MOT comparison

Volkswagen Polo Mk5 vs Audi A1 Mk1

How the Volkswagen Polo Mk5 (6R/6C) (2009–2017) and the Audi A1 Mk1 (8X) (2010–2018) do at their MOTs, compared at the same mileage so a high-mileage car is never measured against a low-mileage one.

Volkswagen Polo Mk5 (6R/6C)

3,655,846

MOT tests compared · built 2009–2017

Passes more often in 0 of 14 mileage bands

Audi A1 Mk1 (8X)

1,647,902

MOT tests compared · built 2010–2018

Passes more often in 14 of 14 mileage bands

MOT pass rate by mileage

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

Volkswagen Polo Mk5 Audi A1 Mk1

Under 10,000 miles 93.5% vs 95.2%

87,256 and 30,296 MOTs

10,000–20,000 miles 89.3% vs 92.3%

340,843 and 139,599 MOTs

20,000–30,000 miles 83.9% vs 88.5%

508,882 and 222,610 MOTs

30,000–40,000 miles 79.1% vs 85.2%

529,377 and 238,480 MOTs

40,000–50,000 miles 74.5% vs 81.8%

482,311 and 220,494 MOTs

50,000–60,000 miles 70.2% vs 78.3%

417,499 and 192,243 MOTs

60,000–70,000 miles 66.5% vs 75.2%

346,703 and 159,504 MOTs

70,000–80,000 miles 63.2% vs 72.2%

276,467 and 127,779 MOTs

80,000–90,000 miles 60.4% vs 69.8%

212,421 and 98,447 MOTs

90,000–100,000 miles 58.0% vs 67.5%

157,129 and 73,496 MOTs

100,000–125,000 miles 55.1% vs 64.8%

208,805 and 99,748 MOTs

125,000–150,000 miles 52.8% vs 62.0%

66,814 and 33,717 MOTs

150,000–175,000 miles 52.6% vs 61.6%

17,234 and 9,312 MOTs

175,000–200,000 miles 52.2% vs 60.8%

4,105 and 2,177 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 Mk5 fails more often on

Parking brake

Fails about 11 times as often as the Audi A1 Mk1: 4.5% of MOTs against 0.62%.

In 12 of 14 mileage bands · Braking System
Registration plate

Fails over 20 times as often as the Audi A1 Mk1: 2.2% of MOTs against 0.09%.

In 12 of 14 mileage bands · Number Plates
Shock absorbers

Fails about 8 times as often as the Audi A1 Mk1: 3.6% of MOTs against 0.51%.

In 11 of 14 mileage bands · Springs & Shocks

Audi A1 Mk1 fails more often on

Rear brake pad

Fails about 4 times as often as the Volkswagen Polo Mk5: 1.6% of MOTs against 0.39%.

In 11 of 14 mileage bands · Braking System
Rear brake disc

Fails about 3 times as often as the Volkswagen Polo Mk5: 1.3% of MOTs against 0.39%.

In 10 of 14 mileage bands · Braking System

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Check a car's MOT Compare the Volkswagen Polo Mk5 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.