MOT comparison

Volkswagen Golf Mk6 vs Ford Focus Mk2

How the Volkswagen Golf Mk6 (2008–2012) and the Ford Focus Mk2 (2004–2011) do at their MOTs, compared at the same mileage so a high-mileage car is never measured against a low-mileage one.

Volkswagen Golf Mk6

2,924,696

MOT tests compared · built 2008–2012

Passes more often in 15 of 16 mileage bands

Ford Focus Mk2

9,003,119

MOT tests compared · built 2004–2011

Passes more often in 0 of 16 mileage bands

MOT pass rate by mileage

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

Volkswagen Golf Mk6 Ford Focus Mk2

Under 10,000 miles 92.0% vs 90.9%

16,904 and 66,723 MOTs

10,000–20,000 miles 89.9% vs 89.9%

88,426 and 322,871 MOTs

20,000–30,000 miles 87.9% vs 86.8%

185,612 and 645,338 MOTs

30,000–40,000 miles 85.9% vs 82.5%

244,761 and 817,774 MOTs

40,000–50,000 miles 83.1% vs 77.9%

266,121 and 871,984 MOTs

50,000–60,000 miles 79.8% vs 73.1%

271,625 and 883,929 MOTs

60,000–70,000 miles 76.7% vs 68.6%

267,744 and 869,408 MOTs

70,000–80,000 miles 73.8% vs 64.4%

256,772 and 837,313 MOTs

80,000–90,000 miles 71.0% vs 60.8%

240,013 and 778,187 MOTs

90,000–100,000 miles 68.5% vs 58.0%

218,061 and 695,066 MOTs

100,000–125,000 miles 65.5% vs 54.8%

422,835 and 1,251,550 MOTs

125,000–150,000 miles 62.9% vs 51.8%

251,262 and 615,907 MOTs

150,000–175,000 miles 61.2% vs 50.3%

121,359 and 235,817 MOTs

175,000–200,000 miles 60.0% vs 49.6%

48,076 and 76,351 MOTs

200,000–250,000 miles 59.3% vs 49.9%

22,283 and 30,556 MOTs

250,000–300,000 miles 60.7% vs 51.8%

2,842 and 4,345 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

Volkswagen Golf Mk6 fails more often on

Side repeater

Fails about twice as often as the Ford Focus Mk2: 1.3% of MOTs against 0.57%.

In 13 of 16 mileage bands
Front ball joint

Fails about 3 times as often as the Ford Focus Mk2: 3.4% of MOTs against 1.4%.

In 11 of 16 mileage bands · Suspension & Joints
Rear brake pad

Fails about 3 times as often as the Ford Focus Mk2: 1.6% of MOTs against 0.65%.

In 9 of 16 mileage bands · Braking System

Ford Focus Mk2 fails more often on

Windscreen washer

Fails about twice as often as the Volkswagen Golf Mk6: 2.5% of MOTs against 1.2%.

In 15 of 16 mileage bands · Driver's View
Headlamp

Fails about twice as often as the Volkswagen Golf Mk6: 5.9% of MOTs against 3.1%.

In 14 of 16 mileage bands · Lights & Signals

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Check a car's MOT Compare the Volkswagen Golf Mk6 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.