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Hyundai Kona vs Nissan Juke: which is the better used buy?

On DVSA MOT records the Hyundai Kona is the more reliable used buy: measured against cars of the same age, it comes out 6.5 percentage points ahead of the Nissan Juke on first-time MOT passes. That comparison covers 40,629 real tests across every generation on the road, not a survey. A pass with rectification at the station counts as a pass here, and as a failure in DVSA's own initial-test measure.

MOT first-time pass rate

Counted from DVSA’s anonymised MOT test records. “vs age-matched” compares each model against what the national fleet scores at the same age — the only fair better-or-worse number, because an older fleet fails more whatever its build quality.

Hyundai Kona
Pass rate90.3%
Age-matched national89.1%
Difference+1.3
Tests6,358
Nissan Juke
Pass rate73.7%
Age-matched national78.9%
Difference-5.2
Tests34,271

These figures count every generation still on the road, not only the one described below: mostly Hyundai Konas registered 2018–2022 and Nissan Jukes registered 2010–2022.

Source: DVSA MOT Anonymised Data 2025 (Open Government Licence v3.0). National first-time pass rate 77.3%. Class 4 tests in Great Britain, test type NT (a normal annual test), retests excluded. A pass, or a pass with rectification at the station, counts as a first-time pass; DVSA's own initial-test measure counts a rectified pass as a failure and so reports a lower figure. Testing in Northern Ireland is run separately by the DVA under its own rules. The difference is worked out before rounding, so it can be 0.1 away from the two rounded figures beside it.

Hyundai Kona

OS 2017–2023 and SX2 2023–on · small crossover SUV, sold as petrol, hybrid and electric

The Hyundai Kona’s risk depends on the powertrain more than the year. On the first-generation Kona Electric DVSA lists three battery recalls, the newest (R/2026/128) covering cars built January 2018 to July 2023, so check the recall record before you buy. Across the Kona range (DVSA’s MOT table does not split by fuel) the Kona passes the MOT level with or above cars of the same age. Hyundai UK gives new cars five years with no mileage limit, and eight years or 100,000 miles on the high-voltage battery.

What goes wrong

  • Safety recall R/2026/128recall
    Some vehicles fitted with a high voltage battery may have internal cell voltage deviation
    25,056 vehicles of this model (DVSA’s figures added up) · built between 24 January 2018 and 15 July 2023
    Large recall — 25,056 vehicles. Check a car by registration on GOV.UK.
  • Safety recall R/2020/382recall
    If an abnormality is registered within the ieb system that may illuminate the malfunction indicator lamp on the vehicle cluster braking performance may be reduced
    12,835 vehicles in the whole recall (DVSA’s figure for every model it covers) · built between 24 January 2018 and 18 November 2020
    Large recall — 12,835 vehicles. Check a car by registration on GOV.UK.
  • Electrics — warning lights and battery-related faults (Kona Electric)moderate
    What Car? readers reported faulty warning lights and battery-related problems on the Kona Electric, with some cars off the road for a long time because parts were slow to arrive. Feedback on dealer service was mixed.
    2018–2023 Kona Electric
    Check: Start the car and wait for the self-test: no warning light should stay on. Ask for the invoices for any electrical or battery work and which software updates a dealer has applied, and charge it fully once on the seller’s charger before you agree a price.
  • Cover — five-year unlimited-mileage warranty and eight-year battery coverminor
    Not a fault. Hyundai UK states a five-year unlimited-mileage warranty on new cars, eight years or 100,000 miles on the high-voltage batteries of the Kona Electric and Hybrid, and covers the 48-volt battery of a mild-hybrid car under the five-year warranty.
    All, counted from first registration
    Check: Hyundai states plainly that "an invalidated warranty cannot be revalidated by transfer of the vehicle". A gap in servicing before you bought the car cannot be cured by the sale, so the service history matters more here than the age does — and because the mileage is unlimited, the history is effectively the only thing that can have ended the cover early. Work out the end date from the registration date on the V5C rather than from the model year, and ask a Hyundai dealer to confirm what remains for the VIN.
Typical asking price:
not given as a fixed figure — the model guide shows the median and middle 80% of asking prices for the cars advertised on Autoza that day, when at least 10 qualify
Fuel economy:
What Car? recorded 250 miles or more of real-world range from the 64 kWh Kona Electric (its October 2025 update); we have no sourced real-world figure for the petrol or hybrid versions, whose official figures depend on the engine.
Vehicle tax:
£200/year standard rate from the second year, hybrids included — the alternative-fuel discount ended on 1 April 2025. A car registered from April 2017 with a list price over £40,000 when new adds the £440/year Expensive Car Supplement in years 2–6 (£640 in all). Cars registered 2001–2017 pay a CO2 band, roughly £20–£790/year (2026/27 rates). Electric versions: one first registered from 1 April 2025 pays the £440/year supplement in years 2–6 only if it listed at over £50,000 new; one registered before then never does, whatever it cost.
Best years:
2021, 2022
Used Hyundai Konas for saleFull Kona fault guideUsed Hyundais

