At a glance
How 19,945 first tests went in 2025.
- Passed first time
- 51 in every 100
- Did not pass first time
- 49 in every 1009,808 failed first-attempt tests
- The typical car
- 18 yearsabout 94,845 miles
- First tests counted
- 19,945
What failed most often
- Drive shaft joints and boots (front)18 in every 100 failed tests
- Individual sidelight or tail light (front)11 in every 100 failed tests
- Petrol emissions (with catalyst)10 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.
These are patterns across 2007 Volkswagen Polo vehicles in 2025, not a prediction that any one car will have them. Faults are grouped by part of the car. They come from MOT defect codes, not manufacturer bulletins, recalls or a diagnosis of any one car.
Body and structure
Three faults. The strongest is the other passenger door condition (rear): 8.4 times as often as on similar cars.
Figures below are measured across the 9,788 of 9,808 failed first attempts (99.8%) 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.
Other passenger door condition (rear)
What it means
A lack of door handles is not a defect where it comes from the original design or a specialist modification, provided the door latches securely closed and opens using a control such as a button or a fob. Hinges, catches and pillars are rejected for deterioration only if the doors stop working as intended. A hinged door likely to open inadvertently or not remain closed is graded Dangerous.
Exhaust system (front)
What it means
Exhaust fumes causing a danger to health of persons on board are graded Dangerous, and so is a silencer likely to become detached. Fumes entering the cabin are Major. One or more missing or defective mountings does not necessarily make the exhaust insecure, since testers assess the overall security of the system.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 452 first tests, 2.7 times as often as on similar cars.
Drive shaft joints and boots (front)
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Suspension
Three faults. The strongest is the suspension arm (front): 7.3 times as often as on similar cars.
Suspension arm (front)
What it means
A missing bump stop rubber is not a reason to fail a suspension arm. A component that is fractured, missing or likely to fail is graded Dangerous, and one excessively damaged or corroded is Major. On some vehicles, some highly stressed parts are thin pressed steel, and many of those have hollow box sections or up-facing areas that can collect road dirt and salt, so they get special attention.
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 496 first tests, 2.4 times as often as on similar cars.
Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front)
What it means
A suspension joint dust cover that is severely deteriorated is Minor. It becomes Major once it is missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt, so what matters is whether it still keeps dirt out. DVSA words this for any suspension joint dust cover, and files it here under anti-roll bars.
Anti-roll bar ball joint dust cover (front)
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
Lamps and electrical
One fault: side repeater indicators (front), 5.0 times as often as on similar cars.
Side repeater indicators (front)
What it means
Sequential or dynamic direction indicators are not a reason to fail. Where a side repeater is required, it is allowed to be part of the front direction indicator if it has a marked wraparound lens, or an amber light coming through the front lens when viewed from a set distance to the side of the rear bumper. A lens defect with no effect on the emitted light is Minor, and one that adversely affects the light is Major.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage.
Brakes
Three faults. The strongest is the brake hand lever: 4.9 times as often as on similar cars.
Brake hand lever
What it means
A brake lever is failed for insufficient reserve only if it is touching the floor or handlebar. On motorcycle derived systems the lever may touch the handlebar, so the extent of reserve travel is assessed during the brake test. A lever not releasing correctly is Minor, and Major where the functionality of the brakes is affected.
Handbrake lever
Also noted as an advisory
Testers also noted it as an advisory, worn but not yet failing, on 41 first tests, 2.8 times as often as on similar cars.
Brake imbalance across an axle (roller test, efficiency check, rear)
What it means
A wheel giving less than a set share of the maximum effort from the other wheel on the same axle is Major. On a steered axle, less than half is graded Dangerous. Testers disregard an imbalance if the lower effort is the result of a locked wheel, or if the higher effort from a wheel is at or below a low set figure.
Data: UK MOT open data, 2025. Compared with cars of the same age and mileage. Advisories count notes recorded on failed first tests only.
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.
Power steering pipes and hoses (front)
Brake fluid
Individual direction indicators (front)
Brake imbalance across an axle (roller test, rear)
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
- 51in every 100
- Passed on the first test.
- Fixed at the station
- 9in every 100
- Failed, then fixed at the test station the same day.
- Failed
- 40in every 100
- Did not pass, and were not fixed at the test station.
First-attempt pass 50.8% of 19,945 first tests (2025): only cars that passed first time count. Official-style pass 59.6%: cars fixed at the test station also count as a pass. The 9 fixed and the 40 not fixed make the 49 in every 100 that did not pass first time.
Petrol and diesel
Figures are in every 100 first tests. Cars with more miles usually fail more often, so the same-mileage figure gives every fuel the mileage mix of all the cars in this year.
Same model, other years
Passed first time in every 100, all tested in 2025.
Newer cars are younger, so look for a jump rather than the climb.
| Year | Passed first time | First tests |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 57 in every 100 | 347 |
| 1999 | 60 in every 100 | 710 |
| 2000 | 53 in every 100 | 1,908 |
| 2001 | 54 in every 100 | 2,969 |
| 2002 | 48 in every 100 | 4,711 |
| 2003 | 47 in every 100 | 8,132 |
| 2004 | 47 in every 100 | 10,245 |
| 2005 | 46 in every 100 | 12,446 |
| 2006 | 48 in every 100 | 16,464 |
| 2007 This car | 51 in every 100 | 19,945 |
| 2008 | 50 in every 100 | 22,110 |
| 2009 | 52 in every 100 | 20,959 |
| 2010 | 55 in every 100 | 34,091 |
| 2011 | 57 in every 100 | 36,544 |
| 2012 | 60 in every 100 | 35,425 |
| 2013 | 62 in every 100 | 36,830 |
| 2014 | 66 in every 100 | 42,662 |
| 2015 | 72 in every 100 | 49,512 |
| 2016 | 74 in every 100 | 49,981 |
| 2017 | 76 in every 100 | 44,389 |
| 2018 | 75 in every 100 | 42,231 |
| 2019 | 79 in every 100 | 35,183 |
| 2020 | 86 in every 100 | 25,440 |
| 2021 | 88 in every 100 | 29,050 |
| 2022 | 92 in every 100 | 21,988 |
If you are buying one
What this year's MOT record means for the decision in front of you.
Mileage matters most on a 2007 Polo.
Of 2007 Polo vehicles with under 65,000 miles, 64 in every 100 passed their 2025 MOT first time. With 126,000 miles or more, 44 in every 100 did.
Petrol or diesel?
| Typical mileage | Passed first time, as tested | Passed first time, same mileage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petrol | 92,031 miles | 51 | 50 |
| Diesel | 123,252 miles | 50 | 53 |
Figures are in every 100 first tests. At the same mileage there is no clear difference between the two.
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 65,000 | 86,000–104,000 | 126,000 and over | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drive shaft joints and boots (front) | 4.1 | 9.8 | 10.0 |
| Individual sidelight or tail light (front) | 1.0 | 4.8 | 9.5 |
| Petrol emissions (with catalyst) | 1.6 | 5.4 | 7.5 |
| Anti-roll bar linkage ball joint dust cover (front) | 3.3 | 4.8 | 5.1 |
| Windscreen washers | 3.0 | 5.0 | 5.2 |
Faults per 100 first tests, by the car's mileage at the test.
When a car fails
of failed cars had one item to fix.
of failed cars had three or more items to fix.
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.
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.
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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