Compare two cars

Which has the stronger MOT record?

Two models, same age, side by side: fail rate, what fails and how it changes with age. From 130 million tests. No made-up score.

Vehicle 1

Vehicle 2

Vehicle 1

Nissan Qashqai

10 years old · 188,092 tests

36.3%fail MOT at 10 years

6.0 points above the national 30.3%

Vehicle 2

Kia Sportage

10 years old · 71,222 tests

31.3%fail MOT at 10 years

In line with the national 30.3%

Different strengthsObserved in DVSA data

The Kia Sportage fails 5.0 points less often at 10 years (31.3% against 36.3%). One item where they differ: suspension ball joint worn, 7.1 per 100 tests on the Nissan Qashqai against 2.1 on the Kia Sportage.

This is MOT roadworthiness, not breakdowns, recalls or running costs. Neither car is declared a winner; the trade-offs are below.

Where they differ

Most common fail items at this age, per 100 MOT tests

Suspension ball joint worn

7.1 vs 2.1Sportage lower

Brake pads under 1.5 mm

5.1 vs 4.3Sportage lower

Tyre tread below 1.6 mm

4.3 vs 5.1Qashqai lower

Steering track rod end: ball joint play

5.0 vs 2.3Sportage lower

Side/position light not working

4.1 vs under 1.8Sportage lower

Coil spring broken

4.1 vs 2.9Sportage lower

Suspension arm bush worn

3.5 vs under 1.8Sportage lower

Nissan QashqaiKia SportageMajor and dangerous items only. Gaps under 0.5 per 100 tests count as similar; "under" is the upper limit for an item outside that model's top 10, drawn as a dashed bar.

How failure rate changes with age

Normal tests, by age in years

Nissan QashqaiKia SportageAll cars

Mileage and sample

Nissan Qashqai

Typical recorded mileage at 10 years: 79,739 miles

188,092 tests · normal tests at 10 years

Kia Sportage

Typical recorded mileage at 10 years: 80,531 miles

71,222 tests · normal tests at 10 years

Both samples are large enough that a gap of this size is unlikely to be sampling noise. Whether it matters for one particular car depends on how it has been kept.

Nissan Qashqai MOT fail rates Kia Sportage MOT fail rates Check a specific car for sale

Useful next checks

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What this data can tell you

How often each model fails its MOT at the same age, the items testers fail each one for most often, how the rate changes with age, and typical mileage at that age.

What it cannot tell you

Which car is better for you. Breakdowns, recalls, running costs and how the car drives are not in MOT data, and a well kept car of the model with the higher rate can beat a neglected one of the other.

Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, 2022 to 2025, 130 million class 4 normal MOT tests. At 10 years: 188,092 tests of the Nissan Qashqai and 71,222 tests of the Kia Sportage. Independent analysis, not affiliated with DVSA.

Method

Comparing models fairly

We compare cars of the same age, using 130 million class 4 normal MOT tests from 2022 to 2025. Retests after a repair are left out. Both models must have at least 5,000 tests at that age before we show a comparison.

The age is the car's age at the test, so a 10 year figure pools every car of that model tested at 10 years old. It describes the model, not one car.

Same age, same test

Fail rate at the same age in years, from normal MOT tests. Retests after a repair are left out.

No single score

We do not blend the results into one number. A car that often fails on suspension but rarely on brakes is not the same as an average car.

Small gaps count as equal

Differences under 2 points are treated as equal. A gap that small tells you little about one car.

Not measured

Breakdowns, recalls, running costs, comfort or how the car drives. Those are separate questions.