Also compare:

Nissan Juke

Mk2 (2019–2025) · Compact crossover/small SUV, rivalling the Ford Puma, Renault Captur, Vauxhall Mokka and Peugeot 2008 in the UK's small-SUV class.

The Nissan Juke Mk2 (2019–2025) finished last in its class in What Car?'s most recent used-car reliability survey. The key check is the DCT automatic: feel for judder pulling away and in slow traffic. DVSA safety recalls cover 2019–2020 builds (rear seat-back latch), 2022 Hybrids (control software) and 2024 builds (front seat belts), so check any Juke by registration. Best buy: 2023–2024. Worst: 2019–2020.

What goes wrong

  • Safety recall R/2021/345recall
    The rear seat back may not be securely latched when returned to the upright position after folding.
    13,569 vehicles of this model (DVSA’s figures added up) · built between 18 September 2019 and 28 August 2020
    Large recall — 13,569 vehicles. Check a car by registration on GOV.UK.
  • Safety recall R/2025/118recall
    Juke (F16) Front Seat Belt
    4,342 vehicles of this model (DVSA’s figures added up) · built between 2 April 2024 and 6 September 2024
    Smaller recall — 4,342 vehicles. Check a car by registration on GOV.UK.
  • DCT automatic gearbox (7-speed dual-clutch)major
    Juddering, hesitation, or a jerky/delayed response when pulling away from a stop or in slow, stop-start traffic; some owners report the car surging unexpectedly. Manual-gearbox cars are not affected.
    2019–2025 (DCT auto models only; reported throughout the generation) · Can appear from new — not strongly linked to a mileage threshold, though owners often report it worsening over the first 20,000–30,000 miles if no software recalibration has been carried out · Free if still within Nissan's warranty (3 years/60,000 miles); a clutch pack replacement or software recalibration typically costs £400–£900, and a full DCT unit replacement out of warranty can run £1,500–£3,000+
    Check: Test-drive pulling away from a full stop, including on a slight incline, and in slow traffic; feel for judder or hesitation. Ask to see the service history for any prior gearbox software updates or clutch replacements, and get anything unusual checked by a Nissan dealer before buying.
  • Water ingress into boot and rear footwellsmajor
    Damp or wet carpet in the boot or rear footwells after heavy rain, often with a musty smell; traced variously to a perished tailgate seal, a dislodged wiring/washer-pipe grommet where it passes through the roof, or hairline cracks in the roof seam near the tailgate hinges.
    2019–2025 (reported across the generation, more likely as seals age) · Not mileage-linked — more a function of seal age and condition, so worth checking on any car regardless of mileage · £80–£250 to trace and reseal the entry point; costs rise if water has already reached the wiring loom or boot-mounted electronics (e.g. the amplifier on Bose-equipped trims, or around the battery pack on Hybrid models), which can run into several hundred pounds
    Check: Lift the boot floor and check under the spare-wheel well/lining for damp or mould staining, and check under the rear seats on Hybrid models. Where possible, view the car after rain or ask the seller directly whether it has ever suffered a water leak.
Typical asking price:
not given as a fixed figure — the model guide shows the median and middle 80% of asking prices for the cars advertised on Autoza that day, when at least 10 qualify
Fuel economy:
1.0 DIG-T manual: 42–47 mpg. 1.0 DIG-T DCT auto: 38–43 mpg. Hybrid: 48–56 mpg real-world.
Vehicle tax:
£200/year standard rate from the second year, hybrids included — the alternative-fuel discount ended on 1 April 2025 (2026/27 rates). A car registered from April 2017 that listed at over £40,000 new (options included) also pays the £440/year Expensive Car Supplement in years 2–6 — it is the price when new that counts, not what you pay for it used.
Best years:
2023, 2024
Years to avoid:
2019, 2020
Used Nissan Jukes for saleFull Juke fault guideUsed Nissans

Also compare:

Which one suits you

Hyundai Kona

Good for: Buyers who want a compact SUV and will check the recall record on the car, particularly an electric Kona, before agreeing a price.

