Kia Niro reliability: what 230k MOT tests show
Across 229,954 MOT tests on Kia Niro cars first used between 2016 and 2024, 87.9% passed first time. The figure for all cars is 71.7%. Allowing for age, the Niro beats a typical car tested at the same age by 2.3 points. That is the fairer test, and it puts the model above average. At its first MOT, at three years old, 89% of Niros pass; the national figure for three-year-old cars is 87.9%. Top of the failure list: wipers not clearing the screen, on 20.6% of failed tests.
Why Kia Niros fail the MOT
Of every hundred Niros that fail, about 21 are marked down for wipers not clearing the screen and 15 for a tyre worn or cut to the cords. Percentages can add to more than 100 because one failed test often records several defects.
Wiper blades and washer fluid are two of the most common fails nationally, and the two cheapest to fix. Top up and replace before the test.
Warning signs on the certificate
An advisory is the tester telling you what fails next year. On the Niro the usual suspects are tyre tread below the legal minimum (13.3% of tests) and a damaged tyre sidewall (7.1%). How often each category of advisory turns into a failure is measured across the whole dataset.
Petrol, diesel or hybrid Niro?
Among Kia Niro cars, electric versions pass 88.3% of the time and hybrid versions 87.6%, so fuel makes little difference on this model.
| Fuel | Pass rate | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| Hybrid | 87.6% | 147,115 |
| Electric | 88.3% | 82,441 |
Every Niro year, 2016 to 2024
Pass rates run from 84.4% for 2016 cars to 94.7% for 2024 cars. Most of that spread is age: a car tested at ten years old has had far more chances to wear something out than one tested at four.
| First used | Pass rate | Tests | Miles a year | First MOT pass |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kia Niro 2024 | 94.7% | 1,499 | 26,923 | – |
| Kia Niro 2023 | 91.5% | 3,952 | 25,310 | – |
| Kia Niro 2022 | 89.6% | 37,238 | 17,204 | 88.7% |
| Kia Niro 2021 | 88.7% | 58,257 | 13,401 | 88.9% |
| Kia Niro 2020 | 88.1% | 58,822 | 10,086 | 89.4% |
| Kia Niro 2019 | 86.4% | 31,020 | 11,194 | – |
| Kia Niro 2018 | 85.8% | 21,898 | 11,930 | – |
| Kia Niro 2017 | 84.1% | 13,434 | 9,225 | – |
| Kia Niro 2016 | 84.4% | 3,834 | 8,420 | – |
Pass rate by mileage
On the 2020 cars, a Niro under 40,000 miles passes 89.4% of the time; one over 100,000 passes 84.1%. When comparing two used Niros, the odometer tells you more than the year.
| Mileage at test (2020 cars) | Pass rate | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| Under 40,000 | 89.4% | 36,363 |
| 40,000 to 60,000 | 85.7% | 12,207 |
| 60,000 to 80,000 | 87.3% | 5,094 |
| 80,000 to 100,000 | 87.6% | 2,367 |
| Over 100,000 | 84.1% | 2,789 |
Kia stablemates and rivals
Set against the rest of the Kia range, which averages 74.4%, the Niro at 87.9% is above par. Within the family, see how the Sportage does (76.5%), the Ceed (67.1%), Soul common problems (70.6%) and Kia Optima reliability (79.4%), or the Kia range at the MOT. Buyers weighing a Niro against other cars of similar popularity often compare it with the Nissan X-Trail (70.2%) and Volkswagen T-Roc (91%). The ranking of every make puts them side by side, and the national MOT statistics give the baseline.
Each Niro year in detail
Each year opens to show its own failure list and pass rate by mileage.
Kia Niro 2024 94.7% pass 1,499 tests
On a 2024 Kia Niro, tyre tread below the legal minimum appears on 27.8% of failed tests, with an empty washer bottle next at 15.2%.
