Is the Volkswagen UP reliable?

On MOT evidence the Volkswagen UP is above average. It passes 76.8% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 78% 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 Volkswagen UP?

The item recorded most often is "A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn", which appears in 12.0% of failed Volkswagen UP 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 Volkswagen UP?

The most common advisory is "A tyre seriously damaged", noted on 23.2% of all Volkswagen UP tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Volkswagen UP usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 51,018 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 Volkswagen UP years are the most reliable?

Going by MOT pass rate, Volkswagen UP cars first registered 2020–2022 do best at 90.5%, and those registered 2011–2013 do worst at 75.2%. 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 Volkswagen UP get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 90.5% of Volkswagen UP tests pass. By 12 to 14 years, that falls to 75.2%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Model reliability file

Volkswagen UP MOT pass rate & common failures

From 127,183 recorded MOT tests of the Volkswagen UP, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

The Volkswagen UP passes 76.8% 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 above average. Based on 127,183 tests. Its most commonly recorded failure is suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn, which appears in 12.0% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 51,018 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

76.8%national average72.3%unadjusted79.5%range covered78%

The UP is 4.5 percentage points above the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is above average. The unadjusted figure is 79.5%; 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 Volkswagen UP 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 worn12.0%
2,392 occurrencesSuspension arm bush worn explained
2.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements11.8%
2,352 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
3.Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake8.8%
1,738 occurrencesBrake binding or imbalanced across an axle explained
4.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen7.8%
1,539 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained
5.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened7.2%
1,436 occurrencesRoad spring broken or fractured explained
6.Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer7.0%
1,390 occurrencesEmissions above the permitted limit explained
7.A tyre seriously damaged6.8%
1,343 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
8.A tyre seriously damaged6.2%
1,230 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
9.Fuel system leaking, or missing or ineffective filler cap5.5%
1,096 occurrencesFuel filler cap missing or fuel system leaking explained
10.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm5.2%
1,040 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Volkswagen UP 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 tyre seriously damaged23.2%
29,463 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
2.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements16.4%
20,873 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
3.A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn8.3%
10,580 testsSuspension arm bush worn explained
4.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured7.8%
9,901 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
5.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm3.5%
4,484 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
6.Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn3.2%
4,009 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
7.Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake2.7%
3,434 testsBrake binding or imbalanced across an axle explained
8.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded2.4%
3,089 testsBrake pipe corroded explained

The rest of the record

Everything else recorded on the Volkswagen UP

The 18 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.

Known faults

Volkswagen UP common problems, by part and by year

The same failure record read the way a buyer asks the question: which parts wear out on a UP, when they start, and how each registration year compares — including the steps that mark a generation change.

UP common problems and results by year

How wear changes the picture

UP pass rate by age and registration year

How often the Volkswagen UP 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. 2020–202290%

6–8 yrsreg. 2017–201984%

9–11 yrsreg. 2014–201677%

12–14 yrsreg. 2011–201375%

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 UP 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 UP fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 51,018
Fuel mix of tested cars: Petrol99.8%

Trim names grouped into this model (6)

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

UP AUTO
UP BEATS
UP BLACK EDITION
UP GTI
UP R-LINE
UP! GTI

Check a specific Volkswagen UP

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

Compare within the range

Other Volkswagen models

Volkswagen Golf — 78.3% adjusted
Volkswagen Polo — 67.5% adjusted
Volkswagen Transporter — 73.7% adjusted
Volkswagen Tiguan — 77.3% adjusted
Volkswagen Passat — 77.9% adjusted
Volkswagen Caddy — 72.1% adjusted
All Volkswagen models

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

Toyota Corolla — 78.8% adjusted, ranked 64
Mazda 2 — 69.8% adjusted, ranked 173
Audi A5 — 79.1% adjusted, ranked 61
Peugeot 308 — 67.5% adjusted, ranked 202

Common questions

Is the Volkswagen UP reliable?: On MOT evidence the Volkswagen UP is above average. It passes 76.8% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 78% 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 Volkswagen UP?: The item recorded most often is "A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn", which appears in 12.0% of failed Volkswagen UP 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 Volkswagen UP?: The most common advisory is "A tyre seriously damaged", noted on 23.2% of all Volkswagen UP tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Volkswagen UP usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 51,018 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 Volkswagen UP years are the most reliable?: Going by MOT pass rate, Volkswagen UP cars first registered 2020–2022 do best at 90.5%, and those registered 2011–2013 do worst at 75.2%. 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 Volkswagen UP get harder to pass as it ages?: Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 90.5% of Volkswagen UP tests pass. By 12 to 14 years, that falls to 75.2%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

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.