Ford and Renault come bottom of MOT failure league, official figures reveal

Statistics released yesterday showing the MOT failure rate for cars and small vans revealed that the Ford Transit Connect had the worst performance, with 30.5 per cent not making the grade.

This was followed by one of the most popular family cars – the Renault Mgane – at 28.1 per cent.

The Toyota Corolla had the lowest failure rate, at just 11.2 per cent.

The information was obtained following a freedom of information request.

The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (Vosa), the agency that supervises the MOT scheme, had resisted calls to publish the data, saying the figures could be misleading and claiming that publication would breach the commercial confidentiality of the manufacturers.

However, publication was ordered by the Information Commissioner in December, who said disclosure of the information was in the public interest.

The data relates to MOT tests carried out in 2007 and is available on the Vosa website as a PDF document consisting of 1,200 pages.

The league table is limited to the most popular models for cars – those that have had at least 20,000 tests. Vosa has said it will publish statistics for 2008 and 2009 later this year, and each year in future.

The vital information which is unavailable is the car mileage, or an assessment of how well it has been looked after by the owner, both of which will have a direct bearing on a vehicle's condition and ability to pass an MOT test.

John Ball of the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI), which represents garages, MOT testing stations and dealerships, said vans had high mileage and many owners did not stick to the service regime. "They are reluctant to take them off the road if they rely on them for their living," he said.

Mr Ball said his members often saw vans from courier companies that had recorded well over 100,000 miles in their first three years on the road.

Michael Mortazavi, managing director of Lochrin Autos in Edinburgh, said: "I'm not surprised about the Renault Mgane, although it has come a long way. Certain niggly points often come up with its MOT.

"The Vauxhall Corsa at 24.7 per cent failure is very high and not what I'd expect. "I'm also surprised at the Volkswagen Golf at 19.2 per cent, as it is a lot better manufactured than many other cars on the road.

"These figures are national and not Scottish-based. If we were talking about Scotland, especially Edinburgh, then I'd expect to see certain cars, even the Golf, coming up the table due to the terrible roads and pot holes."

A spokesman for Vauxhall, commenting on the number of the company's cars appearing on the list, said: "Many of the failed items highlighted in this report, such as brakes, driver's view of the road, registration plates and tyres, are directly attributable to vehicles that have covered above-average mileages.

"As Vauxhall was one of the largest suppliers of fleet vehicles during the period surveyed (2004-7], and fleet vehicles typically cover higher mileages than most, it comes as no surprise that some of our cars appear in this list."