MOT comparison

Renault Clio Mk3 vs Volkswagen Polo Mk5

How the Renault Clio Mk3 (2005–2012) and the Volkswagen Polo Mk5 (6R/6C) (2009–2017) do at their MOTs, compared at the same mileage so a high-mileage car is never measured against a low-mileage one.

Renault Clio Mk3

2,935,876

MOT tests compared · built 2005–2012

Passes more often in 0 of 15 mileage bands

Volkswagen Polo Mk5 (6R/6C)

3,657,175

MOT tests compared · built 2009–2017

Passes more often in 15 of 15 mileage bands

MOT pass rate by mileage

Share of MOTs passed first time, at the mileage recorded at the test.

Renault Clio Mk3 Volkswagen Polo Mk5

Under 10,000 miles 90.4% vs 93.5%

46,268 and 87,256 MOTs

10,000–20,000 miles 84.3% vs 89.3%

197,658 and 340,843 MOTs

20,000–30,000 miles 76.6% vs 83.9%

303,847 and 508,882 MOTs

30,000–40,000 miles 68.8% vs 79.1%

340,516 and 529,377 MOTs

40,000–50,000 miles 61.6% vs 74.5%

340,368 and 482,311 MOTs

50,000–60,000 miles 55.5% vs 70.2%

327,606 and 417,499 MOTs

60,000–70,000 miles 51.0% vs 66.5%

304,065 and 346,703 MOTs

70,000–80,000 miles 47.6% vs 63.2%

272,543 and 276,467 MOTs

80,000–90,000 miles 45.4% vs 60.4%

231,335 and 212,421 MOTs

90,000–100,000 miles 44.1% vs 58.0%

183,284 and 157,129 MOTs

100,000–125,000 miles 43.0% vs 55.1%

261,561 and 208,805 MOTs

125,000–150,000 miles 42.9% vs 52.8%

91,111 and 66,814 MOTs

150,000–175,000 miles 42.9% vs 52.6%

26,268 and 17,234 MOTs

175,000–200,000 miles 42.5% vs 52.2%

6,919 and 4,105 MOTs

200,000–250,000 miles 45.0% vs 53.8%

2,527 and 1,329 MOTs

Parts that fail more often

Only differences that hold across at least half of the mileage bands we could compare, and that are far too large to be chance, are listed. How we decide

Renault Clio Mk3 fails more often on

Front coil spring

Fails about 5 times as often as the Volkswagen Polo Mk5: 5.9% of MOTs against 1.3%.

In 14 of 15 mileage bands · Springs & Shocks
Stop lamp

Fails about 7 times as often as the Volkswagen Polo Mk5: 3.9% of MOTs against 0.59%.

In 14 of 15 mileage bands · Lights & Signals
Front position lamp

Fails about 5 times as often as the Volkswagen Polo Mk5: 8.3% of MOTs against 2.0%.

In 13 of 15 mileage bands · Lights & Signals

Volkswagen Polo Mk5 fails more often on

Shock absorbers

Fails about 5 times as often as the Renault Clio Mk3: 3.8% of MOTs against 0.83%.

In 12 of 15 mileage bands · Springs & Shocks
Engine management light

Fails about 3 times as often as the Renault Clio Mk3: 2.5% of MOTs against 0.67%.

In 12 of 15 mileage bands · Dashboard Warning Lights

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Check a car's MOT Compare the Renault Clio Mk3 with another model

These are differences in real MOT results, not engineering verdicts. Owner mix differs between models (some are more often taxis, first cars or rural cars), which is why every figure compares cars at the same mileage. How we compare cars.

MOT records: DVSA MOT history, which contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. See this the other way round.