The most and least reliable cars at their MOT
We ranked every popular car in Britain by how often it passes its MOT first time, using all 33,144,039 car and light van tests in 2025. Across all of them, 72% passed first time. Because every car fails more often as it ages, each table compares cars of the same age only, so a model is not flattered by being new.
How MOT pass rates fall with age
First-time pass rate for all cars and light vans, by how old they were at the test.
At their first MOT, 3 years old
Cars first registered in 2022, tested at about 3 years old. The average for this age was 88.7%. Only models with at least 3,000 tests at this age are ranked.
Highest first-time pass rate
| # | Model | Passed first time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lexus NX3,221 tests | 95.5% |
| 2 | Honda HR-V6,345 tests | 95.3% |
| 3 | Lexus UX3,560 tests | 94.7% |
| 4 | Toyota RAV410,281 tests | 94.4% |
| 5 | Toyota Aygo13,613 tests | 94.1% |
| 6 | Honda Jazz10,693 tests | 94.0% |
| 7 | Porsche Macan4,749 tests | 93.7% |
| 8 | Honda CR-V5,176 tests | 93.3% |
| 9 | Audi Q212,193 tests | 93.2% |
| 10 | Suzuki Swift4,027 tests | 93.0% |
Lowest first-time pass rate
| # | Model | Passed first time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hyundai i108,723 tests | 83.9% |
| 2 | Citroën C45,246 tests | 83.9% |
| 3 | Hyundai i207,631 tests | 84.9% |
| 4 | BMW X57,804 tests | 85.0% |
| 5 | MG 34,268 tests | 85.2% |
| 6 | Peugeot 50083,580 tests | 85.2% |
| 7 | Land Rover Discovery7,374 tests | 85.3% |
| 8 | Tesla Model 313,409 tests | 85.3% |
| 9 | MG ZS18,801 tests | 85.3% |
| 10 | MG HS5,704 tests | 85.3% |
At 5 years old
Cars first registered in 2020, tested at about 5 years old. The average for this age was 85.9%. Only models with at least 3,000 tests at this age are ranked.
Highest first-time pass rate
| # | Model | Passed first time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Porsche Macan3,633 tests | 92.7% |
| 2 | Lexus UX3,828 tests | 92.4% |
| 3 | Honda CR-V5,543 tests | 92.0% |
| 4 | Lexus NX3,976 tests | 91.5% |
| 5 | Honda Jazz10,689 tests | 91.5% |
| 6 | Jaguar I-Pace8,040 tests | 91.3% |
| 7 | Toyota RAV411,638 tests | 91.2% |
| 8 | Honda HR-V3,703 tests | 91.2% |
| 9 | Audi Q312,593 tests | 91.1% |
| 10 | Suzuki Ignis3,415 tests | 91.0% |
Lowest first-time pass rate
| # | Model | Passed first time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dacia Duster8,304 tests | 73.7% |
| 2 | Dacia Sandero9,048 tests | 78.8% |
| 3 | Peugeot 20813,261 tests | 81.0% |
| 4 | Peugeot 50084,686 tests | 81.1% |
| 5 | MG ZS12,474 tests | 81.1% |
| 6 | Renault Kadjar7,968 tests | 81.6% |
| 7 | Nissan Micra6,183 tests | 82.0% |
| 8 | Citroën C55,207 tests | 82.2% |
| 9 | Ford EcoSport8,859 tests | 82.6% |
| 10 | Tesla Model 310,945 tests | 83.2% |
At 10 years old
Cars first registered in 2015, tested at about 10 years old. The average for this age was 71.8%. Only models with at least 3,000 tests at this age are ranked.
Highest first-time pass rate
| # | Model | Passed first time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lexus NX3,089 tests | 85.7% |
| 2 | Porsche Macan3,638 tests | 84.9% |
| 3 | Audi TT8,560 tests | 84.9% |
| 4 | BMW X56,729 tests | 84.7% |
| 5 | Honda Jazz17,745 tests | 83.6% |
| 6 | BMW 5 Series16,555 tests | 83.5% |
| 7 | Audi Q73,152 tests | 83.2% |
| 8 | Lexus CT3,470 tests | 82.9% |
| 9 | Honda CR-V14,240 tests | 82.8% |
| 10 | Audi A611,023 tests | 82.1% |
Lowest first-time pass rate
| # | Model | Passed first time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Citroën DS38,273 tests | 55.5% |
| 2 | Renault Clio23,929 tests | 55.6% |
| 3 | Dacia Sandero14,206 tests | 55.8% |
| 4 | DS DS36,307 tests | 56.6% |
| 5 | Renault Megane6,254 tests | 57.3% |
| 6 | Dacia Duster5,661 tests | 60.8% |
| 7 | Citroën C426,885 tests | 61.0% |
| 8 | Renault Scenic3,013 tests | 62.6% |
| 9 | Vauxhall Mokka42,358 tests | 62.7% |
| 10 | Jeep Renegade5,838 tests | 63.0% |
Car makes ranked at 5 years old
Every car from each make first registered in 2020, tested at about five years old, for makes with at least 10,000 such tests. Comparing at one age stops a brand that sells mostly new cars from looking better than it is.
