Small cars with the highest MOT pass rates

Small cars and superminis ranked by MOT pass rate. A high pass rate means fewer testable defects at inspection — useful if you're comparing used cars.

#	Model	Tests	Pass rate	Avg mileage
1	Honda Jazz Crosstar Ex I-Mmd Cvt	9,373	97.6%	17,523
2	Toyota Yaris Design Hev Cvt	23,668	96.7%	20,331
3	Honda Jazz Ex I-Mmd Cvt	11,122	96.5%	16,750
4	Toyota Yaris Icon Hev Cvt	10,988	95.3%	22,515
5	Ford Fiesta St-Line Edition T Mhev	13,366	93.8%	24,955
6	Fiat Swift	9,575	93.8%	17,168
7	Volkswagen Polo Match Tsi	23,546	93.4%	25,288
8	Skoda Karoq	70,498	92.8%	36,246
9	Fiat 500 Lounge Mhev	10,583	92.5%	20,359
10	Ford Fiesta St-Line Edition Turbo	18,357	92.4%	27,607
11	Volkswagen Polo Match Evo	12,465	92%	26,098
12	Suzuki Celerio	37,628	91%	39,778
13	Vauxhall Corsa Se	24,151	90.3%	26,929
14	Vauxhall Corsa Elite Nav Premium Turbo	14,765	90%	29,170
15	Vauxhall Corsa Sri Premium Turbo	12,771	89.5%	29,747
16	Renault Clio Iconic Tce	14,614	89.4%	27,066
17	Vauxhall Corsa Sri Turbo	10,136	89.3%	29,662
18	Peugeot 108	101,586	87.9%	39,739
19	Volkswagen Up	165,665	87.1%	49,592
20	Renault Kadjar	111,078	85.7%	51,463
21	Skoda Superb	93,726	84.7%	98,201
22	Fiat 500X	52,357	84%	53,567
23	Toyota Aygo	270,900	83.8%	54,810
24	Hyundai I10	267,082	82.9%	49,618
25	Toyota Yaris	653,262	82.7%	68,760
26	Honda Jazz	334,395	82.7%	66,170
27	Hyundai I20	174,648	82.4%	62,215
28	Abarth 500	10,182	82.1%	70,222
29	Suzuki Swift	155,462	81.8%	67,320
30	Vauxhall Adam	103,994	81.5%	52,821

What does MOT pass rate actually tell you?

The MOT tests a specific list of items: brakes, lights, suspension, tyres, emissions, steering, seatbelts, bodywork corrosion, and exhaust. A high pass rate means fewer of these testable defects were found across all vehicles of that model in 2024.

It's not a complete measure of reliability. The MOT doesn't test the engine internals, gearbox, electrics, air conditioning, infotainment, or anything that causes breakdowns but isn't safety-critical. A car can be mechanically unreliable and still pass its MOT.

Pass rates are also influenced by owner behaviour — luxury cars tend to be better maintained, and some owners get a pre-MOT check. Newer model years naturally score higher because they've had less time to wear.

That said, MOT data is one of the few large-scale, objective datasets available for comparing vehicles. If a model consistently fails for suspension or brakes, that's a real signal about component quality — and a real cost if you're buying used.