Volkswagen Polo 2012: MOT failure rate for its age

33.5% of 227,326 MOT tests of the Volkswagen Polo first registered in 2012 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 101.5 (95% CI 100.7–102.2; 100 = normal for this model at that age): close to other build years of the same model at the same age (within 5 points of normal).

Volkswagen Polo built in 2012 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	33.5	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	227326
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 100.7–102.2)	101.5	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	227326
Rank among this model's 23 build years	14	of 23	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	227326
Tested in 2024	37566	tests	median 76,183 miles	2024	37566

Built 2012 against Volkswagen Polo normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 7: 29.3% vs 26.8%; age 8: 30.8% vs 28.6%; age 9: 33% vs 32.2%; age 10: 33.8% vs 34.2%; age 11: 36.5% vs 37.2%; age 12: 38% vs 39.6%. Axis from 0% to 40%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2012 Volkswagen Polo by registration · All Volkswagen Polo MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2012 Volkswagen Polo fail at each age?

Cars built in 2012 were tested at ages 7 to 12 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

Volkswagen Polo built 2012: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
7	39,238	29.3	28.9–29.8	26.8	109.3
8	37,409	30.8	30.3–31.2	28.6	107.4
9	37,745	33	32.5–33.5	32.2	102.5
10	37,651	33.8	33.3–34.2	34.2	98.8
11	37,717	36.5	36–37	37.2	98.2
12	37,566	38	37.5–38.5	39.6	96.1

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 227,326 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2012 Volkswagen Polo?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2012 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 21.6 items per 100 first tests, against 23.4 across all build years of the Volkswagen Polo. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2012 were tested at ages 7 to 12.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Volkswagen Polo built 2012 against the Volkswagen Polo in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2012, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	21.6	23.4	49,155
Brakes	14.6	14.5	33,278
Suspension	13.4	16.8	30,445
Tyres	8.5	8.7	19,319
Visibility	7.8	9.1	17,640

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 227,326 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2012 compare with the years around it?

Among the 23 published build years of the Volkswagen Polo, 2012 ranks 14 (1 = fails least for its age). 2011: index 103.6. 2013: index 105.2.

Volkswagen Polo build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1998	84.4	80.2–88.6	better (rough estimate)	3,619
1999	80.5	77.8–83.2	better	8,328
2000	92.1	90.5–93.8	better	24,300
2001	94.2	92.9–95.6	better	39,343
2002	103.3	102.2–104.4	worse	66,893
2003	102.4	101.6–103.3	worse	104,930
2004	103.0	102.2–103.8	worse	120,028
2005	103.6	102.9–104.4	worse	132,675
2006	100.9	100.2–101.7	worse	153,443
2007	98.1	97.4–98.8	better	165,482
2008	101.1	100.4–101.8	worse	171,619
2009	100.3	99.5–101.1	no different	152,172
2010	100.1	99.5–100.8	no different	237,487
2011	103.6	103.0–104.3	worse	245,780
2012	101.5	100.7–102.2	worse	227,326
2013	105.2	104.4–105.9	worse	233,977
2014	102.8	102.0–103.5	worse	266,904
2015	91.6	90.9–92.3	better	310,372
2016	91.0	90.2–91.7	better	312,007
2017	96.0	95.0–96.9	better	242,165
2018	103.7	102.5–104.9	worse	175,177
2019	105.7	104.1–107.4	worse	110,664
2020	98.2	94.8–101.7	no different	27,786

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 3,532,477 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). Volkswagen Polo 2012 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/volkswagen-polo/2012/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

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