Ford Focus vs Vauxhall Astra
Take the Ford Focus for lower age-adjusted MOT risk: its index is 106.9 versus 109.1 for the Vauxhall Astra, and the 95% confidence intervals do not overlap.
Lower is better. The index adjusts for each fleet's exact age profile; the raw failure rate below does not. The index gap is 2.2 points. Data release dvsa-2024-v1.
Side-by-side evidence
| Measure | Ford Focus | Vauxhall Astra |
|---|---|---|
| Age-adjusted MOT Risk Index | 106.9 (106.6–107.1) | 109.1 (108.8–109.4) |
| Raw initial failure rate | 31.02% | 33.71% |
| Dangerous defects per 100 tests | 16.34 | 16.98 |
| Initial tests | 1,348,944 | 914,157 |
Where their MOT failures diverge
These are component groups present in both models' published top-six failure lists, sorted by the absolute gap. A positive difference means the Ford Focus records more failure items; a negative one means the Vauxhall Astra does.
| Component group | Ford Focus | Vauxhall Astra | Difference | Lower rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 11.4 | 20.9 | -9.5 pp | Ford Focus |
| Visibility | 10.2 | 13.1 | -2.9 pp | Ford Focus |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 27.0 | 29.9 | -2.9 pp | Ford Focus |
| Suspension | 22.2 | 24.1 | -1.9 pp | Ford Focus |
| Tyres | 13.2 | 13.0 | +0.2 pp | Vauxhall Astra |
Counts are defect items, not the share of cars: one failed test can contain several items. A group absent from a model's top six is not treated as zero.
What the six-year test history says
The longitudinal layer follows the same vehicles between MOTs from 2019 to 2024. It separates a one-day retest from the harder question of what returns next year, and puts failures against miles actually driven.
| Component | Ford Focus | Vauxhall Astra | Difference | Tracked advisories |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 22.2% | 30.3% | -8.0 pp | 120,360 / 78,690 |
| Brakes | 11.1% | 15.4% | -4.4 pp | 796,115 / 855,827 |
| Steering | 13.7% | 10.0% | +3.7 pp | 52,139 / 54,668 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 7.0% | 3.4% | +3.6 pp | 24,220 / 17,849 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 6.6% | 9.0% | -2.5 pp | 199,788 / 339,325 |
| Suspension | 22.5% | 24.4% | -1.9 pp | 828,358 / 487,109 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 14.0% | 12.5% | +1.5 pp | 193,075 / 201,169 |
| Visibility | 11.6% | 10.2% | +1.3 pp | 6,158 / 3,735 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 3.7% | 4.0% | -0.4 pp | 151,256 / 114,542 |
| Road wheels | 1.1% | 1.0% | +0.1 pp | 50,379 / 14,732 |
| Measure | Ford Focus | Vauxhall Astra |
|---|---|---|
| Repaired and passed the same day | 46.3% | 46.0% |
| Passed 1–10 days later | 51.2% | 51.4% |
| Median retest delay | 1.0 days | 1.0 days |
| Failures per 10,000 miles | 0.515 | 0.545 |
| Three-test clean streak | 33.2% | 28.0% |
| Same advisory repeated 3+ times | 34.6% | 38.3% |
Care proxy is descriptive, not a claim about an owner's character: a clean streak means three or more consecutive tests with nothing recorded; the repeat measure means the same advisory appeared at least three times.
Safety recalls
| Model | Campaigns listed | Per 10,000 licensed |
|---|---|---|
| Ford Focus | 96 | 1.12 |
| Vauxhall Astra | 37 | 0.70 |
More campaigns do not by themselves mean a less reliable car: recalls are manufacturer remedies, and the licensed-fleet denominator is unavailable for some families. Check a registration for outstanding work before buying.
Do other countries see the same thing?
Both models appear in the same independent national inspection datasets below. Compare each model with that country's own average; absolute pass rates are not portable between rulebooks.
| Country / test | Model | Model fails | National average | Position | Inspections |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finland · Katsastus | Ford Focus | 28.1% | 26.3% | +1.8 pp | 44,138 |
| Finland · Katsastus | Vauxhall Astra | 27.8% | 26.3% | +1.5 pp | 27,136 |
| Netherlands · APK | Ford Focus | 51.3% | 50.9% | +0.4 pp | 97,021 |
| Netherlands · APK | Vauxhall Astra | 53.0% | 50.9% | +2.1 pp | 69,587 |
Sources are the national PKK, Katsastus and APK datasets recorded in each family artifact. Position is model failure rate minus that country's national rate.
Quick answers
- Is the Ford Focus or the Vauxhall Astra more reliable?
- The Ford Focus has the stronger age-adjusted MOT result: index 106.9 against 109.1 for the Vauxhall Astra, with non-overlapping 95% confidence intervals.
- Does the Ford Focus or the Vauxhall Astra fail more MOTs?
- 31.02% of Ford Focus initial tests and 33.71% of Vauxhall Astra initial tests found a failing defect in 2024. The lower raw rate belongs to the Ford Focus, but the age-adjusted index is the fairer model comparison because the fleets can be different ages.
- What are the main MOT problem areas on the Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra?
- The leading published failure group for the Ford Focus is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 27.0 items per 100 tests; for the Vauxhall Astra it is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment at 29.9 per 100.
- Should I buy a Ford Focus or a Vauxhall Astra?
- If MOT reliability is the deciding factor, the Ford Focus is the evidence-led choice. Still check the individual car's MOT history and condition: these figures describe whole model populations, not a particular vehicle.
Model pages and nearby comparisons
See the Ford Focus and Mercedes A Class comparisonSee the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf comparisonSee the Ford Focus and Honda Civic comparison
Browse all car reliability comparisons.
How to read and cite this comparison
Scope: class-4 vehicles, initial tests only, Great Britain 2024. PRS fixed-on-the-spot results count as failures because a defect was present on arrival. Index = observed initial failures ÷ age-profile-expected failures × 100; intervals are 95% confidence intervals. Every model family combines all generations and engines. Full method: methodology.
Cite: MOT Risk Index (2026). Ford Focus vs Vauxhall Astra: MOT reliability comparison, 2024 (dvsa-2024-v1). https://motriskindex.co.uk/compare/ford-focus-vs-vauxhall-astra/