MOT Risk Index.co.uk

Kia Sportage — MOT statistics 2024

All Kia Sportage variants tested in Great Britain in 2024 — 396,816 MOT tests, every generation and engine together.

MOT risk index 107.8, 95% CI 107.2–108.4 (100 = national average) 100 107.8 60 160
Index
107.8
100 = age-normal
Raw fail rate
22.55%
n = 396,816
Dangerous /100
14
national ≈13
Diesel − petrol
+5.7 pp
fail-rate gap
Rank
15 of 25
lower index = better

This car fails its MOT about 8% more often than expected for its age.

Age-adjusted peer: Ford Focus (index 106.9)— the two published results are 0.9 index points apart.

What actually fails

Named defects ranked by how much more often they appear than the national average — not by raw rate.

Family vs national defect rates across 6 component groups This family National avg Brakes 16.7 Visibility 10.1 Suspension 10.1 Lamps & electrical 9.8 Tyres 9.8 Steering 4.5

family vs national — top component groups, per 100 tests

Component-group comparison table
GroupThis familyNational
Brakes16.714.3
Visibility10.112.0
Suspension10.119.9
Lamps & electrical9.823.5
Tyres9.810.3
Steering4.54.6
What failedper 100nationalratioCheck
Brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm4.662.451.90×Feel for brake judder and pulling on the test drive
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the…5.363.821.40×Check tyre tread depth across the full width
Wiper blade defective2.872.041.41×Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view
Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement2.091.541.36×Feel for brake judder and pulling on the test drive
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the…2.352.181.08×Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view
Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover…1.741.671.04×Ask the seller about: Steering rack gaiter or ball joint dust cover damaged or det
Tyre seriously damaged2.213.290.67×Check tyre tread depth across the full width
Suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn4.656.030.77×Listen for knocks over bumps — worn suspension joints are common
Rear registration plate lamp or light source…2.844.430.64×Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously…2.574.270.60×Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view

Early warnings (advisories)

Advisories are wear the tester noted but didn't fail — what will need money soon.

Tyres 68 Brakes 57.9 Suspension 25.2 Non-component advisories 13.9 Emissions & leaks 3.5 Steering 3
Advisory rates table
Groupper 100
Tyres68
Brakes57.9
Suspension25.2
Non-component advisories13.9
Emissions & leaks3.5
Steering3

How it ages

3579111315171954%car age, years

Takeaway: a 10-year-old Sportage has roughly a 28% chance of failing its MOT; from about age 3 it stays above the national age curve.

Data table
AgeKia SportageAll cars
314.4%10.9%
414.5%11.6%
515.4%13.5%
616.0%15.6%
718.4%18.2%
821.2%21.3%
925.9%24.4%
1027.5%27.7%
1135.7%30.6%
1236.4%33.4%
1338.5%36.0%
1442.4%38.6%
1548.3%39.9%
1647.0%41.5%
1750.3%41.5%
1850.1%42.4%
1948.0%42.2%

Petrol, diesel, hybrid — which ages best?

Fail rate by fuel type: Diesel 25.0%, Petrol 19.3%, Hybrid 14.1% 25.0% Diesel n=225k 19.3% Petrol n=170k 14.1% Hybrid n=1,608
Fuel split table
FuelTests% failing
Diesel225,14325.0%
Petrol170,03219.3%
Hybrid1,60814.1%

How severe are the defects?

Defect severity per 100 tests: Minor 14.1, Major 38.3, Dangerous 14.3 14.138.314.3 Minor 14.1 Major 38.3 Dangerous 14.3

Per 100 tests on this family. National average: Minor 24.4 · Major 63.3 · Dangerous 12.9 per 100.

Severity table
SeverityThis family /100National /100
Minor14.0724.38
Major38.2563.26
Dangerous14.2712.89

Does the test month matter?

Takeaway: the spread between best and worst month is 3.8 percentage points — noticeable seasonality. Seasonality partly reflects registration-date clustering, not weather.

23.19% in month 1 J21.95% in month 2 F20.99% in month 3 M22.28% in month 4 A21.5% in month 5 M21.4% in month 6 J22.7% in month 7 J22.09% in month 8 A22.03% in month 9 S24.28% in month 10 O24.8% in month 11 N24.07% in month 12 D 29% 19%

bars: Kia Sportage · dashed: all class-4 cars

Month-by-month table
MonthKia SportageAll cars
Jan23.19%27.37%
Feb21.95%26.14%
Mar20.99%24.75%
Apr22.28%26.01%
May21.5%25.01%
Jun21.4%25.01%
Jul22.7%26.04%
Aug22.09%25.79%
Sep22.03%25.19%
Oct24.28%27.13%
Nov24.8%27.2%
Dec24.07%26.29%

Is the mileage normal?

A typical 8-year-old Sportage has ~65,184 miles on the clock. Much more — ask why; much less — check for gaps in the MOT history.

369121518car age, years 140k mi 0

Does high mileage actually mean more failures?

Same age band (6–14 years), split by odometer — this separates wear from age: 12.8% of the lowest-mileage cars failed versus 41.2% of the highest.

