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Japanese cars least likely to flop first test

JAPANESE cars are the least likely to fail their first MoT test, but Ford Galaxy motors sit bottom of the list.

Honda, Lexus and Mazda sit pretty as they feature in the top 10 vehicles.

However, household brands at the wrong end include Volkswagen, Renault, Dacia and Vauxhall. The car with the best record for passing the test first time was the humble £20,000 Honda Jazz – with just 6.7% of them failing first time.

It is the fifth time in the last seven years that the car has come top of the table. It has never been outside the top three.

James Ruppert, the author of Bangernomics, said: “Those setting the best example at MoT time are the senior-citizen-owned Honda Jazz and the premium Mazdas and Lexus driven by those who can afford to keep their vehicles in tip-top condition. An example to us all.”

At the opposite end of the scale, the Ford Galaxy had a fail rate at its first MoT test that was almost five times the rate of the Honda Jazz, says data recorded from testing centres around the UK.

Almost one in three Ford Galaxys failed their initial MoT, while the Ford C-Max was also in the top 10 failures with a flunk rate of 21.4%.

Other popular cars with poor pass rates were the Renault Clio, Volkswagen Tiguan and the budget Dacia Sandero.

The biggest reasons for the Ford Galaxy failing the MoT was a problem with its lights or electrical equipment, an issue with its visibility, which is often triggered by a crack in the windscreen, or because of the poor state of tyres.

James added: “What the bottom 10 tells us is that good old-fashioned people carriers are the hardestworking vehicles in Britain.

“A Sharan, Galaxy or Touran is probably doing the rounds.

“Trouble is, the owners have been neglecting the small details, like regular maintenance.”