MOT comparison

Volkswagen Polo Mk5 vs Ford Fiesta Mk7

How the Volkswagen Polo Mk5 (6R/6C) (2009–2017) and the Ford Fiesta Mk7 (2008–2017) 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)

3,657,175

MOT tests compared · built 2009–2017

Passes more often in 11 of 15 mileage bands

Ford Fiesta Mk7

10,460,579

MOT tests compared · built 2008–2017

Passes more often in 0 of 15 mileage bands

MOT pass rate by mileage

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

Volkswagen Polo Mk5 Ford Fiesta Mk7

Under 10,000 miles 93.5% vs 93.8%

87,256 and 212,571 MOTs

10,000–20,000 miles 89.3% vs 89.7%

340,843 and 911,786 MOTs

20,000–30,000 miles 83.9% vs 84.3%

508,882 and 1,380,240 MOTs

30,000–40,000 miles 79.1% vs 78.7%

529,377 and 1,430,492 MOTs

40,000–50,000 miles 74.5% vs 73.4%

482,311 and 1,319,222 MOTs

50,000–60,000 miles 70.2% vs 68.5%

417,499 and 1,161,330 MOTs

60,000–70,000 miles 66.5% vs 64.2%

346,703 and 984,874 MOTs

70,000–80,000 miles 63.2% vs 60.3%

276,467 and 807,494 MOTs

80,000–90,000 miles 60.4% vs 57.2%

212,421 and 640,655 MOTs

90,000–100,000 miles 58.0% vs 54.7%

157,129 and 489,250 MOTs

100,000–125,000 miles 55.1% vs 52.2%

208,805 and 705,051 MOTs

125,000–150,000 miles 52.8% vs 50.2%

66,814 and 275,977 MOTs

150,000–175,000 miles 52.6% vs 49.6%

17,234 and 95,190 MOTs

175,000–200,000 miles 52.2% vs 50.1%

4,105 and 31,402 MOTs

200,000–250,000 miles 53.8% vs 50.9%

1,329 and 15,045 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 7 times as often as the Ford Fiesta Mk7: 4.7% of MOTs against 0.88%.

In 13 of 15 mileage bands · Braking System
Shock absorbers

Fails about 7 times as often as the Ford Fiesta Mk7: 3.8% of MOTs against 0.55%.

In 12 of 15 mileage bands · Springs & Shocks
Rear brakes

Fails about 7 times as often as the Ford Fiesta Mk7: 2.5% of MOTs against 0.41%.

In 12 of 15 mileage bands · Braking System

Ford Fiesta Mk7 fails more often on

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 suspension arm

Fails about 2 times as often as the Volkswagen Polo Mk5: 5.3% of MOTs against 2.2%.

In 11 of 15 mileage bands · Suspension & Joints

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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.