Less good for: Anyone buying a first-generation Kona Electric without proof that the battery recalls were carried out, or counting on warranty cover without working out its end date from the registration.

Nissan Juke

Good for: Buyers wanting a distinctively styled small SUV with genuinely good tech and safety kit as standard from launch. The Hybrid from 2023 is the pick for lower running costs and avoids the DCT clutch-wear risk entirely.

Less good for: Anyone considering an early 2019–2020 DIG-T DCT automatic without documented clutch/mechatronic history — this is the highest-risk combination on the car.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which is more reliable, the Hyundai Kona or the Nissan Juke?
The Hyundai Kona. Measured against cars of the same age, it comes out 6.5 percentage points ahead of the Nissan Juke on first-time MOT passes, across 40,629 DVSA-recorded tests covering every generation on the road. A pass with rectification at the station counts as a pass here, and as a failure in DVSA's own initial-test measure.
How do the MOT pass rates of the Hyundai Kona and the Nissan Juke compare?
90.3% of Hyundai Konas pass their MOT first time (6,358 tests in DVSA's records) and 73.7% of Nissan Jukes pass their MOT first time (34,271 tests). The national first-time rate is 77.3%, but cars of the Hyundai Kona's age average 89.1% and cars of the Nissan Juke's age 78.9% — so the Hyundai Kona runs 1.3 points better than its age group and the Nissan Juke runs 5.2 points worse than its own. A pass with rectification at the station counts as a pass here, and as a failure in DVSA's own initial-test measure.
Which years of the Hyundai Kona and Nissan Juke should I avoid?
Hyundai Kona: No year is named. DVSA’s MOT table rates 2018 and 2019 registrations above all cars registered those years and 2020 to 2022 level, and the Kona Electric’s battery recalls run across every first-generation build (January 2018 to July 2023) rather than one year. On an electric Kona the question is whether the recall work was done on that car, not which year it is from. Early cars have two small recalls of their own, which DVSA files under plain Kona with no fuel type: R/2019/001 (built 9 May to 19 December 2018) and R/2019/115 (built 20 April 2017 to 11 September 2018). Nissan Juke: The earliest Mk2 Jukes concentrate the generation's known issues: the rear seat-back latch recall (R/2021/345) covers cars built from September 2019 to August 2020, while owners report the DCT judder and NissanConnect freezing complaints were most frequent before Nissan issued its running production and firmware fixes — so 2019–2020 cars need the most careful pre-purchase checking.
Is the Hyundai Kona or the Nissan Juke cheaper to run?
On fuel it depends on the engine, and for a plug-in or electric version on whether you can charge at home. Hyundai Kona: What Car? recorded 250 miles or more of real-world range from the 64 kWh Kona Electric (its October 2025 update); we have no sourced real-world figure for the petrol or hybrid versions, whose official figures depend on the engine. Nissan Juke: 1.0 DIG-T manual: 42–47 mpg. 1.0 DIG-T DCT auto: 38–43 mpg. Hybrid: 48–56 mpg real-world. For cars registered from April 2017, vehicle tax works the same way for both: the £200/year standard rate from the second year, hybrids included, plus the £440/year Expensive Car Supplement in years 2–6 on a car that listed at over £40,000 new — the price when new, not what you pay for it used. The electric versions (Kona Electric) pay the same £200/year standard rate since 1 April 2025 (electric cars were exempt before then), with the £440/year Expensive Car Supplement in years 2–6 only on one first registered from 1 April 2025 that listed at over £50,000 new. Any Nissan Juke registered between 1 March 2001 and 31 March 2017 pays a CO2 band instead, roughly £20–£790/year (2026/27 rates). Insurance differs mainly by driver and postcode rather than by model, so treat any model-level insurance figure with caution.

MOT figures are counted from DVSA records and are the only measured statistic here. Prices, economy and tax bands are indicative and vary by specification, condition and where the car has lived. Last reviewed: 2026-10-06 / 2026-10-06.