<40k mi 12.8% 40-70k mi 19.3% 70-100k mi 29% 100-140k mi 37.7% 140k+ mi 41.2%
Odometer% failingTests
<40k miles12.8%38,579
40-70k miles19.3%118,133
70-100k miles29%84,484
100-140k miles37.7%37,322
140k+ miles41.2%6,694

line: median · band: middle half of the fleet (p25–p75)

Mileage by age (p25 / median / p75)
Agep25Medianp75Tests
316,21522,45030,34328,626
420,93728,23436,76219,270
528,01237,22147,63051,585
635,71446,11558,17752,939
744,15156,35770,11156,422
851,59365,18479,58255,614
956,81071,83488,14330,340
1064,51980,00797,32027,858
1171,45688,967107,33326,305
1278,58496,639116,76418,668
1385,729104,201124,69011,210
1483,142102,776121,8755,892
1580,94999,710121,3073,322
1685,147105,024125,3412,198
1788,903109,018130,4861,964
1891,975112,588133,5261,692
1991,152111,514133,7051,759

Regional variation (raw rates)

Every dot is a postcode area — size = how many were tested there, colour = share failing. These figures are not age-adjusted: coastal and rural areas often run older fleets and salted roads, so higher raw fail rates do not automatically mean a worse local stock of this model.

Kirkcaldy (KY): 29.6% failing, 3,825 testsPaisley (PA): 28.8% failing, 2,119 testsTruro (TR): 28.5% failing, 1,512 testsBath (BA): 28.3% failing, 2,790 testsNorthampton (NN): 28.1% failing, 4,015 testsTaunton (TA): 28.1% failing, 1,647 testsAberdeen (AB): 28.1% failing, 3,672 testsExeter (EX): 28% failing, 2,788 testsBristol (BS): 27.9% failing, 4,866 testsDundee (DD): 27.5% failing, 2,320 testsPortsmouth (PO): 27.4% failing, 5,782 testsDorchester (DT): 26.7% failing, 1,003 testsLlandudno (LL): 26.5% failing, 2,589 testsCardiff (CF): 26.1% failing, 7,786 testsStoke-on-Trent (ST): 26% failing, 4,637 testsSwansea (SA): 25.8% failing, 6,621 testsSouthampton (SO): 25.8% failing, 4,062 testsNewcastle (NE): 25.7% failing, 4,482 testsChester (CH): 25.7% failing, 3,243 testsDarlington (DL): 25.5% failing, 2,549 testsEdinburgh (EH): 25.5% failing, 6,008 testsHuddersfield (HD): 25.4% failing, 1,900 testsSalisbury (SP): 25.4% failing, 1,944 testsTorquay (TQ): 25.3% failing, 1,405 testsBlackburn (BB): 25.3% failing, 3,134 testsGuildford (GU): 25.1% failing, 5,356 testsTelford (TF): 25.1% failing, 1,598 testsWigan (WN): 25.1% failing, 2,236 testsBrighton (BN): 24.9% failing, 4,527 testsHalifax (HX): 24.9% failing, 856 testsGloucester (GL): 24.9% failing, 3,065 testsBournemouth (BH): 24.8% failing, 3,654 testsPlymouth (PL): 24.7% failing, 3,861 testsLeeds (LS): 24.7% failing, 4,809 testsColchester (CO): 24.6% failing, 2,428 testsHull (HU): 24.5% failing, 2,787 testsNewport (NP): 24.4% failing, 4,385 testsManchester (M): 24.4% failing, 5,378 testsHemel Hempstead (HP): 24.3% failing, 3,362 testsYork (YO): 24.3% failing, 4,931 testsPreston (PR): 24.2% failing, 4,314 testsInverness (IV): 24.2% failing, 2,355 testsNottingham (NG): 24.2% failing, 9,782 testsIpswich (IP): 24.1% failing, 4,411 testsCroydon (CR): 24% failing, 2,187 testsBlackpool (FY): 23.9% failing, 1,769 testsMotherwell (ML): 23.9% failing, 3,416 testsRedhill (RH): 23.7% failing, 5,105 testsMilton Keynes (MK): 23.6% failing, 4,234 testsHarrogate (HG): 23.6% failing, 1,461 testsOldham (OL): 23.5% failing, 3,124 testsLiverpool (L): 23.5% failing, 3,771 testsWarrington (WA): 23.3% failing, 4,482 testsFalkirk (FK): 23.2% failing, 1,978 testsSt Albans (AL): 23.1% failing, 1,785 testsShrewsbury (SY): 23% failing, 2,326 testsLancaster (LA): 23% failing, 2,270 testsSwindon (SN): 22.9% failing, 2,927 testsCanterbury (CT): 22.8% failing, 2,305 testsCoventry (CV): 22.8% failing, 3,940 testsPerth (PH): 22.8% failing, 1,343 testsKilmarnock (KA): 22.7% failing, 3,191 testsCrewe (CW): 22.7% failing, 2,702 testsCleveland (TS): 22.7% failing, 3,878 testsNorwich (NR): 22.7% failing, 4,007 testsStockport (SK): 22.7% failing, 5,188 testsOxford (OX): 22.6% failing, 3,361 testsLincoln (LN): 22.5% failing, 2,449 testsDurham (DH): 22.5% failing, 1,703 testsSunderland (SR): 22.5% failing, 902 testsWatford (WD): 22.2% failing, 1,467 testsLuton (LU): 21.8% failing, 2,327 testsCarlisle (CA): 21.6% failing, 2,324 testsWalsall (WS): 21.4% failing, 3,024 testsStevenage (SG): 21.3% failing, 3,958 testsWorcester (WR): 21.1% failing, 1,924 testsWakefield (WF): 21% failing, 5,142 testsBradford (BD): 21% failing, 4,181 testsDudley (DY): 20.6% failing, 3,234 testsDerby (DE): 20.5% failing, 5,699 testsChelmsford (CM): 20.3% failing, 6,424 testsLeicester (LE): 20.2% failing, 6,729 testsBirmingham (B): 20.2% failing, 9,115 testsTwickenham (TW): 20.2% failing, 2,540 testsTonbridge (TN): 20.1% failing, 5,806 testsLondon SE (SE): 19.7% failing, 1,512 testsReading (RG): 19.7% failing, 4,733 testsBolton (BL): 19.6% failing, 5,786 testsSlough (SL): 19.5% failing, 1,947 testsGlasgow (G): 19.5% failing, 9,543 testsGalashiels (TD): 19.1% failing, 1,134 testsDartford (DA): 19.1% failing, 2,661 testsCambridge (CB): 19% failing, 3,479 testsUxbridge (UB): 18.5% failing, 1,371 testsHereford (HR): 18.4% failing, 851 testsHarrow (HA): 18.4% failing, 2,182 testsPeterborough (PE): 18.3% failing, 9,586 testsDoncaster (DN): 18.2% failing, 7,041 testsWolverhampton (WV): 18.1% failing, 2,542 testsMedway (ME): 18% failing, 4,574 testsLondon E (E): 17.6% failing, 988 testsKingston upon Thames (KT): 17.5% failing, 2,570 testsSouthend-on-Sea (SS): 17.1% failing, 2,805 testsSheffield (S): 16.7% failing, 14,862 testsLondon N (N): 16.5% failing, 1,096 testsRomford (RM): 16.2% failing, 2,106 testsBromley (BR): 15.9% failing, 5,019 testsEnfield (EN): 15% failing, 2,191 testsDumfries (DG): 14.6% failing, 1,114 testsLondon NW (NW): 14.1% failing, 1,519 tests % failing 17% 28%
Toughest areas% failing
Kirkcaldy (KY)29.65%
Paisley (PA)28.83%
Bath (BA)28.28%
Northampton (NN)28.12%
Aberdeen (AB)28.05%
Easiest areas% failing
Enfield (EN)15.02%
Bromley (BR)15.86%
Romford (RM)16.24%
Sheffield (S)16.73%
Southend-on-Sea (SS)17.11%

