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Volkswagen · MOT reliability data

Volkswagen Polo

The Polo is one of the UK's most popular small cars, and a common first car. Here's what DVSA's own data shows.

67.4%

MOT pass rate

Supermini

Segment

Petrol

Fuel types available

Source: DS Auto Labs analysis of DVSA's anonymised 2025 MOT test results (Open Government Licence v3.0): 632,066 first-time tests of Volkswagen Polo cars of all ages (test class 4, cars and light vans). A pass means a clean first-time pass; a car that failed and was repaired at the test station before passing counts as not passed, and aborted tests are excluded. Age is the car's age at the 2025 test.

What to know

In 2025, Volkswagen Polo cars passed their MOT first time 67.4% of the time, across 632,066 tests. That is 5.5 points below Volkswagen's overall brand average of 72.9% and 5.0 points below the national average of 72.4%.

Age explains much of the difference between models. Pass rates fall steeply as cars get older, for every make, so a model with many old cars on the road looks worse than it is, and a recent model looks better. This compares the Volkswagen Polo with the typical UK car of the same age.

MOT pass rate by vehicle age, 2025 first-time tests
Car ageVolkswagen PoloAll UK carsTests
3-5 years88.6%87.2%78,941
6-9 years75.9%79.3%177,927
10-13 years66.0%67.9%170,800
14+ years52.9%59.3%203,493

Allowing for the age mix of the cars tested, a typical UK car would be expected to pass about 70.8% of the time. The Volkswagen Polo passed at 67.4%, which is 3.4 points below that expected rate.

A model average says little about one particular car, so check its own MOT history for repeated advisories, past failures and mileage.

Check a specific Polo's MOT history, tax status, and advisories by registration number.

Check MOT history

See how the Volkswagen range compares overall, with model-by-model pass rates.

View Volkswagen brand page