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Most Reliable Used Cars in the UK (2026)

The short answer: across 3.46 million DVSA MOT tests, the average UK car passes first time 77.3% of the time. Of the 40 models tracked here, the BMW 5 Series has the strongest record once age is accounted for — 82.6% first-time, +6.8 points better than cars of the same age. The Renault Clio has the weakest at 62.7%, -11.8 points behind its peers.

Most “most reliable car” lists are built on owner surveys, which measure how people feel about their car. This one is built on the MOT: a legally required, independently administered roadworthiness test that every UK car over three years old has to take. It is the closest thing Britain has to a universal reliability measurement, and DVSA publishes the results.

Why we age-match every figure

A raw pass rate mostly tells you how old a model’s fleet is. Old cars fail more, whatever the badge. Quote a raw number against the national average and you will systematically flatter new models and punish long-lived ones.

The clearest example in this dataset: the Tesla Model 3 and the Hyundai Tucson both pass first time 85.3% of the time. Against the national average of 77.3%, both look strong. But cars as young as the Model 3 pass 89.5% of the time, so it is actually 4.2 points behind its peers — while the Tucson is bang on average for its age. Same headline number, opposite verdict.

MOT first-time pass rates, 40 UK models

Ranked by performance against cars of the same age. Tap a model for its common faults and its best and worst years to buy.

BMW 5 Series82.6%75.9%+6.818,835
Audi A683.1%76.6%+6.512,504
Honda CR-V80.7%74.1%+6.520,016
BMW 3 Series79.1%73.5%+5.642,657
MINI Cooper F5687.2%81.9%+5.343,577
Toyota RAV482.6%77.7%+4.913,901
Toyota Corolla84.6%80.5%+4.013,129
Toyota Yaris79.5%75.7%+3.849,396
Audi A380.1%76.4%+3.743,706
Volkswagen Golf79.2%75.6%+3.690,866
Skoda Karoq91.3%87.9%+3.46,182
Mercedes-Benz E-Class80.2%77%+3.223,913
Toyota C-HR90.6%87.3%+3.210,473
Mercedes-Benz C-Class78.6%76%+2.637,418
Skoda Octavia80.5%78.1%+2.420,737
Audi A477.3%75%+2.324,990
Volkswagen Passat77%74.8%+2.217,732
Ford Kuga83.4%81.2%+2.232,869
Volkswagen Tiguan83.7%81.6%+2.126,428
Land Rover Discovery Sport84.5%83.4%+1.112,812
SEAT Leon80.1%79.1%+1.019,349
Mercedes-Benz A-Class81.8%81.2%+0.638,379
Mazda CX-583.2%82.7%+0.57,514
Hyundai Tucson85.3%85.2%0.017,402
Ford Focus74.7%74.8%-0.193,066
Skoda Fabia75.6%75.8%-0.224,057
Vauxhall Astra72.5%73.4%-0.962,313
Kia Sportage80.5%81.7%-1.332,024
Ford Fiesta72.3%74.9%-2.6143,495
Volkswagen Polo72.7%75.8%-3.066,500
Kia Ceed74.1%77.7%-3.613,872
Hyundai i3071.2%75%-3.810,713
Peugeot 20876%79.9%-3.923,233
Tesla Model 385.3%89.5%-4.27,790
Dacia Duster79.2%83.8%-4.78,350
Vauxhall Corsa71%76%-5.094,401
Nissan Qashqai73.5%78.6%-5.262,848
Peugeot 300875.5%80.7%-5.215,081
Nissan Juke73.7%78.9%-5.234,271
Renault Clio62.7%74.5%-11.832,125

What the table does not tell you

A strong pass rate means a model tends to arrive at the test in good shape. It does not mean the car is cheap. The BMW 5 Series tops this table and is not inexpensive to service, and vehicle tax depends on CO2 and the date of first registration rather than on how well a car is built. Reliability is one input into running costs, not a substitute for working them out.

Individual cars also vary far more than models do. A well-maintained example of a mid-table car will out-live a neglected example of the one at the top, which is why the per-model guides linked above list the specific faults to check and the years worth avoiding.

How we measured it

  • Source: DVSA MOT Anonymised Data 2025 (Open Government Licence v3.0).
  • Metric: first-time pass rate — class 4 (car) tests of type NT, a vehicle’s normal annual test. A pass, or a pass with rectification at test, counts as a first-time pass.
  • Retests excluded. Including them would let a car that failed be recorded as passing.
  • Age-matched: each model is compared against all cars sharing its registration-year mix, not against the all-ages average.
  • Floor: models with fewer than 2,000 tests are not published, rather than quoted from a thin sample.
  • National baseline: 77.3% across 3,459,000 tests.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Which used cars are the most reliable in the UK?
Measured by DVSA MOT first-time pass rate and compared against cars of the same age, the BMW 5 Series leads the 40 models we track at 82.6%, which is 6.8 points better than the same-age average. The Audi A6 and Honda CR-V follow at 6.5 points above. On raw pass rate alone the Skoda Karoq is highest at 91.3%, but that is partly because it is a young model and young cars fail less.
What is a good MOT pass rate?
The national first-time pass rate is 77.3% across 3.46 million class 4 tests. But age matters more than badge: a 2008 car and a 2022 car have completely different odds, so a single national figure is a poor benchmark for any specific car. Compare a model against cars of its own age instead.
Why do you age-match the pass rates?
Because a raw pass rate mostly measures how old a model’s fleet is. The clearest example in our data: the Tesla Model 3 and the Hyundai Tucson both pass first time 85.3% of the time. Against the all-ages national average both look strong. But the Tucson is exactly average for its age, while cars as young as the Model 3 pass 89.5% of the time — so the Model 3 is actually 4.2 points behind its peers. Identical headline number, opposite verdict.
Which used cars fail their MOT most often?
Of the 40 models we track, the Renault Clio has the weakest record at 62.7% first-time pass, 11.8 points below cars of the same age — by some distance the largest shortfall in the data. The Nissan Qashqai, Nissan Juke and Peugeot 3008 each sit around 5 points below their age group.
Does a high MOT pass rate mean a car is cheap to run?
Not necessarily. The MOT tests roadworthiness, not running costs. A car can pass reliably and still be expensive on tax, fuel, insurance or parts. Vehicle tax depends on CO2 and the date of first registration, and premium models often cost more to service even when they pass first time — the BMW 5 Series tops this table and is not a cheap car to own.
Where does this data come from?
DVSA anonymised MOT test results, published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. We count class 4 (car) tests of type NT — a vehicle’s normal annual test — and treat a pass or a pass with rectification at test as a first-time pass. Retests are excluded, because counting them would let a car that failed be recorded as passing. Models below 2,000 tests are not published at all rather than quoted from a thin sample.