Quick answers

Is a 10-year-old Sportage a bad buy?
A 10-year-old Sportage has roughly a 28% chance of failing its MOT. Across 396,816 initial tests in 2024 the family fails its MOT about 8% more often than expected for its age (MOT Risk Index 107.8, where 100 = normal for its age). For a similarly sized published sample, compare Ford Kuga MOT stats: 396,566 tests and index 91.3.
What usually fails on a Sportage MOT?
The most frequent specific failures in 2024 were: tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements; a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm; a suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn.
Are diesel Sportages worse?
25.0% of diesel tests found a failing defect vs 19.3% of petrol — a gap of 5.7 percentage points.
What mileage is normal for a Sportage?
For a typical 8-year-old Sportage, the median is about 65,184 miles; the middle half of the fleet sits between 51,593 and 79,582.
How often are dangerous faults found?
About 14 dangerous defects were recorded per 100 initial Kia Sportage tests in 2024 (national average ≈13) — with a dangerous defect the car legally cannot be driven away.

Compare with

Similar risk

Ford Focus (index 106.9)Vauxhall Astra (index 109.1)Nissan Leaf (index 109.2)

Same size class

how Ford Kuga compareshow Audi A4 compareshow Honda Civic compares

Data details & how to cite

Scope: class-4 vehicles (cars), initial tests only, outcomes pass / fail / fixed-on-the-spot at the station (PRS counts towards the failure rate — the defect was present at arrival). Index = observed initial failures ÷ failures expected for this fleet's exact age profile, ×100; margin of error is a 95% confidence interval. Covers ALL generations together — a 3-year-old and a 15-year-old are very different cars; a generation split is on the roadmap. Dataset release dvsa-2024-v1, frozen baseline. Full method: methodology.

Cite: MOT Risk Index (2026). Kia Sportage MOT statistics 2024 (dvsa-2024-v1). https://motriskindex.co.uk/cars/kia-sportage/ · Published 2026-07-30.