Which cars fail their MOT more than their age predicts?
Every failure rate below is computed from 16,110,187 official DVSA initial tests across these 25 families (calendar 2024; national class-4 total: 52.2M) and standardised for fleet age. 100 = expected for the fleet's age profile; below 100 is better, above is worse. No opinions, no surveys — test outcomes only.
RELEASE dvsa-2024-v1 · initial tests only (fail = defect found at first examination, incl. rectified-at-station) · CI-gated colour verdicts · full methodology · A–Z directory · national statistics + CSV
| # | Family | Index | Initial-fail | Tests 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BMW 3 Series | 75.6 | 24.75% | 675,043 | |
| 2 | Audi A3 | 82.1 | 23.11% | 654,933 | |
| 3 | Mercedes C Class | 83.6 | 22.55% | 646,907 | |
| 4 | Audi A4 | 84.6 | 25.09% | 406,182 | |
| 5 | Honda E | 84.6 | 9.48% | 2,699 | |
| 6 | Honda Jazz | 85 | 26.6% | 440,547 | |
| 7 | Volkswagen Golf | 85.1 | 24.94% | 1,323,641 | |
| 8 | MINI Hatch | 85.5 | 23.43% | 1,011,919 | |
| 9 | Ford Kuga | 91.3 | 20.4% | 396,566 | |
| 10 | Mercedes A Class | 91.3 | 18.83% | 585,107 | |
| 11 | Toyota Yaris | 95.6 | 26.89% | 629,646 | |
| 12 | Mitsubishi Outlander | 100.5·d | 21.3% | 120,823 | |
| 13 | Honda Civic | 100.7 | 32.3% | 411,763 | |
| 14 | Ford Focus | 106.9 | 31.02% | 1,348,944 | |
| 15 | Kia Sportage | 107.8 | 22.55% | 396,816 | |
| 16 | Vauxhall Astra | 109.1 | 33.71% | 914,157 | |
| 17 | Nissan Leaf | 109.2 | 17.69% | 70,882 | |
| 18 | Volkswagen Polo | 114.8 | 32.68% | 895,817 | |
| 19 | Fiat 500 | 116.2 | 31.68% | 477,588 | |
| 20 | Ford Fiesta | 117.8 | 34.33% | 1,959,383 | |
| 21 | Nissan Qashqai | 122.9 | 30.07% | 800,602 | |
| 22 | Tesla Model 3 | 122.9 | 14.03% | 116,025 | |
| 23 | Vauxhall Corsa | 123.5 | 36.66% | 1,191,943 | |
| 24 | Renault Clio | 141.5 | 41.43% | 473,424 | |
| 25 | DS 3 | 150.2 | 40.69% | 158,830 |
·d = directional: 95% CI includes 100, colour verdict withheld. Bars scaled to the worst index.
Highest age-adjusted risk in this set: DS 3 (index 150.2); lowest: BMW 3 Series (index 75.6). A low raw failure rate can still mean a high index when the fleet is young — see Tesla Model 3.