How reliable is the Ssangyong Rodius compared with other cars?

We do not publish a comparison for the Ssangyong Rodius, because the cars of this model that have been tested do not cover a wide enough range of ages and mileages. Its raw pass rate is 59.5% across 2,620 tests, but comparing a raw rate between models mostly ranks them by how new they are rather than how good they are. The failure and advisory patterns further down the page are still drawn from real tests and are worth reading.

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

The item recorded most often is "A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play", which appears in 26.5% of failed Ssangyong Rodius 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 Rodius?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 29.6% of all Ssangyong Rodius tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

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

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 79,065 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 Rodius years are the most reliable?

Going by MOT pass rate, Ssangyong Rodius cars first registered 2017–2019 do best at 62.6%, and those registered 2011–2013 do worst at 48.4%. 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 Rodius get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 6 to 8 years old, 62.6% of Ssangyong Rodius tests pass. By 12 to 14 years, that falls to 48.4%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Model reliability file

Ssangyong Rodius MOT pass rate & common failures

From 2,620 recorded MOT tests of the Ssangyong Rodius, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

Across 2,620 MOT tests, 59.5% of Ssangyong Rodius tests ended in a pass. This figure is not adjusted for age or mileage, so it is not a reliability ranking: the Ssangyong Rodius fleet does not yet cover a wide enough spread of ages and distances to compare it fairly against other models. Its most commonly recorded failure is steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, which appears in 26.5% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 79,065 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Recorded pass rate

59.5%unadjusted, not comparable2,620 tests

We are not publishing a ranking for the Rodius. The examples tested do not cover a wide enough spread of ages and mileages to compare it fairly, and an unadjusted pass rate mostly sorts models by how recently they were bought rather than how well they were built. The failure and advisory patterns below come from the same 2,620 tests and are worth reading on their own terms.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

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

1.A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play26.5%
234 occurrencesBall joint worn explained
2.A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning18.3%
162 occurrencesLamp not working explained
3.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened18.0%
159 occurrencesRoad spring broken or fractured explained
4.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded14.6%
129 occurrencesBrake pipe corroded explained
5.An obligatory rear fog lamp missing, or a front or rear fog lamp inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning14.0%
124 occurrencesLamp not working explained
6.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn13.9%
123 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained
7.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements11.4%
101 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
8.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm10.9%
96 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
9.Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning10.4%
92 occurrencesStop lamp not working explained
10.An SRS malfunction indicator lamp (MIL) indicates a system malfunction10.1%
89 occurrencesAirbag warning lamp on, or airbag missing explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Ssangyong Rodius 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 requirements29.6%
775 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
2.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded18.7%
491 testsBrake pipe corroded explained
3.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm13.8%
361 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
4.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured9.4%
247 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
5.A suspension component excessively damaged or corroded9.3%
243 testsSuspension mounting corroded or insecure explained
6.A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play7.1%
185 testsBall joint worn explained
7.Fluid leaking excessively and likely to harm the environment or to pose a safety risk to other road users6.0%
156 tests
8.A tyre seriously damaged5.3%
140 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained

The rest of the record

Everything else recorded on the Ssangyong Rodius

The 18 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

Rodius pass rate by age and registration year

How often the Ssangyong Rodius passes at each age, with the years those cars were first registered. Tests are from 2025, so a car aged 6 to 8 was first used in 2017–2019.

6–8 yrsreg. 2017–201963%

9–11 yrsreg. 2014–201658%

12–14 yrsreg. 2011–201348%

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 Rodius 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 Rodius fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 79,065
Fuel mix of tested cars: Diesel100.0%

Trim names grouped into this model (6)

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

RODIUS 270 ES
RODIUS 270 ES AUTO
RODIUS 270 S
RODIUS 270 S AUTO
RODIUS ES
RODIUS EX AWD AUTO

Check a specific Ssangyong Rodius

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

Compare within the range

Other Ssangyong models

Ssangyong Korando — 65.9% adjusted
Ssangyong Tivoli — 71.4% unadjusted
Ssangyong Rexton — 67.6% adjusted
Ssangyong Musso — 64.3% unadjusted
All Ssangyong models

Common questions

How reliable is the Ssangyong Rodius compared with other cars?: We do not publish a comparison for the Ssangyong Rodius, because the cars of this model that have been tested do not cover a wide enough range of ages and mileages. Its raw pass rate is 59.5% across 2,620 tests, but comparing a raw rate between models mostly ranks them by how new they are rather than how good they are. The failure and advisory patterns further down the page are still drawn from real tests and are worth reading.
What is the most common MOT failure on a Ssangyong Rodius?: The item recorded most often is "A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play", which appears in 26.5% of failed Ssangyong Rodius 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 Rodius?: The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 29.6% of all Ssangyong Rodius tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Ssangyong Rodius usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 79,065 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 Rodius years are the most reliable?: Going by MOT pass rate, Ssangyong Rodius cars first registered 2017–2019 do best at 62.6%, and those registered 2011–2013 do worst at 48.4%. 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 Rodius get harder to pass as it ages?: Yes. At 6 to 8 years old, 62.6% of Ssangyong Rodius tests pass. By 12 to 14 years, that falls to 48.4%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

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. No adjusted rate is shown because this model's tested examples do not cover enough of the national age and mileage range for standardisation to mean anything.

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.