| # | Make | Tests | Passed first time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Porsche | 10,417 | 92.6% |
| 2 | Lexus | 12,182 | 92.1% |
| 3 | Honda | 26,269 | 90.6% |
| 4 | Suzuki | 18,268 | 89.7% |
| 5 | Audi | 99,451 | 89.4% |
| 6 | Volvo | 44,784 | 89.0% |
| 7 | Jaguar | 24,590 | 88.9% |
| 8 | Volkswagen | 134,440 | 88.9% |
| 9 | Mazda | 22,380 | 88.8% |
| 10 | Mini | 45,413 | 88.4% |
| 11 | BMW | 81,579 | 88.2% |
| 12 | Toyota | 96,136 | 88.1% |
| 13 | Mercedes-Benz | 79,921 | 87.7% |
| 14 | Skoda | 56,089 | 86.8% |
| 15 | Ford | 143,262 | 86.2% |
| 16 | Hyundai | 45,672 | 86.1% |
| 17 | Nissan | 69,428 | 86.0% |
| 18 | SEAT | 42,846 | 85.9% |
| 19 | Land Rover | 49,256 | 85.9% |
| 20 | Kia | 68,949 | 85.5% |
| 21 | Vauxhall | 89,320 | 85.3% |
| 22 | Citroën | 25,174 | 85.1% |
| 23 | Fiat | 19,140 | 84.7% |
| 24 | Renault | 39,548 | 84.4% |
| 25 | Peugeot | 51,470 | 84.1% |
| 26 | Tesla | 13,334 | 82.6% |
| 27 | MG | 18,029 | 82.0% |
| 28 | Dacia | 18,173 | 76.6% |
Vans at 5 years old
Vans and van-based people carriers work harder than most cars, so we rank them separately. Models with at least 1,000 tests at about five years old.
Highest first-time pass rate
| # | Model | Passed first time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fiat Ducato2,044 tests | 88.1% |
| 2 | Mercedes-Benz Sprinter1,027 tests | 85.5% |
| 3 | Volkswagen Amarok1,562 tests | 84.8% |
| 4 | Mitsubishi L2004,630 tests | 84.4% |
| 5 | Peugeot Expert3,639 tests | 84.0% |
| 6 | Peugeot Boxer1,662 tests | 83.5% |
| 7 | Volkswagen Caddy6,540 tests | 81.1% |
| 8 | Volkswagen Transporter14,603 tests | 80.3% |
| 9 | Toyota Hilux4,907 tests | 80.2% |
| 10 | Peugeot Rifter2,556 tests | 79.7% |
Lowest first-time pass rate
| # | Model | Passed first time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercedes-Benz Citan1,325 tests | 69.5% |
| 2 | Nissan e-NV2002,155 tests | 69.6% |
| 3 | Fiat Doblo1,208 tests | 69.6% |
| 4 | Renault Kangoo2,026 tests | 70.2% |
| 5 | Ford Transit Courier3,337 tests | 73.7% |
| 6 | Citroën Berlingo12,292 tests | 73.8% |
| 7 | Ford Transit Connect11,005 tests | 73.9% |
| 8 | Vauxhall Combo13,556 tests | 74.5% |
| 9 | Mercedes-Benz Vito4,314 tests | 75.1% |
| 10 | Vauxhall Vivaro9,911 tests | 75.2% |
How we worked this out
The figures come from the Department for Transport's anonymised MOT tests and results for 2025: every normal MOT test on a car or light van (test class 4) in Great Britain. Retests and abandoned tests are left out.
A first-time pass is a test the car passed without any repair. A car fixed at the test station and passed the same day counts as a fail here, because it did not pass as it arrived.
Age is the test year minus the year the car was first registered. Model names are grouped as the DVSA records them, with trim names merged, so a Ford Focus Zetec and a Ford Focus Titanium count as one Focus. Motorhomes are left out.
Pass rates reflect how cars are used as well as how they are built. Low-mileage sports cars, such as the Porsche 911, often do well partly because they cover fewer miles.
Use these figures
Journalists and researchers are welcome to quote or reproduce these tables. Please credit Direct Car Check and link to this page. The full data for every model and age is free to download.
Source: Direct Car Check analysis of Department for Transport MOT data, 2025. https://directcarcheck.co.uk/mot-reliability/most-reliable-cars
Download every model and age (CSV)Check a particular car
League tables tell you how a model does on average. To see one car's own MOT history, mileage and tax, enter its registration.