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Used car rankings from MOT data

Most reliable 5 year old diesel cars by MOT fail rate

We ranked 100 diesel cars by the share of MOT tests they failed at 5 years old, against 15.1% for all diesel cars that age. From 2,208,593 DVSA MOT tests in Great Britain, 2022 to 2025.

MOT data updated

First in this list (n=6,363)9.4%
All diesel cars, same age15.1%
Ranked100
MOT tests used2,208,593

First in this list: Mercedes-Benz S-Class (diesel).

How this ranking works
  • Data: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal tests in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales), 2022 to 2025. Northern Ireland tests its cars separately and is not included. A fail is a test marked fail or passed after a repair at the test station.
  • Measure: share of MOTs failed by cars 5 years old (test year minus first-use year).
  • Comparison: all diesel cars means every class 4 MOT test on diesel except vans, pickups, taxis, campers, van-based people carriers, motorhome and minibus bases and used imports, weighted to each row's own mix of ages.
  • Thresholds: every age behind a row here has at least 5,000 tests. A model generation is ranked only with at least 3 ages of 1,000 tests or more. A list is published only with at least 10 ranked rows.
  • Fuel: as DVSA records it on each test. Each row is one model generation on diesel; where a model is also sold with other fuels, the row is named with the fuel and its figures differ from the model's all-fuel MOT page.
  • Vans, pickups, taxis, campers, van-based people carriers, motorhome and minibus bases, and models sold here mainly as used imports are left out of car lists.
  • Years in brackets are the first-use years of a model generation.

The ranking

The 20 diesel cars with the lowest MOT fail rates at 5 years old, of 100 ranked.
#ModelMOT fail rateAll diesel cars, same ageTests (n)Median mileage
1Mercedes-Benz S-Class (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ9.4%15.1%6,36358,500 miles
2Audi Q3 (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ10.4%15.1%16,76142,300 miles
3Skoda Karoq (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ10.7%15.1%12,08642,100 miles
4Volkswagen T-Roc (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ11.0%15.1%10,90642,100 miles
5Audi Q2 (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ11.0%15.1%14,88841,700 miles
6Audi A6 (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ11.1%15.1%25,57551,500 miles
7Honda CR-V (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ11.2%15.1%11,22042,500 miles
8Volvo XC40 (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ11.5%15.1%11,35644,700 miles
9MINI Countryman (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ11.6%15.1%6,66538,700 miles
10BMW 5 Series (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ11.6%15.1%31,86451,100 miles
11Audi Q5 (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ11.7%15.1%28,23345,300 miles
12Mercedes-Benz GLE (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ11.8%15.1%16,51944,100 miles
13BMW X1 (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ11.8%15.1%25,05840,300 miles
14Volvo S90 (diesel) (from 2016)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ11.9%15.1%5,30750,600 miles
15Mercedes-Benz GLC (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ12.0%15.1%46,01542,600 miles
16Skoda Kodiaq (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ12.0%15.1%14,83548,300 miles
17Mercedes-Benz GLA (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ12.0%15.1%19,94738,800 miles
18SEAT Ateca (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ12.1%15.1%10,38244,800 miles
19BMW X3 (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ12.2%15.1%29,21041,600 miles
20Volkswagen Tiguan (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ12.4%15.1%74,43343,300 miles

What stands out

  • Mercedes-Benz S-Class (diesel) has the lowest MOT fail rate in this list: 9.4% (n=6,363), against 15.1% for all diesel cars that age.
  • 52 of the 100 ranked diesel cars fail less often than all diesel cars at the same age.
  • In the 20 shown, the fail rate runs from 9.4% to 12.4%.
  • 6 other rows are within 2 points of the first, so read close positions as level rather than as a strict order.
Read this with care. A fail rate is not a measure of build quality. How far cars are driven, how they are used and how well owners maintain them all change it, and wear items such as tyres and brake pads are common fails. Compare a model only with cars of the same age. Methodology and limits.

More rankings

All used car rankings · MOT fail rates by make and model · Common problems by model · Recalls by model · ULEZ by model

Looking at one car?

A ranking describes model generations, not the car in front of you. The VetTheCar Buying Report reads one car's MOT history, mileage and recalls and sets them against cars like it.

See a sample Buying Report Look up a model's MOT fail rate

Source

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data, class 4 normal MOT tests, 2022 to 2025. MOT data updated 28 September 2026.

Not affiliated with or endorsed by DVSA. How we calculate these figures · Data sources