Used car rankings from MOT data
Most reliable diesel small cars against diesel cars the same age
We ranked 17 diesel small cars by how often they failed their MOT at 3 to 15 years old, each against all diesel cars at the same ages. From 3,047,297 DVSA MOT tests in Great Britain, 2022 to 2025.
MOT data updated
First in this list (n=369,974)25.5%
All diesel cars, same ages30.2%
Difference16% lower
MOT tests used3,047,297
First in this list: MINI Cooper and One (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 at each age from 3 to 15 years, pooled, against all diesel cars at the same ages.
- Order: by the fail rate divided by the rate for all diesel cars at the same ages, shown as the difference in per cent. Fail rates rise with age, so a ratio keeps a model seen only at older ages from looking better than it is.
- 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, and a row needs at least 3 ages in this list. A list is published only with at least 15 ranked rows.
- Typical mileage: the median odometer reading at each age, averaged over the row's ages by number of tests.
- Segments: from our checked list that puts each DVSA model family in one segment; this list covers city cars and superminis. Families that change body type between generations without a split in the data are left out.
- 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
| # | Model | MOT fail rate | All diesel cars, same ages | Difference | Ages | Tests (n) | Typical mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MINI Cooper and One (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ | 25.5% | 30.2% | 16% lower | 5 to 15 | 369,974 | 78,300 miles |
| 2 | Toyota Yaris (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ | 38.5% | 38.6% | about the same | 11 to 15 | 37,122 | 102,600 miles |
| 3 | Ford Fusion (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ | 41.0% | 40.1% | 2% higher | 13 to 15 | 20,998 | 89,500 miles |
| 4 | Audi A1 (diesel)Common problems · ULEZ | 30.8% | 29.4% | 4% higher | 6 to 14 | 194,459 | 82,700 miles |
| 5 | Skoda Fabia (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ | 36.9% | 34.1% | 8% higher | 7 to 15 | 126,494 | 95,500 miles |
| 6 | SEAT Ibiza (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ | 42.2% | 35.4% | 19% higher | 9 to 15 | 62,282 | 103,500 miles |
| 7 | Nissan Note (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ | 39.8% | 33.0% | 21% higher | 8 to 15 | 72,773 | 86,600 miles |
| 8 | Volkswagen Polo (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ | 41.5% | 33.5% | 24% higher | 7 to 15 | 137,223 | 94,000 miles |
| 9 | Vauxhall Corsa (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ | 40.4% | 32.4% | 25% higher | 5 to 15 | 268,075 | 94,000 miles |
| 10 | Kia Rio (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ | 39.0% | 31.1% | 26% higher | 7 to 14 | 65,224 | 82,900 miles |
| 11 | Peugeot 208 (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ | 34.4% | 27.2% | 27% higher | 5 to 12 | 141,971 | 74,500 miles |
| 12 | Citroen C3 (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ | 42.3% | 33.1% | 28% higher | 6 to 15 | 245,289 | 78,400 miles |
| 13 | Ford Fiesta (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ | 42.2% | 32.1% | 31% higher | 4 to 15 | 647,671 | 95,600 miles |
| 14 | Peugeot 207 (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ | 50.7% | 37.9% | 34% higher | 10 to 15 | 157,113 | 98,400 miles |
| 15 | Renault Clio (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ | 43.7% | 27.6% | 58% higher | 4 to 15 | 240,439 | 74,700 miles |
| 16 | DS DS3 (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ | 48.2% | 29.9% | 61% higher | 6 to 14 | 177,208 | 81,200 miles |
| 17 | Dacia Sandero (diesel)Common problems · Recalls · ULEZ | 39.9% | 24.0% | 66% higher | 5 to 11 | 82,982 | 63,600 miles |
What stands out
- MINI Cooper and One (diesel) comes first: 25.5% against 30.2% for all diesel cars at the same ages, 16% lower (n=369,974).
- 2 of the 17 ranked diesel small cars fail less often than all diesel cars at the same ages.
- In the 17 shown, the difference from all diesel cars runs from 16% lower to 66% higher.
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.
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