79.7%
Volkswagen Up pass rate
Used Volkswagen Up buying guide
In 2025, Volkswagen Up cars passed 79.7% of 130,858 initial MOT tests, 7.4 points above the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific Up? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Volkswagen Up MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
+7.4
percentage points above average
Ranked on pass rate the Up sits 200th of 575 models in the data. Volkswagen as a brand averaged 73.1%, so this model runs 6.7 points ahead of its own brand. Volkswagen Up cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 90% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 75.4%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Volkswagen Up MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the Up compares with similar cars.
Up fuel types
Petrol was the most common fuel among Volkswagen Up cars tested in 2025. Diesel made up just 0% of tests.
Where the Up fails its MOT
Where Volkswagen Up cars that failed their 2025 MOT were marked down, as a share of all recorded failure items.
The specific items testers recorded most often were headlamp aim too low (5%), tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (5%) and pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn (4.9%). See every common Up MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Volkswagen Up that failed, not a claim that every Up has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used Up?
The areas above, most common first, and what an MOT tester looks at in each.
1
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting. 24.7% of Up failure items.
2
Brakes
Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing. 19.5% of Up failure items.
3
Tyres
Check tread depth across the full width of every tyre (the legal minimum is 1.6mm), and look for cuts, bulges and uneven wear. 14.8% of Up failure items.
4
Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters. 12.8% of Up failure items.
5
Noise, emissions and leaks
Listen for a blowing exhaust, watch for smoke on start-up and look under the car for oil or fluid leaks. 10.8% of Up failure items.
None of this replaces the car's own record. Run a free MOT history check on the registration to see every test, advisory and recorded mileage for that car.
Up vs similar cars
Head-to-head comparisons on the same 2025 DVSA data.
What the MOT record doesn't tell you
Knowing Volkswagen Up failures cluster around lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and brakes tells you what to inspect. It tells you nothing about whether the car is safe to buy. An MOT does not show money still owed on the car, a write-off, a theft record or a clocked odometer.
Check the exact Up you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Volkswagen history check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Other used Volkswagen models
The most-tested Volkswagen models in 2025, with how their MOT pass rate compares with the Up.
- Used Volkswagen Golf 75.1% MOT pass rate
- Used Volkswagen Polo 67.4% MOT pass rate
- Used Volkswagen Transporter 68.3% MOT pass rate
- Used Volkswagen Tiguan 81.4% MOT pass rate
- Used Volkswagen Passat 71.5% MOT pass rate
- Used Volkswagen Caddy 68.4% MOT pass rate
See all 31 Volkswagen models ranked by MOT pass rate.
Used Volkswagen Up FAQs
Is the Volkswagen Up reliable?
MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 79.7% first-time pass rate for the Volkswagen Up across 130,858 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Volkswagen Up cars fail their MOT more often?
Volkswagen Up cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 90% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 75.4%. On an older example, the car's own MOT history tells you more than the model average.
What should I check before buying a used Volkswagen Up?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, brakes and tyres. Then check the individual car's history: outstanding finance, insurance write-off records, stolen markers, mileage and previous keepers. None of these appear in the MOT record or on the V5C.
How do I check a Volkswagen Up's history?
Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.
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.