We ranked 36 car brands by how often their cars passed the MOT first time, compared with the average car of the same age and mileage. Lexus came first: its cars passed 9.9 percentage points more often than the average car. Next were Porsche and Honda.
Every car of each brand registered 2014 to 2021, not only the models with pages here. The gap is how many percentage points more (+) or less (−) often the brand's cars passed first time than the average car of the same age and mileage.
| Brand | Model pages | MOTs | Passed first time | Average car, same age and mileage | Gap (points) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Lexus | – | 95,210 | 89.4% | 79.5% | +9.9 | |
| 2Porsche | – | 89,055 | 91.2% | 81.4% | +9.8 | |
| 3Honda | CR-V, Jazz, Civic | 353,525 | 85.6% | 79.3% | +6.3 | |
| 4BMW | 1 Series, X1, X3, 3 Series, 5 Series | 1,124,037 | 83.9% | 77.8% | +6.1 | |
| 5Audi | A1, A3, Q3, Q5, A4 | 1,057,864 | 83.2% | 77.7% | +5.5 | |
| 6Land Rover | Evoque, Discovery Sport, Velar, Range Rover Sport, Range Rover, Discovery, Defender | 518,534 | 83.0% | 77.8% | +5.2 | |
| 7Jaguar | F-Pace, E-Pace, I-Pace, XE, XF | 213,904 | 84.3% | 79.3% | +5.0 | |
| 8MINI | Countryman, MINI | 462,596 | 84.8% | 80.2% | +4.6 | |
| 9Subaru | – | 21,608 | 82.4% | 78.1% | +4.3 | |
| 10Toyota | RAV4, C-HR, Aygo, Yaris, Corolla, Auris | 884,757 | 82.8% | 79.4% | +3.4 | |
| 11Volvo | XC40, XC60, XC90 | 354,338 | 81.5% | 78.3% | +3.3 | |
| 12Mercedes-Benz | A-Class, GLA, C-Class, E-Class | 1,106,751 | 81.2% | 78.0% | +3.2 | |
| 13Volkswagen | Tiguan, T-Roc, up!, Polo, Golf, Passat | 1,660,256 | 80.9% | 78.0% | +2.9 | |
| 14Skoda | Karoq, Kodiaq, Fabia, Octavia, Superb | 527,068 | 80.9% | 78.3% | +2.6 | |
| 15Mitsubishi | – | 167,951 | 79.0% | 76.7% | +2.2 | |
| 16Mazda | CX-5, Mazda 2, MX-5 | 280,793 | 80.6% | 79.0% | +1.6 | |
| 17Suzuki | Vitara, Swift | 249,972 | 81.2% | 80.1% | +1.1 | |
| 18Hyundai | Tucson, i10, i20, i30 | 582,450 | 79.8% | 79.5% | +0.3 | |
| 19Tesla | Model Y, Model 3 | 84,635 | 83.2% | 82.9% | +0.3 | |
| 20Kia | Sportage, Niro, Picanto, Ceed | 662,345 | 79.8% | 79.8% | +0.0 | |
| 21SEAT | Ateca, Ibiza, Leon | 389,938 | 78.5% | 79.0% | −0.5 | |
| 22Alfa Romeo | – | 28,892 | 76.2% | 77.4% | −1.2 | |
| 23Ford | Kuga, Puma, EcoSport, Fiesta, Focus, S-Max, Galaxy, Transit Custom | 2,427,804 | 75.3% | 77.6% | −2.2 | |
| 24Abarth | – | 23,856 | 79.4% | 82.2% | −2.7 | |
| 25Jeep | – | 52,495 | 74.9% | 77.8% | −3.0 | |
| 26Nissan | Qashqai, X-Trail, Juke, Micra, Leaf | 949,580 | 74.6% | 77.9% | −3.3 | |
| 27Smart | – | 45,366 | 76.7% | 80.8% | −4.1 | |
| 28MG | MG HS, MG ZS, MG4 | 83,420 | 80.0% | 84.7% | −4.7 | |
| 29Peugeot | Peugeot 3008, Peugeot 2008, Peugeot 208, Peugeot 308 | 769,122 | 73.1% | 78.4% | −5.3 | |
| 30Vauxhall | Grandland, Mokka, Corsa, Astra, Insignia | 1,565,137 | 70.9% | 77.3% | −6.4 | |
| 31Fiat | Fiat 500 | 404,314 | 73.0% | 79.4% | −6.4 | |
| 32Citroen | C3 | 532,905 | 69.2% | 77.5% | −8.3 | |
| 33Renault | Kadjar, Captur, Clio | 538,542 | 69.1% | 78.0% | −8.9 | |
| 34DS | – | 43,473 | 67.2% | 78.5% | −11.4 | |
| 35SsangYong | – | 21,852 | 67.2% | 78.6% | −11.4 | |
| 36Dacia | Duster, Sandero | 176,985 | 68.2% | 79.6% | −11.4 |
Going by 2025 MOT results, Lexus: its cars registered 2014 to 2021 passed first time 89.4%, against 79.5% for the average car of the same age and mileage. Porsche and Honda came next.
Going by 2025 MOT results, Dacia (−11.4 points), SsangYong (−11.4) and DS (−11.4), each against the average car of the same age and mileage.
By how often each brand's cars passed their MOT first time in 2025, compared with the average car of the same registration year and mileage. Every car DVSA records under the brand counts, if it was registered 2014 to 2021. Brands with fewer than 20,000 MOTs from those years aren't ranked. The MOT checks roadworthiness on the day of the test, so breakdowns and repair costs aren't included.
Choosing between two? Head-to-head comparisons of popular rivals.
How we measure: what counts as an MOT, how each car is compared with the average car of the same age and mileage, and what MOT data can't tell you.