VehicleScore research
MOT pass rates by popular car model
After the age mix of their tests is standardised, the Audi A3’s MOT pass rate in this dataset is 80.8% and the Vauxhall Vivaro’s is 69.6%. The overall pass rate, with no age adjustment, is 78.5% across 14,163,118 tests.
An MOT pass rate is not a reliability score. It ignores faults that never reach a test, repairs done the week before, and anything the tester cannot see. Vans in this table are used differently from hatchbacks. Age standardisation removes one confounder. It leaves mileage, commercial use, maintenance and driver behaviour untouched.
Age-standardised MOT pass rate
Models with large samples and full age coverage. Ordered here by vehicles, not by the pass rate. Crude rate is the unadjusted pass rate for that model’s tests.
| Model | Vehicles | Tests | Crude pass rate | Age-standardised |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Fiesta | 41,472 | 575,403 | 75.7% | 75.8% |
| Volkswagen Golf | 37,266 | 464,328 | 79.9% | 80.4% |
| Ford Focus | 29,583 | 387,883 | 78.3% | 78.2% |
| Volkswagen Polo | 24,452 | 335,341 | 75.3% | 75.7% |
| Vauxhall Corsa | 28,700 | 384,385 | 74.0% | 73.8% |
| Audi A3 | 19,187 | 217,260 | 81.3% | 80.8% |
| Toyota Yaris | 17,387 | 248,760 | 78.6% | 79.6% |
| Nissan Qashqai | 16,046 | 175,682 | 77.1% | 75.5% |
| Honda Civic | 15,289 | 240,613 | 77.7% | 79.2% |
| Ford Transit | 10,893 | 144,186 | 72.1% | 72.1% |
| Fiat 500 | 10,795 | 140,915 | 74.5% | 74.1% |
| Renault Clio | 10,552 | 155,871 | 71.5% | 72.0% |
| Vauxhall Vivaro | 4,001 | 49,252 | 70.1% | 69.6% |
Age adjustment moves some models and barely touches others
The Volkswagen Golf’s crude pass rate is 79.9%. Standardised, it is 80.4%. The Golf’s tests are a little older than the dataset mix, so the raw figure was slightly harsh. The Honda Civic moves from 77.7% to 79.2%. The Toyota Yaris moves from 78.6% to 79.6%.
The Nissan Qashqai moves the other way, from 77.1% to 75.5%. Its raw rate was helped by younger tests. Once age is held to the dataset mix, the Qashqai sits further below the overall 78.5%. The age-by-age figures, and the track-rod comments that show up from ages 9–11, are on the Qashqai page.
The Ford Fiesta barely moves: 75.7% crude, 75.8% standardised, on 41,472 vehicles. The Renault Clio goes from 71.5% to 72.0%. Neither adjustment turns the pass rate into a verdict on the car. The Fiesta’s ball-joint comments and the Clio’s coil-spring comments are separate findings.
The Transit and the Vivaro are not in the same job as a Fiesta
The Ford Transit’s age-standardised pass rate is 72.1% on 10,893 vehicles. The Vauxhall Vivaro’s is 69.6% on 4,001 vehicles. Both are light commercial vehicles in a table of cars. Their mileage, loading and daily use are not the same as a supermini’s, and this standardisation does not adjust for that. Putting them at the bottom of a “least reliable” list would report the body style as if it were a quality score.
We have not ranked a best car or a worst car. The chart is ordered by the standardised rate so the spread is visible. The table is ordered by sample size so a small gap is not mistaken for a league position. Several of these models have their own comment-level pages, which are the more useful document if you are about to buy one: Fiesta, Golf, Focus, Corsa, Polo, Fiat 500.
Pass rate is the model. The MOT is the car.
A model rate is thousands of tests. The car on the forecourt has its own history. Enter the registration to open it.
Related VehicleScore research
Methodology
Snapshot 27 September 2026, job 2026-09-27.1. The crude rate is passes divided by pass/fail tests for vehicles whose model resolved in VehicleScore’s naming list. 80,944 vehicles did not resolve and are absent from model rows. They remain in the overall rate.
Age standardisation reweights each model’s age-band pass rates to the age mix of tests in the whole dataset. A band is left out of a model’s standardised rate if that model has fewer than 50 tests in the band. Every model in this table kept all of its age weight: coverage is 1. The Peugeot 208’s standardised rate is 77.0% with coverage of 87.7%, so it is discussed on the 208 page rather than dropped into this comparison.
The comparison does not adjust for mileage or use. It is not a buying list. VehicleScore’s sample is vehicles checked through the service.