Model Reports 5 min read Updated 18 Oct 2026

Land Rover Range Rover Evoque 2012: reliability & common MOT faults

In 2025, 73 in every 100 first MOTs on a 2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque were passes. Most common reason for a fail: Coil spring (front).

Summary

The 2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque follows the pattern of the model years either side.

At a glance

How 12,374 first tests went in 2025.

Passed first time
73 in every 100
Did not pass first time
27 in every 1003,390 failed first-attempt tests
The typical car
13 yearsabout 105,582 miles
First tests counted
12,374

What failed most often

  1. Coil spring (front)13 in every 100 failed tests
  2. Brake pads (rear)11 in every 100 failed tests
  3. Drive shaft joints and boots (front)11 in every 100 failed tests

How we count this. Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Only Class 4 cars on their first MOT of the year are counted. A car that fails and is fixed at the test station still counts as a fail in the first-attempt rate. These are raw results, not adjusted for age, mileage, or peer mix. The MOT does not test engine or gearbox internals.

Note:

These are patterns across 2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. A wear pattern follows age and use more than the way the car was built. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.

Suspension

One fault: anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear), 11 times as often as on similar cars.

Figures below are measured across the 3,386 of 3,390 failed first attempts (99.9%) that recorded an odometer reading in 2025. Mileage is needed to compare like with like.

We only list faults with at least 20 failures and a rate of about 2.0 times that of similar cars, which keeps one-off results out of the list.

Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear)

Failed on 202 first tests11 times as often as similar carsStrong evidence

What it means

Excessive wear on an anti-roll bar linkage ball joint is Major. A joint likely to become detached is graded Dangerous.

Also noted as an advisory

Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 161 first tests, 5.4 times as often as on similar cars.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.

Brakes

One wear pattern: brake pads (rear), 3.0 times as often as on similar cars.

Brake pads (rear)

Failed on 369 first tests3.0 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

A pad worn down to its wear indicator, or contaminated with oil or grease, is Major. A pad worn below the set thickness limit, missing or incorrectly mounted is Dangerous. The manual treats an illuminated brake wear indicator as no reason for failure, although DVSA also lists an illuminated indicator as a Major row.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Road wheels

One fault: wheel fixings (front), 2.8 times as often as on similar cars.

Wheel fixings (front)

Failed on 84 first tests2.8 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

Wheel nuts, bolts and studs are the fixings that attach the road wheel. A wheel with a loose or missing wheel nut, bolt or stud is Major. If more than one is loose or missing, it is graded Dangerous.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Lamps and electrical

One fault and one wear pattern. The strongest is the headlight aim not tested (front): 2.6 times as often as on similar cars.

Headlight aim not tested (front)

Failed on 56 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsWear pattern

What it means

Headlamp aim recorded as not tested, or unable to be tested, is a Major failure. These results must only be used where it becomes apparent during the test that the item cannot be tested, and this could not have been identified before starting. The reason must be included in the additional information box.

Headlight

Failed on 282 first tests2.1 times as often as similar carsPossible evidence

What it means

On vehicles first used on or after a set date, a halogen headlamp unit converted to take HID or LED bulbs fails for light source and lamp not compatible, which is Major. A complete unit built with those light sources is not failed for that. The precise position of the lamps is not part of the inspection beyond a visual look to see that they sit at about the same height and distance from each side.

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

Advisories

Other things testers noted as worn or close to failing, more often than on similar cars.

An advisory is a note from the tester about something that has not failed yet. It is an early warning, not a fail. Advisories for the faults above are shown with those faults.

Macpherson strut (rear)

Noted on 28 first tests31 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Transmission oil leaks (rear)

Noted on 20 first tests5.2 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Anti-roll bar ball joint (rear)

Noted on 22 first tests3.8 times as often as similar carsLikely evidence

Suspension sub-frame

Noted on 22 first tests2.6 times as often as similar carsElevated evidence

Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Counts cover advisories recorded on failed first tests only, compared with cars of the same age and mileage.

MOT pass rates

How first tests ended, and how the pass rates are counted.

Passed first time
73in every 100
Passed on the first test.
Fixed at the station
4in every 100
Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
Failed
23in every 100
Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.

First-attempt pass 72.6% of 12,374 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 76.6%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 4 fixed and the 23 not fixed make the 27 in every 100 that did not pass first time.

Petrol and diesel

First testsTypical mileagePassed first time, as tested
Diesel11,997106,302 miles72
Petrol37782,354 miles82

Figures are in every 100 first tests.

Same model, other years

Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.

406080100201220152020Newer cars
40608010020122020Newer cars

Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb. A year earlier (2024), when these cars were a year younger, 74 in every 100 passed first time.

