Avg mileage at test

72,609 mi

2018–2020 cohort 2,989

Pass

75.9%

Fail

20.7%

PRS

2.9%

Avg mileage at test

58,444 mi

2021+ cohort 1,158

Pass

73.4%

Fail

22.2%

PRS

3.7%

Avg mileage at test

40,486 mi

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

The picture

Musso: middle-of-the-pack on first-time pass

Across 2,477 MOT tests, the Musso returns 70.3% first-time pass — below the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is a broken or weak spring. Parking brake inoperative on one side and a weak handbrake round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 53,159, 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.

Top ten reasons for rejection.

Filter failures:

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

01

Parking brake inoperative on one side

280 occurrences · 5.3% of tests
02

Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement

211 occurrences · 4.0% of tests
03

a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm

156 occurrences · 3.0% of tests
04

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

147 occurrences · 2.8% of tests
05

Parking brake efficiency less than 50% of the required value

129 occurrences · 2.4% of tests
06

A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened

125 occurrences · 2.4% of tests
07

An obligatory rear fog lamp missing, or a front or rear fog lamp inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

124 occurrences · 2.4% of tests
08

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

123 occurrences · 2.3% of tests
09

A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play

122 occurrences · 2.3% of tests
10

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

99 occurrences · 1.9% 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 2 failures

£88–£195

If every one of this Musso'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 3.6-point gap between bands means the year you buy Ssangyong Musso has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

75.9%

2018–2020 registration

the 2018–2020 band climbs to 75.9% — a 3.6-point improvement. Tests in this band average 58,444 miles — roughly 14K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: inoperative on one side, efficiency below requirements — 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

72.3%

Pre-2018 registration

On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 72.3% pass rate against a fleet average of 75.9% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: inoperative in the case of multiple lamps…, fractured or broken, and inoperative on one side. Average mileage on test for this band is 72,609 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.

Best band to buy: 2018-2020 (75.9% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (72.3% pass). That's a 3.6-point spread across 1,119 older tests and 2,989 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

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.

Denso

Denso W14E Spark Plug (Single)

£1.09

View at My Motor World →

Denso

Denso W16EX-U Spark Plug (Single)

£1.09

View at My Motor World →

Denso

Denso W16FSR Spark Plug (Single)

£1.09

View at My Motor World →

Denso

Denso W9LM-US Spark Plug (Single)

£1.09

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.

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Buying or keeping a Musso?

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 Musso 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.