The short answer
Across every car first used in 2020 and tested in 2025, 86.0% passed their MOT first time (1,758,904 first tests), which is about 6 in 7. The eight popular models below ranged from 84.8% to 90.0%, so the gap between the best and the least good of them is about five points, far narrower than the spread we found among ten-year-old cars. At five years old the model matters less than the individual car, and the MOT history and the mileage on the clock tell you more than any average.
Read the table in that spirit. It is in order of how many were tested, not by pass rate. Pass after rectification, or PRS, means the car failed on something the tester let the garage fix there and then; the certificate reads as a pass but the history shows the fault. GOV.UK counts PRS as a fail when it publishes a pass rate, and so do we.
What the data shows
| Model (first used 2020, tested 2025) | Passed | Pass after rectification | Failed outright | Median mileage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Fiesta | 86.1% | 3.8% | 10.2% | 31,300 |
| Vauxhall Corsa | 84.8% | 3.5% | 11.7% | 33,600 |
| Volkswagen Golf | 90.0% | 1.6% | 8.3% | 37,900 |
| Ford Focus | 85.7% | 2.3% | 12.0% | 38,600 |
| Mini Hatch | 88.1% | 2.8% | 9.1% | 28,700 |
| Nissan Qashqai | 87.1% | 2.7% | 10.2% | 35,400 |
| Volkswagen Polo | 86.4% | 3.3% | 10.3% | 31,700 |
| Ford Puma | 89.1% | 1.9% | 9.0% | 33,100 |
| All cars first used 2020, tested 2025 | 86.0% | - | - | - |
Five of the eight sit within a point and a half of the national figure. The Golf and the Puma sit above it, and the Golf does so while carrying one of the higher median mileages in the group, so mileage alone does not explain the order. The Fiesta's PRS share is the highest in the table: on that model nearly one certificate in twenty-five that reads as a pass came after a fix on the day, which is why a buyer should read the history rather than the certificate. The test counts behind every row are in the note at the foot of the page.
Why five is a useful age to look at
A car tested in 2025 after first use in 2020 has had two MOT tests, and the second is often the first to record anything at all. Tyres fitted at the factory are reaching the end of their life, brake pads and discs are into their second set on a car that has done the mileage in this table, and the first consumable items start to appear as advisories. The national figure of about 6 in 7 passing says most do so cleanly; the advisory list is where the differences between individual cars start to show.
It is also the age at which a used-car buyer can see a trend rather than a single data point. Two tests, two advisory lists and two recorded mileages tell you whether the car has been used lightly or hard, whether anything was fixed between tests, and whether the odometer readings sit a sensible distance apart. A single clean certificate cannot tell you any of that.
What to check on a five-year-old car
- Both MOT records. Run the registration through the free GOV.UK MOT history service. Two tests should show. Read the advisories on each: tyres close to the limit, slight play in a joint, a corroded brake pipe, a lamp lens starting to cloud.
- Was anything a PRS? The history shows pass after rectification where it happened. Ask what was fixed and whether there is a receipt. A PRS on a bulb is nothing; a PRS on a brake item is a conversation.
- The mileage against the table. The median readings above are what a typical example of each model had covered by its 2025 test. A car far below the median has been used lightly, which is good for wear but can mean short trips and a tired battery; a car far above it has earned its price cut. Neither is wrong, but the price should reflect it.
- Mileage between the two tests. The two recorded readings should sit a plausible distance apart and in step with the service book. A gap that does not fit is a question for the seller before anything else.
- Tyres and brakes by eye. At this age the first set of tyres is often on its way out. Look at the tread across the width and at the date codes; four tyres from four different makers can mean the car has had a hard life or a careful owner replacing them one at a time, and you should ask which.
- Book the next test early. GOV.UK explains on its getting an MOT page how the test date works. A car bought with a test due soon is a car whose faults you will find out about at your expense; ask for the test to be done before the sale, or price it in.
What this does not mean
Pass rates describe fleets, not individual cars. A Corsa at the bottom of this table is more likely than not to pass cleanly, and a Golf at the top can still fail on a worn tyre. The gaps between these eight are small, and the data records what was found at the test, never why, so no figure here says anything about how any of these cars was built. The table covers one first-used year and one test year, chosen so that every row is at the same age; a different year would put the models in a different order.
The mileage column is a median, which means half the tested cars of that model had covered more and half less. It is a reference point for judging the car in front of you, not a figure any one car should match.
Frequently asked questions
On pass rates alone, yes: about 6 in 7 cars first used in 2020 passed their 2025 test, and the eight popular models here sat within about five points of each other. The ten-year-old group we looked at earlier this week spread much wider. The trade-off is price, and the right answer depends on what you pay and on the individual car's history.
The car failed on an item the tester allowed the garage to fix during the test, so the certificate shows a pass but the history records the fault. On a five-year-old car it is most often a bulb, a wiper blade or a tyre at the limit. It matters because the certificate alone would hide it; the history shows it, which is why we count it as a fail when we quote a pass rate, as GOV.UK does.
The data does not say. It records what was found at the test, not why. Age, mileage, how the car has been used and maintained, and who owned it all play a part, and the differences between these eight models at five years old are small. Treat the order as a description of eight fleets in one year, not as a verdict on any of them.
Not in itself. The median is the midpoint, so half of each model's tested cars had covered more. Higher mileage means more wear on tyres, brakes and suspension, which the advisory list should reflect, and a lower price should reflect it too. What matters more is whether the mileage is consistent across the two tests and the service history.
Sources and method
Class 4 first tests in test year 2025 on cars first used in 2020, for eight models grouped across all trims by SortedCars' model tables, each beside the national figure for every car first used in 2020 and tested in 2025 (1,758,904 tests, 86.0% passed). Pass rate is passes divided by first tests with pass after rectification counted as a fail; the PRS and outright-fail columns split the remainder. Model bases (first tests): Ford Fiesta 49,635; Vauxhall Corsa 45,475; Volkswagen Golf 42,046; Ford Focus 37,990; Mini Hatch 37,334; Nissan Qashqai 32,691; Volkswagen Polo 26,271; Ford Puma 25,868. Median odometer readings are rounded to the nearest 100 (Fiesta 31,291; Corsa 33,580; Golf 37,900.5; Focus 38,566; Mini Hatch 28,657; Qashqai 35,393; Polo 31,728.5; Puma 33,108). GOV.UK page wording as read on 5 November 2026.
- DVSA anonymised MOT results, class 4 first tests, 2021-2025
- GOV.UK: Check the MOT history of a vehicle
- GOV.UK: Getting an MOT
About these figures. Figures are computed by SortedCars from the DVSA anonymised MOT results dataset (class 4, first tests only, test years 2021-2025), published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Pass rate = passes divided by first tests, with pass-after-rectification counted as a fail. No figure is shown for any group with fewer than 500 tests. Test class 4 only, first tests only; retests are excluded. Pass rates describe fleets, not individual machines: they reflect how cars were driven, maintained and used as well as how they were built, and beyond recorded mileage none of that is in the data. A well-kept example of a model with a weak average can still pass; a neglected example of a strong one can still fail. Alias spellings of a make are counted under one make name and all trims of a model under one model name, using SortedCars' grouping tables.
This article is general information drawn from published test records. It is not professional, mechanical or legal advice, and an MOT pass or a clean MOT history does not guarantee that a car is roadworthy today. If you are unsure about a car, have it inspected by a qualified mechanic. You can check any vehicle's MOT history free on the official GOV.UK MOT history service.
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