YearPassed first timeFirst tests
201172 in every 1003,573
2012 This car73 in every 10012,374
201374 in every 10011,949
201478 in every 10015,152
201580 in every 10017,721
201683 in every 10023,035
201784 in every 10021,170
201884 in every 10015,566
201984 in every 10021,023
202086 in every 10016,697
202189 in every 10013,038
202290 in every 10010,433

If you are buying one

What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.

Mileage matters most on a 2012 Range Rover Evoque.

Of 2012 Range Rover Evoque vehicles with under 81,000 miles, 80 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 133,000 miles or more, 67 in every 100 did.

Under 81,0002,533 tests
80
81,000–98,0002,411 tests
75
98,000–113,000 Typical car2,420 tests
73
113,000–133,0002,538 tests
69
133,000 and over2,467 tests
67

What to check at your mileage

How often each fault turned up on a failed first test, by the car's mileage. Read it as: what is likely to need looking at on a car like the one in front of you.

Under 81,00098,000–113,000133,000 and over
Coil spring (front)2.23.84.4
Brake pads (rear)2.02.94.2
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)1.13.34.1
Headlight1.22.03.3
Tyre condition (front)2.52.22.2

Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.

When a car fails

42in every 100

of failed cars had one item to fix.

30in every 100

of failed cars had three or more items to fix.

8in every 100

of all first tests had a defect the tester marked dangerous (unsafe to drive away).

Every figure here is a first-attempt MOT rate from DVSA open data for this model line, for cars of this model year tested in 2025. Each mileage band holds a fifth of the tests. MOTs do not test engine or gearbox internals, so this is a pre-purchase checklist, not a full reliability score.

FAQs

Short answers about how to read this model-year guide.

The 2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque follows the pattern of the model years either side. Its main cause of failure was Coil spring (front), about 13 in every 100 failed tests. In 2025, 72.6% of 12,374 first MOTs on the 2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque passed first time (PRS: items fixed at the station the same day, counted as a fail). The official-style rate including PRS is 76.6%. Among 3,390 failed first-attempt MOT tests (test year 2025), Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear) appears more often than on similar cars (6.0% of those tests; 202 observed failures; about 11× more often than similar cars). There is no single reliability score here; this is a pre-purchase checklist built from DVSA open data, not a guarantee for any individual car.
Ranked by how often they were actually recorded, the items that most often failed a 2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque at the first attempt were Coil spring (front) (13.0%), Brake pads (rear) (10.9%) and Drive shaft joints and boots (front) (10.9%), each as a share of the year's failed first attempts. That is what goes wrong most often on the car. The common faults table shows a different measure: faults that are unusual compared with similar cars.
Among failed first-attempt tests we highlight patterns that appear more often than on similar cars. Top example: Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear) (6.0% of those tests; 202 observed failures; about 11× more often than similar cars). These are statistical signals, not a diagnosis of any individual car.
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear) shows up more often than on similar cars (6.0% of those tests; 202 observed failures; about 11× more often than similar cars). That does not prove a design fault. Age, mileage, and how the car was used still matter. Treat it as a pre-purchase checkpoint, not a manufacturer service bulletin.
Common MOT problem areas for the 2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque include Anti-roll bar linkage ball joints (rear), Wheel fixings (front), Headlight. These are the faults that stand out compared with similar cars, not a complete list of what can go wrong on any individual car.
Advisories flag issues noted at the test and are not a fail rate. We show advisory patterns that appear more often than on similar cars among failed first-attempt tests, separate from common failure rows. Use them as early-warning checks, not as a pass/fail score.
This page highlights MOT failure patterns for the 2012 Land Rover Range Rover Evoque (registration year) using UK DVSA open data for the selected test year. Patterns are compared with cars of a similar age and mileage. It is a buyer checklist from MOT defect statistics, not a full service history or manufacturer service-bulletin list.
No. MOT tests do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronic modules. Patterns here come from MOT defect statistics only and should not be read as engine or gearbox reliability scores.

About this data

How this page is built and what it can (and can't) say.

These figures come from UK MOT open data for this model year. We surface common failure patterns against similar cars, not a full reliability score, and not a pass/fail verdict on any individual vehicle.

2024 2025

What we include

UK Class 4 cars only. Normal MOT tests (not retests); first test per vehicle per calendar year; results pass, PRS, or fail.

Same-day repairs

PRS means the car failed items that were fixed at the test station and then passed the same day. We count PRS as a first-attempt fail in headline rates so same-day repairs do not hide problems.

How we compare

We compare this model year with other Class 4 cars of similar age and mileage in the same test year. This model family is left out of the peer group so the car is not measured against itself.

What this does not cover

  • MOTs do not cover engine internals, gearboxes, or many electronics; this is not a full reliability score.
  • Common faults come from MOT defect stats, not manufacturer TSBs or recalls.
  • Age and mileage matching reduces, but does not remove, differences in how cars were used and maintained.
  • If the data for a car is too thin to say anything useful, we say so rather than guess.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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