Volkswagen up! or Kia Picanto III: which has fewer APK problems?

At 9–10 years (mostly built 2015–2017) 5.0% of inspected Volkswagen up!s had at least one A-problem, against 5.8% for the Kia Picanto III and 4.7% nationally. The difference is small: the confidence intervals overlap, so at this age they are close. Over all ages together the Volkswagen up! has an A-problem 6% less often than average, the Kia Picanto III 20% more often.

Window: Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 · Updated: 16 Oct 2026

At this age the up! has fewer A-problems.

Also check the weak spots and the history of the specific car.

ModelModel years

Volkswagen up!

2011 – 2025

Illustration Volkswagen up!

Kia Picanto III

2017 – 2026

Illustration Kia Picanto III
AA-problemsDefects at the APK

5.0%

n = 21,685 · 95% CI 4.7 – 5.3%

5.8%

n = 903 · 95% CI 4.4 – 7.5%

All defectsAll kinds of APK defects

32.0%

n = 21,685 · 95% CI 31.4 – 32.6%

29.1%

n = 903 · 95% CI 26.3 – 32.2%

Three points to checkMost common defects at the APK
  1. 1Brakes
  2. 2Seat belts, seats and airbags
  3. 3Exhaust and emissions
  1. 1Brakes
  2. 2Seat belts, seats and airbags
  3. 3Control arms / ball joints
Next stepSee the details or open the checklist.
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View model Open checklist

A-problems side by side

Percentages with 95% confidence intervals.

02468101214161820 A-problems (%) National: 4.7% · n = 877,805 · 95% CI 4.6 – 4.7% Volkswagen up!2011 – 2025 5.0% (n = 21,685 · 95% CI 4.7 – 5.3%) Kia Picanto III2017 – 2026 5.8% (n = 903 · 95% CI 4.4 – 7.5%)

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More comparisons

Source: RDW Open Data (CC0), analysis CarXray.nl. 6,857,004 inspected passenger cars aged 3 years and older, Oct 2025 – Sep 2026. Each car counts once. How we know