British Built Cars Have the Highest MOT Pass Rates

French and German built cars have lowest pass rates

May 6, 2014: An analysis of 24.5 million MoT records obtained by consumer motoring champion, HonestJohn.co.uk today reveals that British-built cars have the highest first time MoT pass rates in the country.

British manufacturers Land Rover and Jaguar, and Japanese-owned brands Toyota and Honda dominate the top ten manufacturers league table with four of their models - all manufactured in the UK - appearing in the list of cars with the highest first time MoT pass rates.

Honda is the top manufacturer with 87 per cent of its cars passing their first MoT – the highest in the country. The British-built Honda Jazz and CR-V are the best performing models, both reporting an above average pass rate of 90 per cent.

Both the Honda Jazz and the Toyota Yaris were also revealed as the best used cars for under £4000. The Honda Jazz had a 84 per cent pass rate, while the Toyota Yaris scored 81 per cent.

Land Rover, the fourth best manufacturer with an 85 per cent pass rate, reports a 89 per cent pass rate for its Land Rover Freelander.

French and German cars dominate the bottom 10 list. Citroen is bottom of the league table with a 75 per cent pass rate and the worst performing car in the country. Its Grand C4 Picasso has the lowest first MoT pass rate at 63 per cent and its C3 Picasso was also in the bottom ten with a 77 per cent pass rate.

Chevrolet and Fiat were the second worst manufacturers at 77 per cent, followed closely by Renault at 78 per cent.

Volkswagen has three entries in the bottom ten with its Touran and Passat reporting a 76 per cent pass rate, and its Polo, one of the best selling cars in 2010, only achieving a 78 per cent pass rate. Other models in the bottom ten list include the Ford Galaxy, SEAT Ibiza, Renault Megane, and the Peugeot 308 – all reporting a 77 percent pass rate.

More than half of cars (53 per cent) failed on lighting, with headlamp aim being the most common fail point (17 per cent). Suspension was the second most common fail criteria, followed by brakes (21 per cent), driver’s view of the road (20 per cent) and Tyre tread depth (14 per cent).

Keith Adams, Assistant Editor of HonestJohn.co.uk, commented:“The fact that British-built cars have scored so well in the MoT test results should come as no surprise whatsoever, even if it is great news. Thanks to a combination of some of the most advanced, productive and well-run factories in the world, the cars now being built here are world-leading in terms of build quality and reliability.”