Volkswagen Up: the report card
What 32.8 million MOT tests and five years of police collision records say about the Volkswagen Up — reliability at the test bay and what happens to the people inside when things go wrong.
The short answer
The Volkswagen Up is more reliable than average at the MOT (81.5% first-time pass) and carries a Band C real-world safety grade.
81.5%
MOT first-time pass rate (119,985 tests)
+10.1pp
vs the national average of 71.4%
C
Real-world outcome band (14.75% serious-outcome share)
Top 56%
Safer occupant outcomes than 44% of graded models
Volkswagen Up MOT pass rate by year
Takeaway: the Volkswagen Up’s pass rate has declined over the period (best year 2019 at 84.6%). A solid record — but condition beats statistics: service history still matters more than the model average.
First-time pass rate among class 4 normal tests. National average 71.4% (2023).
Reading the Volkswagen Up’s numbers
The Volkswagen Up passes its MOT first time more often than the average UK car — 81.5% against 71.4% nationally, across 119,985 real tests. 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 Volkswagen Up carries a Band C real-world outcome grade: of the 834 people injured while travelling in one over five years of police records, 14.75% were killed or seriously injured — a better outcome share than 44% 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.
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.
Our pick · best £-for-risk
Faraday key box / pouch
Keyless 'relay' theft is the fastest-growing way cars are stolen — thieves amplify your fob's signal from outside the house. A signal-blocking box kills it dead.
from ~£10 · Full guide →
Steering wheel lock
A visible deterrent that works: thieves at a car park choose the car without one. Sold Secure Diamond-rated bars resist attack for minutes thieves don't have.
~£40–£70 · Full guide →
Dashcam (parking mode)
Evidence for theft attempts, vandalism and car-park hits while parked — and after a collision, footage that turns a 50/50 liability dispute into a clear non-fault claim.
~£50–£150 · Full guide →
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