75.8%
Škoda Octavia
Škoda Octavia vs SEAT Leon
Buying a used Škoda Octavia or SEAT Leon? Compare their MOT pass rates, common problems, mileage and how they hold up as they get older.
Already found one of them? Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
MOT pass rate head to head
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded. The UK average across all cars is 72.3%.
75.8%
SEAT Leon
0
percentage point gap
On this measure there is nothing between them, so the decision comes down to the individual car. The figures come from 201,078 tests of the Škoda Octavia and 183,714 of the SEAT Leon. The Škoda Octavia also arrives at test with roughly 20,284 more miles on average, which usually says more about who buys it and what they use it for than about how long it lasts.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. It records whether cars met the roadworthiness standard on test day.
Which one holds up better with age?
A headline pass rate mixes three-year-old cars with fifteen-year-old ones. Split by age, you can see what each model does over time.
The SEAT Leon gives up less as it gets older. Between cars aged 3 to 5 years and those aged 11 years and over it loses 17.5 percentage points against 22.4 for the Škoda Octavia, a difference of 4.9 points.
| Age at test | Octavia | Leon |
|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years | 86% | 83.3% |
| 6 to 10 years | 80.3% | 78.4% |
| 11 years and over | 63.6% | 65.8% |
On a ten-year-old example that is the figure to weigh, not the headline number.
What each one fails on
The areas testers recorded most often across every failed 2025 test for each model, as a share of recorded failure items.
Škoda Octavia
SEAT Leon
Both models fail most often on suspension, which tells you what to look at on either. The difference between them is in what comes next on each list. These are recorded failure categories, not faults every car has.
The specific items testers wrote down
One level deeper than the category: the individual defects recorded most often on each model.
Škoda Octavia
- Coil spring fractured or broken
- Tread depth tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm
- Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
SEAT Leon
- Coil spring fractured or broken
- Tread depth tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm
- Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak
What this comparison can't tell you
Everything above describes two models across the whole UK fleet. It says nothing about the one car in the advert. Two Octavias of the same year and mileage can be worth thousands apart because of finance, a write-off, a theft record or a clocked odometer, none of which appear in MOT data.
Check the car you are about to buy. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Read more on each car
Other comparisons with these cars
Škoda Octavia vs SEAT Leon FAQs
Is the Škoda Octavia or the SEAT Leon more likely to pass its MOT?
They are level. Both recorded a 75.8% first-time MOT pass rate in the DVSA 2025 data, so the model badge is not the thing to decide on. The individual car is.
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 holds up better with age, the Škoda Octavia or the SEAT Leon?
The SEAT Leon. Between cars aged 3 to 5 years and those aged 11 years and over, it loses 17.5 percentage points of MOT pass rate against 22.4 for the Škoda Octavia in the 2025 data.
Which is cheaper to keep on the road, the Škoda Octavia or the SEAT Leon?
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 Škoda Octavia fails most often on suspension. The SEAT Leon fails most often on suspension.
Which one has covered more miles by MOT time?
The average Škoda Octavia arrived at its 2025 MOT on 101,064 miles, against 80,780 for the SEAT Leon. That usually reflects who buys each car and what they use it for rather than how long it will last.
How do I check the actual Škoda Octavia 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.
MOT figures are 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.