Honda Civic: the report card
What 32.8 million MOT tests and five years of police collision records say about the Honda Civic — reliability at the test bay and what happens to the people inside when things go wrong.
The short answer
The Honda Civic is below average at the MOT (67% first-time pass) and carries a Band D real-world safety grade.
67%
MOT first-time pass rate (293,959 tests)
-4.4pp
vs the national average of 71.4%
D
Real-world outcome band (16.43% serious-outcome share)
Top 79%
Safer occupant outcomes than 21% of graded models
Honda Civic MOT pass rate by year
Takeaway: the Honda Civic’s pass rate has improved over the period (best year 2022 at 67.1%). Buying used? Budget for pre-MOT checks — brakes, suspension and tyres are the usual culprits.
First-time pass rate among class 4 normal tests. National average 71.4% (2023).
Reading the Honda Civic’s numbers
The Honda Civic fails its MOT first time more often than the average UK car — 67% pass against 71.4% nationally, across 293,959 real tests. Budget for pre-MOT checks, particularly on older examples. Pass rates reflect the age and upkeep of the cars tested as well as the design — an older fleet drags a model’s rate down.
On safety, the Honda Civic carries a Band D real-world outcome grade: of the 3,098 people injured while travelling in one over five years of police records, 16.43% were killed or seriously injured — a better outcome share than 21% of the 129 models we grade. This is a real-world measure shaped by who drives the car and where, not a crash-test score — check its Euro NCAP rating alongside.
Full methodology, source files and downloadable data: how we build these numbers. Compare every model on the MOT pass-rate table and the safety grades table.
Other Honda models
Keep this car on your driveway
If it has keyless entry, it can be relay-stolen from your hallway in under a minute — and dashcam footage settles the liability disputes that cost owners their excess. Each guide explains the exact problem it solves.
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Steering wheel lock
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Dashcam (parking mode)
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