71.6%
Kia Sorento pass rate
Used Kia Sorento buying guide
In 2025, Kia Sorento cars passed 71.6% of 36,418 initial MOT tests, 0.7 points below the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific Sorento? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Kia Sorento MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
−0.7
percentage points below average
Ranked on pass rate the Sorento sits 322nd of 575 models in the data. Kia as a brand averaged 75.2%, so this model runs 3.7 points behind its own brand. Kia Sorento cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 84.8% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 57.4%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Kia Sorento MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the Sorento compares with similar cars.
Sorento fuel types
Diesel made up 86.8% of Kia Sorento MOT tests in 2025, against 39.3% across all models in this data. Almost every used example you look at will be a diesel.
Where the Sorento fails its MOT
Where Kia Sorento 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 track rod end ball joint has excessive play (4.9%), brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (4.9%) and ball joint excessively worn (4.6%). See every common Sorento MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Kia Sorento that failed, not a claim that every Sorento has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used Sorento?
The areas above, most common first, and what an MOT tester looks at in each.
1
Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters. 22.3% of Sorento failure items.
2
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. 20.2% of Sorento 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. 20% of Sorento failure items.
4
Tyres
Check tread depth across the full width of every tyre (the legal minimum is 1.6mm), and look for cuts, bulges and uneven wear. 10.9% of Sorento failure items.
5
Steering
Feel for play, knocking or stiffness in the steering, and check there is no steering warning light. 7.1% of Sorento 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 Kia Sorento failures cluster around suspension and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 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 Sorento you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Kia history check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Other used Kia models
The most-tested Kia models in 2025, with how their MOT pass rate compares with the Sorento.
Used Kia Sorento FAQs
Is the Kia Sorento 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 71.6% first-time pass rate for the Kia Sorento across 36,418 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Kia Sorento cars fail their MOT more often?
Kia Sorento cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 84.8% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 57.4%. On an older example, the car's own MOT history tells you more than the model average.
What should I check before buying a used Kia Sorento?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: suspension, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 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 Kia Sorento'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.