2024 cars pass 95.3% of the time at under 40,000 miles, falling to 100% at 80,000 to 100,000.
| Mileage at test | Pass rate | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| Under 40,000 | 95.3% | 1,189 |
| 40,000 to 60,000 | 92% | 238 |
| 60,000 to 80,000 | 93.7% | 63 |
| 80,000 to 100,000 | 100% | 9 |
By fuel: hybrid 95.7% (882 tests), electric 93.4% (617 tests).
Kia Niro 2023 91.5% pass 3,952 tests
On a 2023 Kia Niro, tyre tread below the legal minimum appears on 13.7% of failed tests, with wipers not clearing the screen next at 13.4%.
2023 cars pass 93.8% of the time at under 40,000 miles, falling to 84.1% over 100,000.
| Mileage at test | Pass rate | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| Under 40,000 | 93.8% | 2,168 |
| 40,000 to 60,000 | 90.4% | 1,067 |
| 60,000 to 80,000 | 88% | 482 |
| 80,000 to 100,000 | 82.4% | 165 |
| Over 100,000 | 84.1% | 69 |
By fuel: electric 90.4% (2,739 tests), hybrid 94.1% (1,213 tests).
Kia Niro 2022 89.6% pass 37,238 tests88.7% at first MOT
On a 2022 Kia Niro, wipers not clearing the screen appears on 20.5% of failed tests, with a tyre worn or cut to the cords next at 16.4%.
2022 cars pass 91.1% of the time at under 40,000 miles, falling to 84.6% over 100,000.
| Mileage at test | Pass rate | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| Under 40,000 | 91.1% | 23,171 |
| 40,000 to 60,000 | 87.6% | 6,745 |
| 60,000 to 80,000 | 88.1% | 3,571 |
| 80,000 to 100,000 | 86.2% | 2,090 |
| Over 100,000 | 84.6% | 1,661 |
By fuel: electric 89.3% (22,521 tests), hybrid 90% (14,521 tests).
Kia Niro 2021 88.7% pass 58,257 tests88.9% at first MOT
On a 2021 Kia Niro, wipers not clearing the screen appears on 21.9% of failed tests, with a tyre worn or cut to the cords next at 16.6%.
2021 cars pass 89.8% of the time at under 40,000 miles, falling to 84.5% over 100,000.
| Mileage at test | Pass rate | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| Under 40,000 | 89.8% | 33,260 |
| 40,000 to 60,000 | 87.3% | 12,202 |
| 60,000 to 80,000 | 87.7% | 5,855 |
| 80,000 to 100,000 | 88.1% | 3,254 |
| Over 100,000 | 84.5% | 3,686 |
By fuel: electric 88.3% (33,434 tests), hybrid 89.3% (24,784 tests).
Kia Niro 2020 88.1% pass 58,822 tests89.4% at first MOT
On a 2020 Kia Niro, wipers not clearing the screen appears on 23.3% of failed tests, with a tyre worn or cut to the cords next at 17.7%.
2020 cars pass 89.4% of the time at under 40,000 miles, falling to 84.1% over 100,000.
| Mileage at test | Pass rate | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| Under 40,000 | 89.4% | 36,363 |
| 40,000 to 60,000 | 85.7% | 12,207 |
| 60,000 to 80,000 | 87.3% | 5,094 |
| 80,000 to 100,000 | 87.6% | 2,367 |
| Over 100,000 | 84.1% | 2,789 |
By fuel: hybrid 88.6% (37,710 tests), electric 87.3% (20,976 tests).
Kia Niro 2019 86.4% pass 31,020 tests
On a 2019 Kia Niro, wipers not clearing the screen appears on 22% of failed tests, with a tyre worn or cut to the cords next at 14.2%.
2019 cars pass 87.7% of the time at under 40,000 miles, falling to 84.6% over 100,000.
| Mileage at test | Pass rate | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| Under 40,000 | 87.7% | 13,807 |
| 40,000 to 60,000 | 85% | 7,231 |
| 60,000 to 80,000 | 86.2% | 3,627 |
| 80,000 to 100,000 | 86.6% | 2,170 |
| Over 100,000 | 84.6% | 4,184 |
By fuel: hybrid 86.5% (28,853 tests), electric 84.9% (2,154 tests).
