2018 SEAT Arona MOT pass rate: 81.5% (35,598 tests)

2018-registered SEAT Aronas passed 81.5% of 35,598 MOT tests in 2023–2025 — 4.9 points worse than same-age cars (86.4%). This is one of the lower-scoring Arona years after correcting for vehicle age — inspect the individual car carefully.

81.5%Pass rate, 2018 cars

95.1Age-adjusted index (100 = average)

35,598Tests analysed

38,960 miMedian mileage at test

81.9% / 79.8%Petrol vs diesel pass rate

Is the 2018 Arona getting worse?

Pass rate of 2018-registered cars across recent test years:

Test year	Pass rate
2023	84.6% -3.5 vs same-age
2024	80.8% -5.4 vs same-age
2025	78.9% -5.8 vs same-age

The raw rate normally falls as cars age. The “vs same-age” figure compares this cohort with all UK cars registered in the same year, so normal ageing is not mistaken for a bad model year.

What fails on a 2018 Arona

#	System	Defects recorded	Share
1	Steering	3,880	32.8%
2	Tyres	2,909	24.6%
3	Brakes	2,694	22.7%
4	Visibility	614	5.2%
5	Suspension	584	4.9%
6	Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	506	4.3%

All Arona years compared

Registration year	Tests	Pass rate	Vs same-age	Median mileage
2017	1,850	73.9%	-10.1 pts	42,654
2018 (this page)	35,598	81.5%	-4.9 pts	38,960
2019	43,448	88.1%	-0.2 pts	31,778
2020	31,053	90.3%	+0.3 pts	24,968
2021	5,485	91.5%	+1.1 pts	24,757
2022	1,547	93.0%	+1.7 pts	22,217

Weighing up which year to buy? See the full ranking: SEAT Arona years to avoid.

Buying a 2018 Arona? Two checks first

Free MOT history checkThe exact car’s failures, advisories and mileage trail — sellers can’t edit it
Topdon OBD2 scannersTopdon diagnostic scanners with full-system readouts
XTOOL diagnostic toolsXTOOL code readers for petrol and diesel cars
Autel UK testersAutel professional-grade diagnostic testers

FAQs

Is a 2018 SEAT Arona reliable?

2018-registered examples passed 81.5% of their MOT tests (35,598 tests, 2023–2025), -4.9 points versus all UK cars registered in the same year. At roughly 8 years old with a median 38,960 miles, condition now varies car by car — always check the individual MOT history.

What mileage is too high for a 2018 Arona?

The median tested example shows 38,960 miles. Anything far beyond that isn't automatically bad — a motorway-mile car with consistent service records often beats a low-mileage school-run car — but price accordingly and scrutinise the mileage trail for gaps or drops.

Source: DVSA Anonymised MOT tests and results, 2023–2025 extracts (96 million Class 4 initial tests; retests excluded). Only vehicles old enough for a routine first MOT are included. Age-adjusted figures compare the model-year cohort with all vehicles of the same registration year tested in the same calendar year. Contains public sector information licensed under OGL v3.0.