This is Britain's reliability table with no survey, no panel and no sponsor: every completed MOT on cars aged 3 to 8 across three years, 104,386,556 tests in all. The pattern is hard to argue with: Japanese and Korean brands and recent compact SUVs crowd the top, while the bottom of the table belongs to ageing superminis. Two versions follow: the raw pass rates, and a fairer version adjusted for how hard each model is actually driven.
Adjusted for how hard they're driven
Raw pass rates flatter cars that barely leave the garage. This version scores every model against cars doing similar annual miles: points above or below what's expected for the workload. It's how a taxi-fleet workhorse like the Prius gets the credit the raw table denies it.
Points above the expected pass rate for cars of the same age and annual mileage. Minimum 60,000 tests.
The top ten, examined
1 · Audi Q2
90.3%90.3% of its 141,217 tests ended in a first-time pass. Its 8,627-mile years flatter it a little, but it stays 5.8 points clear of similar-workload cars. When examiners do flag one, it's most often tyres, the great equaliser.
2 · Audi TT
89%89% of its 108,873 tests ended in a first-time pass. Adjust for workload and it still stands 9.6 points above expectation, so this is engineering, not just easy lives. When examiners do flag one, it's most often tyres, the great equaliser.
3 · Honda HR-V
89%89% of its 79,496 tests ended in a first-time pass. Its 7,715-mile years flatter it a little, but it stays 7.3 points clear of similar-workload cars. When examiners do flag one, it's most often tyres, the great equaliser.
4 · Honda JAZZ
89.2%89.2% of its 312,227 tests ended in a first-time pass. Its 5,630-mile years flatter it a little, but it stays 5.2 points clear of similar-workload cars. When examiners do flag one, it's most often brakes.
5 · Lexus NX
90.4%90.4% of its 61,702 tests ended in a first-time pass. Adjust for workload and it still stands 8.3 points above expectation, so this is engineering, not just easy lives. When examiners do flag one, it's most often tyres, the great equaliser.
6 · Mazda MX-5
89.8%89.8% of its 63,733 tests ended in a first-time pass. Its 5,070-mile years flatter it a little, but it stays 5.2 points clear of similar-workload cars. When examiners do flag one, it's most often suspension.
7 · Porsche MACAN
91.5%91.5% of its 68,245 tests ended in a first-time pass. Adjust for workload and it still stands 10.1 points above expectation, so this is engineering, not just easy lives. When examiners do flag one, it's most often tyres, the great equaliser.
8 · Skoda KAROQ
90.1%90.1% of its 92,304 tests ended in a first-time pass. Worth knowing: at 9,257 gentle miles a year, much of this score is light use. Adjusted for workload it drops to +3.9. When examiners do flag one, it's most often tyres, the great equaliser.
9 · Volkswagen T-ROC
90.5%90.5% of its 121,388 tests ended in a first-time pass. Its 8,907-mile years flatter it a little, but it stays 4.3 points clear of similar-workload cars. When examiners do flag one, it's most often tyres, the great equaliser.
10 · Volvo XC40
89.9%89.9% of its 87,805 tests ended in a first-time pass. Worth knowing: at 9,534 gentle miles a year, much of this score is light use. Adjusted for workload it drops to +2.9. When examiners do flag one, it's most often tyres, the great equaliser.
The brand table
Roll every eligible model up to its badge and the brand hierarchy is stark. Honda leads outright; the German premium marques hold the upper middle; the volume French brands prop up the table. Brands need at least three qualifying models to appear.
The story the adjustment tells
Raw pass rates reward garage queens. Score each model against cars doing similar annual miles and the workhorses get their due: the Toyota Prius, largely Britain's minicab fleet at 19,456 miles a year, jumps to +8.7 points above expectation, one of the strongest results in the country despite a modest 85% raw rate. Top of the adjusted table: Porsche MACAN, +10.1 points above what its workload predicts. No other UK reliability ranking corrects for this.
Quick answers
What is the most reliable car in the UK?
By first-time MOT pass rate at 3 to 8 years old, across 104,386,556 tests from 2022 to 2024, the top of the table is shown above, with every qualifying model needing at least 60,000 tests. Adjust for how hard cars are driven and the order changes: hard-working models like the Toyota Prius climb sharply.
Is MOT pass rate the same as reliability?
No, and we say so plainly: pass rate measures roadworthiness (brakes, tyres, suspension, lights, emissions), not breakdowns or warranty claims. A car can be tiresome to own and still pass MOTs. It is, however, the only reliability measure built from every car in the country rather than a survey sample.
Why do expensive cars score so well?
Partly the engineering, partly the pampering: low annual mileage, garaging and dealer servicing flatter a pass rate. That is exactly why we publish the mileage-adjusted version alongside the raw one, scoring each model against cars doing similar annual miles.
Where does this data come from?
The DVSA's published record of every MOT test in Britain. We reconcile our totals against the DVSA's own statistics to within 0.03%, and the full method is on our how-it-works page.