Kia Niro 2018 85.8% pass 21,898 tests
On a 2018 Kia Niro, wipers not clearing the screen appears on 17.2% of failed tests, with a tyre worn or cut to the cords next at 12.5%.
2018 cars pass 86.8% of the time at under 40,000 miles, falling to 84.2% over 100,000.
| Mileage at test | Pass rate | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| Under 40,000 | 86.8% | 6,170 |
| 40,000 to 60,000 | 86.3% | 5,627 |
| 60,000 to 80,000 | 85.5% | 3,381 |
| 80,000 to 100,000 | 85.9% | 1,893 |
| Over 100,000 | 84.2% | 4,826 |
Kia Niro 2017 84.1% pass 13,434 tests
On a 2017 Kia Niro, tyre tread below the legal minimum appears on 12.7% of failed tests, with a tyre worn or cut to the cords next at 12.7%.
2017 cars pass 86.8% of the time at under 40,000 miles, falling to 82% over 100,000.
| Mileage at test | Pass rate | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| Under 40,000 | 86.8% | 3,264 |
| 40,000 to 60,000 | 85.1% | 4,092 |
| 60,000 to 80,000 | 82.5% | 2,912 |
| 80,000 to 100,000 | 81.3% | 1,464 |
| Over 100,000 | 82% | 1,702 |
Kia Niro 2016 84.4% pass 3,834 tests
On a 2016 Kia Niro, a tyre worn or cut to the cords appears on 13% of failed tests, with tyre tread below the legal minimum next at 11.7%.
2016 cars pass 87.2% of the time at under 40,000 miles, falling to 82.1% over 100,000.
| Mileage at test | Pass rate | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| Under 40,000 | 87.2% | 831 |
| 40,000 to 60,000 | 86.1% | 1,126 |
| 60,000 to 80,000 | 83% | 880 |
| 80,000 to 100,000 | 80.4% | 434 |
| Over 100,000 | 82.1% | 563 |
Questions people ask
Is the Kia Niro reliable?
On MOT evidence the Kia Niro is above average. It passes 87.9% of tests against 71.7% for all cars, and beats cars of the same age by 2.3 points. 89% pass their first MOT at three years old. Figures from 229,954 DVSA tests.
What are the most common Kia Niro MOT failures?
Wipers not clearing the screen (20.6% of failed tests), a tyre worn or cut to the cords (14.9%) and a tyre worn or cut to the cords (14.5%). Wiper blades and washer fluid are two of the most common fails nationally, and the two cheapest to fix. Top up and replace before the test.
Which Kia Niro year is the most reliable?
Among years with a large sample, 2022 cars have the highest pass rate at 89.6% and 2017 cars the lowest at 84.1%. Newer years pass more because they are younger, so compare a specific car's year against the table above rather than against the overall figure.
What advisories does a Kia Niro usually get?
Tyre tread below the legal minimum is the most frequent, noted on 13.3% of all Niro tests, then a damaged tyre sidewall (7.1%). An advisory passes the car today but marks the item most likely to fail next year.
How many miles a year does a Kia Niro do?
About 12,697 miles a year on average, calculated from the odometer readings recorded at consecutive MOTs. That is above the UK average of roughly 7,400, which is typical of a car bought for commuting or work.
How do I check a particular Kia Niro?
The figures describe the whole fleet. For one car, enter its registration in the free MOT check to see its own test history, advisories and mileage, set against these averages for its year.
Looking at a specific Kia Niro?
Enter the registration to see its own MOT history, advisories and mileage set against these figures, including whether it has done more or fewer than the 12,697 miles a year typical of the model.
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023 to 2025. Class 4 cars, normal tests only; a pass after rectification counts as an initial failure. Age-adjusted figures compare the model's pass rate at each age with the national rate at the same age. Methodology.