MOT pass rates: how likely is your car to fail?
Every MOT in Britain goes into an official DVSA dataset. We aggregated 32.8 million tests into searchable pass rates by make and model — so you know your odds before the bay.
71.4%
National initial pass rate (2023)
32.8m
Tests analysed
341
Models with 10,000+ tests
What the data says
- • Nissan Primastar is Britain’s most-failed car — just 47.1% pass first time — close to a coin flip.
- • Lexus RX is the most dependable at the test: 92.7% pass first time.
- • Nationally, first-time pass rates improved from 67.8% in 2019 to 71.4% in 2023.
Pass rates by model
| # | Vehicle | Tests | Pass rate | vs national | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nissan Primastar | 10,216 | 47.1% | -24.3pp | |
| 2 | Peugeot 307 | 39,054 | 48.3% | -23.1pp | |
| 3 | Chevrolet Aveo | 10,048 | 49.6% | -21.8pp | |
| 4 | Citroen Xsara | 34,417 | 50% | -21.4pp | |
| 5 | Renault Modus | 13,988 | 50.3% | -21.1pp | |
| 6 | Peugeot 207 | 157,922 | 50.7% | -20.7pp | |
| 7 | Chevrolet Matiz | 12,059 | 51.4% | -20pp | |
| 8 | Ford Focus C-Max | 18,497 | 51.6% | -19.8pp | |
| 9 | Citroen C2 | 13,851 | 51.7% | -19.7pp | |
| 10 | Peugeot 206 | 58,174 | 52.2% | -19.2pp | |
| 11 | Volkswagen Fox | 28,376 | 52.5% | -18.9pp | |
| 12 | Mazda 5 | 12,352 | 52.8% | -18.6pp | |
| 13 | Citroen Ds3 | 74,763 | 52.9% | -18.5pp | |
| 14 | Renault Laguna | 11,559 | 53.5% | -17.9pp | |
| 15 | Renault Kangoo | 58,125 | 53.6% | -17.8pp | |
| 16 | Peugeot 407 | 11,583 | 53.6% | -17.8pp | |
| 17 | Renault Grand Scenic | 24,477 | 54% | -17.4pp | |
| 18 | Hyundai Getz | 22,897 | 54.1% | -17.3pp | |
| 19 | Renault Megane | 116,345 | 54.3% | -17.1pp | |
| 20 | Vauxhall Vectra | 38,787 | 54.3% | -17.1pp | |
| 21 | Volvo V50 | 33,777 | 54.8% | -16.6pp | |
| 22 | Vauxhall Vivaro | 169,593 | 55.2% | -16.2pp | |
| 23 | Chevrolet Spark | 15,777 | 55.4% | -16pp | |
| 24 | Mitsubishi Colt | 25,578 | 55.4% | -16pp | |
| 25 | Mitsubishi L200 Double Cab | 11,513 | 55.5% | -15.9pp | |
| 26 | Renault Clio | 326,522 | 55.6% | -15.8pp | |
| 27 | Fiat Punto | 68,369 | 55.8% | -15.6pp | |
| 28 | Nissan Almera | 18,132 | 55.9% | -15.5pp | |
| 29 | Renault Scenic | 43,178 | 56.1% | -15.3pp | |
| 30 | Renault Trafic | 103,017 | 56.5% | -14.9pp | |
| 31 | Volvo S40 | 21,057 | 56.8% | -14.6pp | |
| 32 | Peugeot Bipper | 22,033 | 57.1% | -14.3pp | |
| 33 | Citroen Nemo | 15,495 | 57.2% | -14.2pp | |
| 34 | Nissan Nv200 | 26,151 | 57.3% | -14.1pp | |
| 35 | Citroen Dispatch | 44,025 | 57.3% | -14.1pp | |
| 36 | Citroen Ds4 | 10,616 | 57.3% | -14.1pp | |
| 37 | Vauxhall Antara | 22,418 | 57.3% | -14.1pp | |
| 38 | Jaguar X-Type | 30,274 | 57.5% | -13.9pp | |
| 39 | Citroen Berlingo | 183,661 | 58% | -13.4pp | |
| 40 | Vauxhall Combo | 100,486 | 58.4% | -13pp | |
| 41 | Volkswagen Beetle | 48,471 | 58.7% | -12.7pp | |
| 42 | Seat Altea | 15,344 | 58.8% | -12.6pp | |
| 43 | Volvo C30 | 24,498 | 59.1% | -12.3pp | |
| 44 | Ford Fusion | 58,495 | 59.6% | -11.8pp | |
| 45 | Citroen C4 | 140,205 | 60.3% | -11.1pp | |
| 46 | Vauxhall Zafira | 227,468 | 61% | -10.4pp | |
| 47 | Honda Accord | 30,244 | 61% | -10.4pp | |
| 48 | Toyota Celica | 10,862 | 61.2% | -10.2pp | |
| 49 | Alfa Romeo Mito | 20,732 | 61.8% | -9.6pp | |
| 50 | Mercedes-Benz Clk | 32,371 | 61.9% | -9.5pp | |
| 51 | Mercedes-Benz Citan | 18,667 | 62.1% | -9.3pp | |
| 52 | Saab 9-3 | 42,953 | 62.1% | -9.3pp | |
| 53 | Peugeot Partner | 151,649 | 62.2% | -9.2pp | |
| 54 | Mini Mini | 287,825 | 62.4% | -9pp | |
| 55 | Vauxhall Meriva | 101,057 | 62.4% | -9pp | |
| 56 | Vauxhall Agila | 37,699 | 62.4% | -9pp | |
| 57 | Vauxhall Corsa | 883,423 | 62.5% | -8.9pp | |
| 58 | Ford Transit | 315,398 | 62.5% | -8.9pp | |
| 59 | Peugeot Expert | 49,646 | 62.5% | -8.9pp | |
| 60 | Suzuki Grand Vitara | 24,255 | 62.7% | -8.7pp |
Pass rates by make
Chevrolet
54.7%
Renault
61.8%
Saab
62.6%
Citroen
63.1%
Vauxhall
65.4%
Peugeot
66%
Alfa Romeo
67.3%
Fiat
68.2%
Ford
68.5%
Nissan
68.6%
Mitsubishi
71.3%
Volkswagen
71.9%
Mazda
71.9%
Dacia
72%
Honda
72.1%
Smart (Mcc)
72.5%
Suzuki
73%
Volvo
73%
Subaru
73.2%
Hyundai
73.3%
Seat
73.7%
Toyota
73.8%
Kia
73.9%
Jeep
74.5%
Mini
76.1%
Land Rover
76.4%
Skoda
76.7%
Mercedes-Benz
76.8%
Mg
77.7%
Audi
77.8%
Jaguar
78.1%
Bmw
78.3%
Lexus
83.1%
Porsche
86.4%
How we built this
Figures are initial-test pass rates (normal tests only, before retests) from the DVSA’s anonymised MOT results for 2023, published under the Open Government Licence. Models need at least 10,000 tests to appear, so rates are statistically solid. This is the most recent year DfT has published at record level; the page updates automatically when a newer release lands. Pass rates reflect vehicle age and maintenance as well as design — an older fleet lowers a model’s rate. Buying? Cross-check a model’s reliability here against its real-world crash outcome grade. Journalists and researchers are welcome to reuse this data with a link.
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