47.4%
Chevrolet Kalos pass rate
Used Chevrolet Kalos buying guide
In 2025, Chevrolet Kalos cars passed 47.4% of 1,851 initial MOT tests, 24.9 points below the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific Kalos? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Chevrolet Kalos MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
−24.9
percentage points below average
Ranked on pass rate the Kalos sits 575th of 575 models in the data. Chevrolet as a brand averaged 54.9%, so this model runs 7.5 points behind its own brand.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Chevrolet Kalos MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the Kalos compares with similar cars.
Kalos fuel types
Petrol was the most common fuel among Chevrolet Kalos cars tested in 2025. Diesel made up just 0.1% of tests.
Where the Kalos fails its MOT
Where Chevrolet Kalos cars that failed their 2025 MOT were marked down, as a share of all recorded failure items.
The specific items testers recorded most often were pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (6.1%), component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (5.2%) and headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect (5.1%). See every common Kalos MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Chevrolet Kalos that failed, not a claim that every Kalos has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used Kalos?
The areas above, most common first, and what an MOT tester looks at in each.
1
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting. 24.9% of Kalos failure items.
2
Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters. 21.2% of Kalos failure items.
3
Brakes
Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing. 17.2% of Kalos failure items.
4
Body, chassis, structure
Look underneath and along the sills for corrosion, and check for damaged or poorly repaired panels. 7.8% of Kalos failure items.
5
Visibility
Check the windscreen for chips or cracks in the driver's view, and that the wipers and washers clear it properly. 6.7% of Kalos failure items.
None of this replaces the car's own record. Run a free MOT history check on the registration to see every test, advisory and recorded mileage for that car.
What the MOT record doesn't tell you
Knowing Chevrolet Kalos failures cluster around lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and suspension tells you what to inspect. It tells you nothing about whether the car is safe to buy. An MOT does not show money still owed on the car, a write-off, a theft record or a clocked odometer.
Check the exact Kalos you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Chevrolet history check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Other used Chevrolet models
The most-tested Chevrolet models in 2025, with how their MOT pass rate compares with the Kalos.
Used Chevrolet Kalos FAQs
Is the Chevrolet Kalos reliable?
MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 47.4% first-time pass rate for the Chevrolet Kalos across 1,851 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.
What should I check before buying a used Chevrolet Kalos?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, suspension and brakes. Then check the individual car's history: outstanding finance, insurance write-off records, stolen markers, mileage and previous keepers. None of these appear in the MOT record or on the V5C.
How do I check a Chevrolet Kalos's history?
Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.
MOT figures are 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.