Used comparison · 2025 DVSA data

Ford Focus vs Vauxhall Astra

The two default British family hatchbacks, sold in enormous numbers to fleets and families alike.

Across 1,470,809 initial MOT tests in 2025, the Ford Focus passed 74.62% against 72.34% for the Vauxhall Astra. A real gap, but not a decisive one on its own.

Head to head on the MOT record

The UK average across all cars in this data is 77.3%. The Ford Focus sits below it by 2.7 points, and the Vauxhall Astra sits below it by 5 points. The Vauxhall Astra also arrives at test with roughly 4,927 more miles on average, which usually says more about who buys it and what they use it for than about how long it lasts.

Which one holds up better as it ages

This is the part that matters when you are buying used. A headline pass rate mixes three-year-old cars in with fifteen-year-old ones. Split by age, you can see what each model actually does over time.

Both models age at much the same rate, losing around 21.6 percentage points between the youngest and oldest brackets. Neither has an advantage worth paying for on this measure.

What each one fails on

These are the areas testers recorded most often across every failed 2025 test for each model. Read them as a viewing checklist for that model, not as a fault list for any particular car.

The Ford Focus fails most often on lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, the Vauxhall Astra on suspension. Two different things to check on a viewing, and two different conversations to have with the seller.

The specific items testers wrote down

One level deeper than the category. These are the individual defects recorded most often on each model.

What this comparison cannot tell you

Everything above describes two models across the whole UK fleet. It says nothing about the one car in the advert you are looking at. Two Focuss of the same year and mileage can be worth thousands apart because of things that never appear in MOT data:

• Outstanding finance. If a lender still has an agreement recorded against the car, that claim does not disappear because you paid the seller.
• Insurance write-off history. A Cat S or Cat N marker is permanent, changes what the car is worth, and does not appear on the V5C.
• Stolen markers. A car recorded as stolen can be seized even from a buyer who bought it honestly.
• Mileage history. The readings taken at every MOT are the clearest way to spot a clocked odometer.
• Previous keepers. An unusual number of keepers for the age of the car is worth asking about.

A Carpeep car history check reports all of those against the registration, plus tax status, import and export markers, scrapped status and the recorded vehicle identity, in one £15 report.

Read more on each car

• Buying a used Ford Focus Buying guide, MOT record and what to check
• Buying a used Vauxhall Astra Buying guide, MOT record and what to check

Other comparisons with these cars

• Ford Focus vs Volkswagen Golf
• Ford Focus vs Toyota Corolla
• Peugeot 308 vs Ford Focus
• Renault Megane vs Ford Focus
• Volkswagen Golf vs Vauxhall Astra

Ford Focus vs Vauxhall Astra FAQs

Is the Ford Focus or the Vauxhall Astra more likely to pass its MOT?

The Ford Focus passed 74.62% of its initial MOT tests in the DVSA 2025 data against 72.34% for the Vauxhall Astra, a gap of 2.3 percentage points. That is a fleet-wide average, not a prediction about the specific car you are looking at.

Does a higher MOT pass rate mean a more reliable car?

No. An MOT records whether a vehicle met the roadworthiness standard on the day it was tested. It does not test the engine, clutch or gearbox, and it does not measure how often a car breaks down. Pass rates are useful for comparing how two models are holding up across the whole UK fleet, and nothing more than that.

Which is cheaper to keep on the road, the Ford Focus or the Vauxhall Astra?

This data does not price servicing or repairs, so it cannot answer that directly. What it does show is what each model most often fails on, which is a fair guide to where the money goes. The Ford Focus fails most often on lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment. The Vauxhall Astra fails most often on suspension.

How do I check the actual Ford Focus I have found?

Enter its registration. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, insurance write-off markers, stolen markers, the mileage recorded at every MOT, previous keepers, tax and MOT status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report. None of that appears in model-level MOT statistics.

Which one has covered more miles by MOT time?

The average Vauxhall Astra arrived at its 2025 MOT on 88,693 miles, against 83,766 for the Ford Focus. That usually reflects who buys each car and what they use it for rather than how long it will last.

MOT figures aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.