Is the Ssangyong Korando reliable?

On MOT evidence the Ssangyong Korando is well below average. It passes 65.9% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 73% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.

What is the most common MOT failure on a Ssangyong Korando?

The item recorded most often is "a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm", which appears in 13.7% of failed Ssangyong Korando tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.

What do testers most often warn about on a Ssangyong Korando?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 31.8% of all Ssangyong Korando tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Ssangyong Korando usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 61,140 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.

Which Ssangyong Korando years are the most reliable?

Going by MOT pass rate, Ssangyong Korando cars first registered 2020–2022 do best at 81.5%, and those registered 2011–2013 do worst at 53.4%. But that ordering is mostly age, not build year: almost every model passes less often as it wears, so the newest cars top this list whatever they are. A specific year looking strong here means little on its own; the failure items above, and the individual car's own MOT history, tell you far more.

Does a Ssangyong Korando get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 81.5% of Ssangyong Korando tests pass. By 12 to 14 years, that falls to 53.4%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Are most Ssangyong Korando models petrol or diesel?

Of the Ssangyong Korando cars tested, 83% are diesel, 16% are petrol, 1% are electric. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

Model reliability file

Ssangyong Korando MOT pass rate & common failures

From 8,397 recorded MOT tests of the Ssangyong Korando, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

The Ssangyong Korando passes 65.9% of MOT tests once results are adjusted for the age and mileage of the cars tested, against a national average of 72.3%. That is well below average. Based on 8,397 tests. Its most commonly recorded failure is a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, which appears in 13.7% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 61,140 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

65.9%national average72.3%unadjusted66.8%range covered73%

The Korando is 6.4 percentage points below the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is well below average. The unadjusted figure is 66.8%; the difference is what the age and mileage of this model’s fleet was hiding.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed Ssangyong Korando tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm13.7%
313 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
2.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded13.5%
308 occurrencesBrake pipe corroded explained
3.Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning13.5%
308 occurrencesStop lamp not working explained
4.A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps13.2%
302 occurrencesLamp not working explained
5.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements11.4%
261 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
6.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened11.4%
260 occurrencesRoad spring broken or fractured explained
7.Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement10.3%
236 occurrencesParking brake efficiency too low explained
8.A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc9.1%
209 occurrencesDriveshaft CV joint gaiter split or missing explained
9.Parking brake inoperative on one side8.9%
203 occurrencesParking brake efficiency too low explained
10.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen8.6%
197 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Ssangyong Korando tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements31.8%
2,669 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
2.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded20.9%
1,759 testsBrake pipe corroded explained
3.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm15.5%
1,303 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
4.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured12.9%
1,083 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
5.A tyre seriously damaged9.4%
788 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
6.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened4.3%
360 testsRoad spring broken or fractured explained
7.Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn4.0%
335 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
8.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn3.8%
322 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained

The rest of the record

Everything else recorded on the Ssangyong Korando

The 19 other defects testers recorded on this model, beyond the most common listed above. Each links to what it means and what it takes to put right.

How wear changes the picture

Korando pass rate by age and registration year

How often the Ssangyong Korando passes at each age, with the years those cars were first registered. Tests are from 2025, so a car aged 3 to 5 was first used in 2020–2022.

3–5 yrsreg. 2020–202282%

6–8 yrsreg. 2017–201972%

9–11 yrsreg. 2014–201659%

12–14 yrsreg. 2011–201353%

Read this as an age curve rather than a verdict on particular model years. Nearly every car passes less often as it gets older, so a newer Korando outscoring an older one says more about wear than about how that year’s cars were built. Bands holding too few tests to be meaningful are omitted rather than shown as a rate.

What gets tested

The Korando fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 61,140
Fuel mix of tested cars: Diesel83.1%
Petrol15.9%
Electric1.0%

Trim names grouped into this model (19)

Recorded exactly as DVSA holds them. Trim-level names are rolled up so one model is not split across a dozen thin pages.

KORANDO ES
KORANDO ES AUTO
KORANDO EX AWD
KORANDO EX AWD AUTO
KORANDO LIMITED EDITION
KORANDO S
KORANDO SE
KORANDO SPORT
KORANDO SPORT EX
KORANDO SPORTS
KORANDO SPORTS EX
KORANDO SPORTS EX AUTO
KORANDO ULTIMATE
KORANDO ULTIMATE AUTO
KORANDO ULTIMATE E-MOTION
KORANDO ULTIMATE TD AUTO
KORANDO VENTURA
KORANDO VENTURA AUTO
KORANDO VENTURA E-MOTION

Check a specific Ssangyong Korando

A model average tells you the pattern. Its own MOT record tells you the car.

Compare within the range

Other Ssangyong models

Ssangyong Tivoli — 71.4% unadjusted
Ssangyong Rexton — 67.6% adjusted
Ssangyong Musso — 64.3% unadjusted
Ssangyong Rodius — 59.5% unadjusted
All Ssangyong models

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

Volkswagen Crafter — 74.7% adjusted, ranked 116
Peugeot Horizon — 67.3% adjusted, ranked 205
Fiat Fiorino — 62.2% adjusted, ranked 243
Hyundai I800 — 61.1% adjusted, ranked 250

Common questions

Is the Ssangyong Korando reliable?: On MOT evidence the Ssangyong Korando is well below average. It passes 65.9% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 73% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.
What is the most common MOT failure on a Ssangyong Korando?: The item recorded most often is "a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm", which appears in 13.7% of failed Ssangyong Korando tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.
What do testers most often warn about on a Ssangyong Korando?: The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 31.8% of all Ssangyong Korando tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Ssangyong Korando usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 61,140 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.
Which Ssangyong Korando years are the most reliable?: Going by MOT pass rate, Ssangyong Korando cars first registered 2020–2022 do best at 81.5%, and those registered 2011–2013 do worst at 53.4%. But that ordering is mostly age, not build year: almost every model passes less often as it wears, so the newest cars top this list whatever they are. A specific year looking strong here means little on its own; the failure items above, and the individual car's own MOT history, tell you far more.
Does a Ssangyong Korando get harder to pass as it ages?: Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 81.5% of Ssangyong Korando tests pass. By 12 to 14 years, that falls to 53.4%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.
Are most Ssangyong Korando models petrol or diesel?: Of the Ssangyong Korando cars tested, 83% are diesel, 16% are petrol, 1% are electric. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

How this was worked out

Method and limits

Figures come from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing dataset, published under the Open Government Licence. Only class 4 initial tests are counted: retests are excluded so a car appears once, and abandoned tests are excluded entirely. The adjusted rate is directly standardised across twenty-five age and mileage bands and reweighted onto the national distribution, so this model is compared against cars that have lived a similar life rather than against a younger or lighter-used fleet.

An MOT measures whether a car met a legal standard on the day. It is not a breakdown record, a service history or a running-cost estimate, and a pass rate is a property of a fleet rather than a prediction about one car.