Is the Subaru XV reliable?

On MOT evidence the Subaru XV is well above average. It passes 78.6% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 75% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.

What is the most common MOT failure on a Subaru XV?

The item recorded most often is "A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn", which appears in 17.8% of failed Subaru XV tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.

What do testers most often warn about on a Subaru XV?

The most common advisory is "A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn", noted on 23.9% of all Subaru XV tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Subaru XV usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 58,719 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.

Which Subaru XV years are the most reliable?

Going by MOT pass rate, Subaru XV cars first registered 2020–2022 do best at 93.6%, and those registered 2011–2013 do worst at 64.0%. But that ordering is mostly age, not build year: almost every model passes less often as it wears, so the newest cars top this list whatever they are. A specific year looking strong here means little on its own; the failure items above, and the individual car's own MOT history, tell you far more.

Does a Subaru XV get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 93.6% of Subaru XV tests pass. By 12 to 14 years, that falls to 64.0%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Are most Subaru XV models petrol or diesel?

Of the Subaru XV cars tested, 60% are petrol, 23% are diesel, 17% are hybrid. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

Model reliability file

Subaru XV MOT pass rate & common failures

From 6,947 recorded MOT tests of the Subaru XV, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

The Subaru XV passes 78.6% of MOT tests once results are adjusted for the age and mileage of the cars tested, against a national average of 72.3%. That is well above average. Based on 6,947 tests. Its most commonly recorded failure is suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, which appears in 17.8% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 58,719 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

78.6%national average72.3%unadjusted80.8%range covered75%

The XV is 6.3 percentage points above the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is well above average. The unadjusted figure is 80.8%; the difference is what the age and mileage of this model’s fleet was hiding.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed Subaru XV tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn17.8%
195 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained
2.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm17.2%
188 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
3.A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning14.1%
154 occurrencesLamp not working explained
4.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn12.8%
140 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained
5.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen9.7%
106 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained
6.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements9.5%
104 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
7.Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning8.9%
97 occurrencesStop lamp not working explained
8.A tyre seriously damaged8.0%
87 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
9.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn6.6%
72 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained
10.Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn5.9%
64 occurrencesBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Subaru XV tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn23.9%
1,659 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained
2.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements20.4%
1,415 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
3.A tyre seriously damaged14.9%
1,037 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
4.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm12.1%
844 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
5.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured11.9%
825 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
6.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded3.3%
232 testsBrake pipe corroded explained
7.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn3.2%
224 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained
8.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn3.0%
209 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained

The rest of the record

Everything else recorded on the Subaru XV

The 19 other defects testers recorded on this model, beyond the most common listed above. Each links to what it means and what it takes to put right.

How wear changes the picture

XV pass rate by age and registration year

How often the Subaru XV passes at each age, with the years those cars were first registered. Tests are from 2025, so a car aged 3 to 5 was first used in 2020–2022.

3–5 yrsreg. 2020–202294%

6–8 yrsreg. 2017–201987%

9–11 yrsreg. 2014–201674%

12–14 yrsreg. 2011–201364%

Read this as an age curve rather than a verdict on particular model years. Nearly every car passes less often as it gets older, so a newer XV outscoring an older one says more about wear than about how that year’s cars were built. Bands holding too few tests to be meaningful are omitted rather than shown as a rate.

What gets tested

The XV fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 58,719
Fuel mix of tested cars: Petrol59.6%
Diesel23.3%
Hybrid17.2%

Trim names grouped into this model (11)

Recorded exactly as DVSA holds them. Trim-level names are rolled up so one model is not split across a dozen thin pages.

XV D S D SYMMETRICAL AWD
XV D SE LUX SYMMETRICAL AWD
XV D SE SYMMETRICAL AWD
XV I S SYMMETRICAL AWD
XV I SE E BOXER AWD CVT
XV I SE LUX NAV SY-CAL AWD CVT
XV I SE LUX PREM SYCAL AWD CVT
XV I SE NAV SY-CAL AWD CVT
XV I SE PREM E BOXER AWD CVT
XV I SE SYMMETRICAL AWD
XV I SE SYMMETRICAL AWD CVT

Check a specific Subaru XV

A model average tells you the pattern. Its own MOT record tells you the car.

Compare within the range

Other Subaru models

Subaru Impreza — 78.5% adjusted
Subaru Forester — 75.1% adjusted
Subaru Outback — 77.2% adjusted
Subaru Legacy — 64.3% unadjusted
Subaru Wrx — 89.0% unadjusted
Subaru Brz — 83.8% unadjusted
All Subaru models

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

Jeep Wrangler — 73.9% adjusted, ranked 123
Fiat Scudo — 58.3% adjusted, ranked 260
Toyota GT86 — 84.3% adjusted, ranked 24
Audi S3 — 82.3% adjusted, ranked 36

Common questions

Is the Subaru XV reliable?: On MOT evidence the Subaru XV is well above average. It passes 78.6% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 75% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.
What is the most common MOT failure on a Subaru XV?: The item recorded most often is "A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn", which appears in 17.8% of failed Subaru XV tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.
What do testers most often warn about on a Subaru XV?: The most common advisory is "A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn", noted on 23.9% of all Subaru XV tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Subaru XV usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 58,719 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.
Which Subaru XV years are the most reliable?: Going by MOT pass rate, Subaru XV cars first registered 2020–2022 do best at 93.6%, and those registered 2011–2013 do worst at 64.0%. But that ordering is mostly age, not build year: almost every model passes less often as it wears, so the newest cars top this list whatever they are. A specific year looking strong here means little on its own; the failure items above, and the individual car's own MOT history, tell you far more.
Does a Subaru XV get harder to pass as it ages?: Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 93.6% of Subaru XV tests pass. By 12 to 14 years, that falls to 64.0%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.
Are most Subaru XV models petrol or diesel?: Of the Subaru XV cars tested, 60% are petrol, 23% are diesel, 17% are hybrid. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

How this was worked out

Method and limits

Figures come from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing dataset, published under the Open Government Licence. Only class 4 initial tests are counted: retests are excluded so a car appears once, and abandoned tests are excluded entirely. The adjusted rate is directly standardised across twenty-five age and mileage bands and reweighted onto the national distribution, so this model is compared against cars that have lived a similar life rather than against a younger or lighter-used fleet.

An MOT measures whether a car met a legal standard on the day. It is not a breakdown record, a service history or a running-cost estimate, and a pass rate is a property of a fleet rather than a prediction about one car.