Which cars fail their MOT more than their age predicts?
Every failure rate below is computed from 25,722,361 official DVSA initial tests across these 56 families (calendar 2024; national class-4 total: 52.2M) and standardised for fleet age. 100 = expected for the fleet's age profile; below 100 is better, above is worse. No opinions, no surveys — test outcomes only.
How to read the index: 100 = normal for the car's age · 118 ≈ 18% worse than normal · 76 ≈ 24% better. Why can a car with FEW raw failures rank badly? New cars are supposed to fail rarely — a young fleet failing "only" 14% can still be far worse than normal for its age.
worst 20 · most reliable 10 · electric vs petrol · brand comparison · A–Z directory · national statistics + CSV ·full methodology · release dvsa-2024-v1, initial tests only
| # | Family | Index | % failing (raw) | Age curve | Tests 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Land Rover Range Rover Sport | 60.3 | 14.99% | 303,232 | ||
| 2 | Land Rover Range Rover Evoque | 67.2 | 14.39% | 352,325 | ||
| 3 | Audi A5 | 71.5 | 18.06% | 241,015 | ||
| 4 | Audi Q3 | 72.8 | 14.57% | 226,174 | ||
| 5 | BMW 3 Series | 75.6 | 24.75% | 675,043 | ||
| 6 | Mercedes E Class | 75.8 | 19.86% | 419,012 | ||
| 7 | Toyota Prius | 79.4 | 19.52% | 260,089 | ||
| 8 | Volkswagen Tiguan | 79.8 | 15.81% | 397,745 | ||
| 9 | Audi A3 | 82.1 | 23.11% | 654,933 | ||
| 10 | Honda CR-V | 82.4 | 24.21% | 304,832 | ||
| 11 | Mercedes C Class | 83.6 | 22.55% | 646,907 | ||
| 12 | Land Rover Defender | 84.4 | 27.19% | 222,177 | ||
| 13 | Audi A4 | 84.6 | 25.09% | 406,182 | ||
| 14 | Honda e | 84.6 | 9.48% | 2,699 | ||
| 15 | Honda Jazz | 85.0 | 26.6% | 440,547 | ||
| 16 | Volkswagen Golf | 85.1 | 24.94% | 1,323,641 | ||
| 17 | MINI Hatch | 85.5 | 23.43% | 1,011,919 | ||
| 18 | Audi A1 | 91.3 | 20.41% | 386,496 | ||
| 19 | Ford Kuga | 91.3 | 20.4% | 396,566 | ||
| 20 | Mercedes A Class | 91.3 | 18.83% | 585,107 | ||
| 21 | Seat Leon | 92.0 | 21.49% | 296,118 | ||
| 22 | Skoda Octavia | 93.6 | 23.39% | 292,141 | ||
| 23 | Toyota Aygo | 94.9 | 23.89% | 359,723 | ||
| 24 | Volkswagen Passat | 95.1 | 27.82% | 277,719 | ||
| 25 | Toyota Yaris | 95.6 | 26.89% | 629,646 | ||
| 26 | Mitsubishi Outlander | 100.5·d | 21.3% | 120,823 | ||
| 27 | Honda Civic | 100.7 | 32.3% | 411,763 | ||
| 28 | Ford Mondeo | 102.5 | 32.49% | 284,784 | ||
| 29 | Citroen C1 | 102.9 | 30.21% | 230,618 | ||
| 30 | Hyundai i10 | 103.6 | 26.95% | 328,314 | ||
| 31 | Skoda Fabia | 105.7 | 29.3% | 323,883 | ||
| 32 | Volkswagen Transporter | 106.4 | 30.46% | 503,457 | ||
| 33 | Ford Focus | 106.9 | 31.02% | 1,348,944 | ||
| 34 | Kia Sportage | 107.8 | 22.55% | 396,816 | ||
| 35 | Volkswagen Caddy | 108.0 | 29.15% | 231,167 | ||
| 36 | Vauxhall Astra | 109.1 | 33.71% | 914,157 | ||
| 37 | Nissan Leaf | 109.2 | 17.69% | 70,882 | ||
| 38 | Ford Ka | 109.5 | 33.29% | 253,099 | ||
| 39 | Kia Picanto | 111.0 | 28.14% | 262,067 | ||
| 40 | Vauxhall Insignia | 111.3 | 30.4% | 300,589 | ||
| 41 | Nissan Micra | 112.5 | 36.12% | 342,234 | ||
| 42 | Volkswagen Polo | 114.8 | 32.68% | 895,817 | ||
| 43 | Fiat 500 | 116.2 | 31.68% | 477,588 | ||
| 44 | Ford Fiesta | 117.8 | 34.33% | 1,959,383 | ||
| 45 | Vauxhall Zafira | 118.6 | 38.47% | 281,888 | ||
| 46 | Nissan Qashqai | 122.9 | 30.07% | 800,602 | ||
| 47 | Tesla Model 3 | 122.9 | 14.03% | 116,025 | ||
| 48 | Vauxhall Corsa | 123.5 | 36.66% | 1,191,943 | ||
| 49 | Seat Ibiza | 124.2 | 32.1% | 296,654 | ||
| 50 | Nissan Juke | 124.7 | 28.37% | 460,457 | ||
| 51 | Peugeot 208 | 126.7 | 27.87% | 295,225 | ||
| 52 | Vauxhall Mokka | 133.5 | 27.34% | 332,738 | ||
| 53 | Renault Clio | 141.5 | 41.43% | 473,424 | ||
| 54 | DS 3 | 150.2 | 40.69% | 158,830 | ||
| 55 | Vauxhall Vivaro | 156.4 | 41.93% | 275,396 | ||
| 56 | Citroen Berlingo | 157.7 | 39.91% | 270,806 |
·d = directional: 95% CI includes 100, colour verdict withheld. Bars scaled to the worst index.
Highest age-adjusted risk in this set: Citroen Berlingo (index 157.7); lowest: Land Rover Range Rover Sport (index 60.3). A low raw failure rate can still mean a high index when the fleet is young — see Tesla Model 3.