How reliable is the Vauxhall Agila compared with other cars?

We do not publish a comparison for the Vauxhall Agila, because the cars of this model that have been tested do not cover a wide enough range of ages and mileages. Its raw pass rate is 60.5% across 32,745 tests, but comparing a raw rate between models mostly ranks them by how new they are rather than how good they are. The failure and advisory patterns further down the page are still drawn from real tests and are worth reading.

What is the most common MOT failure on a Vauxhall Agila?

The item recorded most often is "A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened", which appears in 20.0% of failed Vauxhall Agila 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 Vauxhall Agila?

The most common advisory is "Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded", noted on 35.1% of all Vauxhall Agila tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Vauxhall Agila usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 65,852 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.

Does a Vauxhall Agila get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 9 to 11 years old, 72.3% of Vauxhall Agila tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 56.6%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Are most Vauxhall Agila models petrol or diesel?

Of the Vauxhall Agila cars tested, 98% are petrol, 2% are diesel. Fuel type affects which items tend to fail, particularly emissions and exhaust components.

Model reliability file

Vauxhall Agila MOT pass rate & common failures

From 32,745 recorded MOT tests of the Vauxhall Agila, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

Across 32,745 MOT tests, 60.5% of Vauxhall Agila tests ended in a pass. This figure is not adjusted for age or mileage, so it is not a reliability ranking: the Vauxhall Agila fleet does not yet cover a wide enough spread of ages and distances to compare it fairly against other models. Its most commonly recorded failure is spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened, which appears in 20.0% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 65,852 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Recorded pass rate

60.5%unadjusted, not comparable32,745 tests

We are not publishing a ranking for the Agila. The examples tested do not cover a wide enough spread of ages and mileages to compare it fairly, and an unadjusted pass rate mostly sorts models by how recently they were bought rather than how well they were built. The failure and advisory patterns below come from the same 32,745 tests and are worth reading on their own terms.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

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

1.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened20.0%
2,159 occurrencesRoad spring broken or fractured explained
2.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn19.0%
2,058 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained
3.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded14.3%
1,543 occurrencesBrake pipe corroded explained
4.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen11.9%
1,287 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained
5.Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement9.0%
974 occurrencesParking brake efficiency too low explained
6.Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake8.8%
952 occurrencesBrake binding or imbalanced across an axle explained
7.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements8.1%
871 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
8.A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning7.6%
822 occurrencesLamp not working explained
9.Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning7.1%
764 occurrencesStop lamp not working explained
10.Lamp emitted colour, position or intensity not in accordance with the requirements7.0%
761 occurrencesLamp of the wrong colour, position or intensity explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

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

1.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded35.1%
11,500 testsBrake pipe corroded explained
2.A tyre seriously damaged22.7%
7,424 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
3.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements21.1%
6,904 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
4.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn12.7%
4,154 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained
5.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured9.2%
3,026 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
6.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened7.3%
2,382 testsRoad spring broken or fractured explained
7.A brake hose ferrule excessively corroded6.4%
2,086 testsBrake hose deteriorated, damaged or chafing explained
8.Number plate inscription missing or illegible5.6%
1,826 testsRegistration plate missing, insecure or illegible explained

How wear changes the picture

Pass rate by vehicle age

9–11 yrs72%

12–14 yrs63%

15+ yrs57%

Bands holding too few tests to be meaningful are omitted rather than shown as a rate.

What gets tested

The Agila fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 65,852
Fuel mix of tested cars: Petrol98.3%
Diesel1.7%

Trim names grouped into this model (2)

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

AGILA DESIGN
AGILA S

Check a specific Vauxhall Agila

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

Compare within the range

Other Vauxhall models

Vauxhall Corsa — 64.4% adjusted
Vauxhall Astra — 71.0% adjusted
Vauxhall Mokka — 68.6% adjusted
Vauxhall Vivaro — 62.2% adjusted
Vauxhall Insignia — 72.5% adjusted
Vauxhall Zafira — 66.0% adjusted
All Vauxhall models

Common questions

How reliable is the Vauxhall Agila compared with other cars?: We do not publish a comparison for the Vauxhall Agila, because the cars of this model that have been tested do not cover a wide enough range of ages and mileages. Its raw pass rate is 60.5% across 32,745 tests, but comparing a raw rate between models mostly ranks them by how new they are rather than how good they are. The failure and advisory patterns further down the page are still drawn from real tests and are worth reading.
What is the most common MOT failure on a Vauxhall Agila?: The item recorded most often is "A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened", which appears in 20.0% of failed Vauxhall Agila 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 Vauxhall Agila?: The most common advisory is "Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded", noted on 35.1% of all Vauxhall Agila tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Vauxhall Agila usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 65,852 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.
Does a Vauxhall Agila get harder to pass as it ages?: Yes. At 9 to 11 years old, 72.3% of Vauxhall Agila tests pass. By fifteen years or more, that falls to 56.6%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.
Are most Vauxhall Agila models petrol or diesel?: Of the Vauxhall Agila cars tested, 98% are petrol, 2% are diesel. 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. No adjusted rate is shown because this model's tested examples do not cover enough of the national age and mileage range for standardisation to mean anything.

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.