Britain’s best-selling new cars
The models that have dominated the new car sales charts in recent years. Each page covers a single registration year — the one with a usable MOT record — because on cars this young the emphasis shifts: recall status, remaining warranty and service history matter more than test statistics, and a car registered in the last three years may have no MOT history at all.
Best-seller three years running. The cams run on a chain — but the oil pump belt still runs in oil.
The 7-year transferable warranty is worth more than any inspection. Two 2022 recalls to check.
Far better than the model-level figure implies. Ask about 12V drain on the mild hybrid.
One question decides it: the 1.2 PureTech wet belt, and whether the service record protects you.
Best MOT pass rate in the top five. Its weak point was software, not engineering.
The car in front of you has its own MOT history, mileage timeline and risk markers. Check the registration to see them.
More of Britain’s best-selling new cars
Places five to nine of the 2023 SMMT new car chart. The four models above them — Puma, Qashqai, Corsa and Sportage — are in the section above. Between them these five cover an electric SUV, a family SUV, a crossover, a premium hatchback and a late F56 MINI, and each one shows a different way that a headline pass rate can mislead you.
The highest-placed EV in the 2023 chart. Brakes barely appear in the failure data — tyres are almost all of it.
The launch year of the current Tucson, and the first with a real MOT record. The gearbox decides this car.
91.5% across 27,226 tests, at the lowest mileage on this site. Also the clearest case of what the test never looks at.
The headline 75.3% describes the old F15. A 2021 car passes at 91.7% — but suspension is still its signature.
One document decides it: the S tronic oil and filter invoice at around 40,000 miles.
Britain’s most-bought used cars
The six best-selling used cars in the UK in 2025 (SMMT data), covering more than 1.3 million transactions between them. These are mature cars with a full MOT record, so the failure and advisory data is at its most useful here.
Suspension and tyre wear dominate. Plus the 1.0 EcoBoost cooling recall and wet belt oil spec every buyer must verify.
Broken coil springs are the No.1 failure item. Listen for timing chain rattle on a cold start.
Best pass rate of the mainstream five, at the highest test mileage. The DSG gearbox is the real decision.
Low repair costs and ordinary wear items — but the PowerShift automatic needs testing properly.
Suspension and tyre wear lead the list. Plus the N47 vs B47 engine split every 2015 buyer needs to check.
The best MOT record here by far — and the clearest example of why a pass rate is not the whole story.
A high MOT pass rate means a car is roadworthy, not that it is cheap to own. The MOT does not test gearboxes, turbochargers, timing belts, infotainment systems or hybrid batteries — which is exactly where the expensive faults live. Every page separates the two: what fails the test, and what fails your wallet.
Bear in mind that model-level statistics often span several generations. Where that distorts the picture — as it does for the Qashqai, Corsa and Golf — each page gives the figure for its own registration year alongside the model average.