Peugeot 3008 vs Skoda Karoq: which is the better used buy?

On the MOT measure, the Skoda Karoq: measured against cars of the same age, it comes out 8.6 percentage points ahead of the Peugeot 3008 on first-time MOT passes, across 21,263 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. The MOT checks safety and emissions items, not the engine, clutch or gearbox, so this is one measure of how each car holds up rather than a full reliability verdict.

75.5% of Peugeot 3008s pass their MOT first time (15,081 tests in DVSA's records) and 91.3% of Skoda Karoqs pass their MOT first time (6,182 tests). The national first-time rate is 77.3%, but cars of the Peugeot 3008's age average 80.7% and cars of the Skoda Karoq's age 87.9% — so the Peugeot 3008 runs 5.2 points worse than its age group and the Skoda Karoq runs 3.4 points better 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.

Peugeot 3008: 2016–2018 launch cars are now well past the revised wet-belt interval, which is where the 1.2 PureTech oil-consumption and engine-failure reports concentrate — the belt sheds debris into the oil and blocks the pick-up. Early infotainment (touchscreen module freeze) was also most prevalent on these years. The 1.6 THP petrol used on some early variants had higher oil consumption than the later 1.2 PureTech. Skoda Karoq: 2017–2018 launch-year 1.5 TSI Karoqs with Active Cylinder Management (ACT) suffered from well-documented kangarooing and stalling at low engine speeds. It is widely reported on UK owner forums, including Briskoda. Skoda issued software updates from 2019, but pre-update cars sometimes still hesitate at junctions. Pre-2019 1.6 TDI cars paired with the DQ200 dry-clutch DSG also have an elevated mechatronic-failure rate above 60,000 miles. The DVSA MOT table on this page rates 2018 registrations above all cars registered that year, so it is not named as a year to avoid.

On fuel it depends on the engine, and for a plug-in or electric version on whether you can charge at home. Peugeot 3008: 44–51 mpg (1.2 PureTech real-world UK); 54–63 mpg (1.5 BlueHDi real-world); Hybrid 225: the official figure above 150 mpg is a lab number that assumes every journey starts fully charged — ignore it unless you have home charging, and expect ordinary-hybrid economy once the battery is empty. Skoda Karoq: 1.0 TSI 115: 38–44 mpg real-world. 1.5 TSI 150: 35–42 mpg. 2.0 TDI 150 manual: 44–51 mpg. 2.0 TSI 190 4x4: 28–33 mpg on UK mixed driving. 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. Any Peugeot 3008 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.