MOT comparison

Volkswagen Golf Mk7 vs Skoda Octavia Mk3

How the Volkswagen Golf Mk7 (2012–2019) and the Skoda Octavia Mk3 (2013–2020) do at their MOTs, compared at the same mileage so a high-mileage car is never measured against a low-mileage one.

Volkswagen Golf Mk7

3,651,227

MOT tests compared · built 2012–2019

Passes more often in 0 of 15 mileage bands

Skoda Octavia Mk3

899,131

MOT tests compared · built 2013–2020

Passes more often in 8 of 15 mileage bands

MOT pass rate by mileage

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

Volkswagen Golf Mk7 Skoda Octavia Mk3

Under 10,000 miles 93.4% vs 96.0%

49,856 and 8,554 MOTs

10,000–20,000 miles 90.5% vs 93.9%

249,307 and 42,937 MOTs

20,000–30,000 miles 88.7% vs 91.7%

450,072 and 86,011 MOTs

30,000–40,000 miles 87.9% vs 89.7%

510,712 and 104,774 MOTs

40,000–50,000 miles 86.6% vs 87.8%

486,768 and 103,620 MOTs

50,000–60,000 miles 85.0% vs 85.9%

430,018 and 95,237 MOTs

60,000–70,000 miles 83.2% vs 84.0%

362,339 and 83,076 MOTs

70,000–80,000 miles 81.4% vs 82.2%

293,529 and 71,528 MOTs

80,000–90,000 miles 80.0% vs 80.6%

230,229 and 59,973 MOTs

90,000–100,000 miles 78.5% vs 79.5%

175,030 and 49,465 MOTs

100,000–125,000 miles 77.0% vs 77.6%

254,468 and 84,356 MOTs

125,000–150,000 miles 75.7% vs 76.2%

104,393 and 48,297 MOTs

150,000–175,000 miles 74.3% vs 75.3%

37,212 and 27,847 MOTs

175,000–200,000 miles 73.8% vs 74.6%

12,156 and 16,630 MOTs

200,000–250,000 miles 71.0% vs 73.1%

5,138 and 16,826 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 Mk7 fails more often on

Windscreen washer

Fails about twice as often as the Skoda Octavia Mk3: 1.1% of MOTs against 0.48%.

In 12 of 15 mileage bands · Driver's View
Windscreen wiper

Fails about 6 times as often as the Skoda Octavia Mk3: 2.4% of MOTs against 0.45%.

In 8 of 15 mileage bands · Driver's View
Shock absorbers

Fails about twice as often as the Skoda Octavia Mk3: 2.7% of MOTs against 1.4%.

In 8 of 15 mileage bands · Springs & Shocks

Skoda Octavia Mk3 fails more often on

Headlamp aim

Fails about 4 times as often as the Volkswagen Golf Mk7: 2.1% of MOTs against 0.54%.

In 9 of 15 mileage bands · Lights & Signals
Front brake pad

Fails about twice as often as the Volkswagen Golf Mk7: 1.2% of MOTs against 0.66%.

In 8 of 15 mileage bands · Braking System

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Check a car's MOT Compare the Volkswagen Golf Mk7 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.