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Used comparison · 2025 DVSA data

Hyundai I10 vs Kia Picanto

The two best value city cars on the used market, closely related under the skin.

Across 440,650 initial MOT tests in 2025, the Hyundai I10 passed 79.04% against 76.85% for the Kia Picanto. A real gap, but not a decisive one on its own.

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Head to head on the MOT record

Measure Hyundai I10 Kia Picanto
First-time MOT pass rate 79.04% 76.85%
Tests in 2025 250,698 189,952
Average mileage at test 49,821 48,130
Average age at test 10.3 years 10.1 years
Most common fuel Petrol Petrol
Diesel share of tests 0.01% 0.01%

The UK average across all cars in this data is 77.3%. The Hyundai I10 sits above it by 1.7 points, and the Kia Picanto sits below it by 0.5 points.

Which one holds up better as it ages

This is the part that matters when you are buying used. A headline pass rate mixes three-year-old cars in with fifteen-year-old ones. Split by age, you can see what each model actually does over time.

Age at test Hyundai I10 Kia Picanto
3 to 5 years 89.25% 90.69%
6 to 10 years 85.03% 83.99%
11 years and over 71.65% 65.82%

The Hyundai I10 gives up less as it gets older. Between the youngest and oldest brackets it loses 17.6 percentage points against 24.9 for the Kia Picanto, a difference of 7.3 points. On a ten-year-old example that is the figure to weigh, not the headline number.

What each one fails on

These are the areas testers recorded most often across every failed 2025 test for each model. Read them as a viewing checklist for that model, not as a fault list for any particular car.

Hyundai I10

  • Brakes 27.21%
  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 21.45%
  • Tyres 15.53%
  • Suspension 14.77%
  • Visibility 10.73%

Share of all recorded failure items.

Full Hyundai I10 failure detail

Kia Picanto

  • Brakes 29.71%
  • Suspension 16.26%
  • Tyres 14.64%
  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 14.17%
  • Visibility 8.62%

Share of all recorded failure items.

Full Kia Picanto failure detail

Both models fail most often on brakes, which is normal for cars of this age and tells you what to look at on either. The difference between them is in what comes next on each list.

The specific items testers wrote down

One level deeper than the category. These are the individual defects recorded most often on each model.

Hyundai I10

  • Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively
  • Position lamp not working
  • Tread depth tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm

Kia Picanto

  • Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements
  • Position lamp not working
  • Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively

What this comparison cannot tell you

Everything above describes two models across the whole UK fleet. It says nothing about the one car in the advert you are looking at. Two I10s of the same year and mileage can be worth thousands apart because of things that never appear in MOT data:

  • Outstanding finance. If a lender still has an agreement recorded against the car, that claim does not disappear because you paid the seller.
  • Insurance write-off history. A Cat S or Cat N marker is permanent, changes what the car is worth, and does not appear on the V5C.
  • Stolen markers. A car recorded as stolen can be seized even from a buyer who bought it honestly.
  • Mileage history. The readings taken at every MOT are the clearest way to spot a clocked odometer.
  • Previous keepers. An unusual number of keepers for the age of the car is worth asking about.

A Carpeep car history check reports all of those against the registration, plus tax status, import and export markers, scrapped status and the recorded vehicle identity, in one £15 report.

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Read more on each car

Hyundai I10 vs Kia Picanto FAQs

Is the Hyundai I10 or the Kia Picanto more likely to pass its MOT?

The Hyundai I10 passed 79.04% of its initial MOT tests in the DVSA 2025 data against 76.85% for the Kia Picanto, a gap of 2.2 percentage points. That is a fleet-wide average, not a prediction about the specific car you are looking at.

Does a higher MOT pass rate mean a more reliable car?

No. An MOT records whether a vehicle met the roadworthiness standard on the day it was tested. It does not test the engine, clutch or gearbox, and it does not measure how often a car breaks down. Pass rates are useful for comparing how two models are holding up across the whole UK fleet, and nothing more than that.

Which is cheaper to keep on the road, the Hyundai I10 or the Kia Picanto?

This data does not price servicing or repairs, so it cannot answer that directly. What it does show is what each model most often fails on, which is a fair guide to where the money goes. The Hyundai I10 fails most often on brakes. The Kia Picanto fails most often on brakes.

How do I check the actual Hyundai I10 I have found?

Enter its registration. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, insurance write-off markers, stolen markers, the mileage recorded at every MOT, previous keepers, tax and MOT status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report. None of that appears in model-level MOT statistics.

MOT figures aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.