MOT comparison

Volkswagen Polo Mk4 vs SEAT Ibiza Mk3

How the Volkswagen Polo Mk4 (9N/9N3) (2001–2009) and the SEAT Ibiza Mk3 (6L) (2002–2008) do at their MOTs, compared at the same mileage so a high-mileage car is never measured against a low-mileage one.

Volkswagen Polo Mk4 (9N/9N3)

4,319,413

MOT tests compared · built 2001–2009

Passes more often in 1 of 15 mileage bands

SEAT Ibiza Mk3 (6L)

980,361

MOT tests compared · built 2002–2008

Passes more often in 5 of 15 mileage bands

MOT pass rate by mileage

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

Volkswagen Polo Mk4 SEAT Ibiza Mk3

Under 10,000 miles 91.1% vs 90.1%

68,682 and 8,369 MOTs

10,000–20,000 miles 87.1% vs 86.5%

273,394 and 46,036 MOTs

20,000–30,000 miles 81.4% vs 80.8%

421,330 and 84,209 MOTs

30,000–40,000 miles 75.0% vs 74.4%

465,971 and 100,901 MOTs

40,000–50,000 miles 68.5% vs 68.0%

464,226 and 106,058 MOTs

50,000–60,000 miles 62.8% vs 62.3%

446,460 and 105,220 MOTs

60,000–70,000 miles 57.9% vs 57.3%

417,801 and 101,396 MOTs

70,000–80,000 miles 53.9% vs 53.4%

381,065 and 94,315 MOTs

80,000–90,000 miles 50.6% vs 50.4%

335,179 and 83,610 MOTs

90,000–100,000 miles 47.9% vs 48.1%

281,957 and 70,596 MOTs

100,000–125,000 miles 45.1% vs 46.2%

460,747 and 112,401 MOTs

125,000–150,000 miles 43.3% vs 45.2%

199,628 and 45,287 MOTs

150,000–175,000 miles 42.8% vs 46.5%

70,667 and 15,297 MOTs

175,000–200,000 miles 43.0% vs 46.2%

22,761 and 4,737 MOTs

200,000–250,000 miles 44.9% vs 47.3%

9,545 and 1,929 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 Polo Mk4 fails more often on

Rear direction indicator

Fails over 20 times as often as the SEAT Ibiza Mk3: 2.2% of MOTs against 0.10%.

In 14 of 15 mileage bands · Lights & Signals
Side repeater

Fails about 5 times as often as the SEAT Ibiza Mk3: 1.5% of MOTs against 0.31%.

In 13 of 15 mileage bands
Front headlamp

Fails about twice as often as the SEAT Ibiza Mk3: 1.6% of MOTs against 0.93%.

In 10 of 15 mileage bands · Lights & Signals

SEAT Ibiza Mk3 fails more often on

Stop lamp

Fails about twice as often as the Volkswagen Polo Mk4: 5.3% of MOTs against 3.0%.

In 12 of 15 mileage bands · Lights & Signals
Front brake disc

Fails about twice as often as the Volkswagen Polo Mk4: 0.72% of MOTs against 0.39%.

In 8 of 15 mileage bands · Braking System

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Check a car's MOT Compare the Volkswagen Polo Mk4 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.