Japanese manufacturers are the most reliable brands when it comes to passing the MoT test, according to new Vehicle Operator and Services Agency (VOSA) data, analysed by TootCompare.

The Toyota IQ, Honda Jazz and Honda CR-V were the top performers in the list.

The Honda Jazz is particularly impressive as a high-volume model with a good pass rate of 90.4%, while Land Rover made it into the top 10 with the Freelander scoring an 88.9% pass rate.

The research also shows that one in five cars registered in 2010 failed its first MoT test. Between January 1 and August 9 this year, 253,000 cars failed their MoT test when presented for the first time after being registered new.

Over 70 million MoT records from VOSA were obtained and analysed by TootCompare, a new real-time comparison site, which allows motorists to see like-for-like prices for servicing and MoTs, from franchised dealers, independent garages and fast-fit centres in their area.

At the bottom of the pass rate table for MoTs, there are more likely to be models with above-average mileage for a three-year old car - the Renault Kangoo (63.5%) and Citroen Berlingo (67.8%) for example, both typically being tested with over 40,000 miles on the clock.

These are clearly hard working vehicles. But the Citroen C4 is a surprise, achieving a pass rate of only 67.9% on an average mileage at test of 23,600 miles.

The most common reasons for MoT failures were lights and indicators (165,088 failures), tyres (88,862 failures), drivers view of the road (75,210 failures), brakes (47,088 failures), suspension (18,045 failures), registration plate and VIN (10,258 failures), fuel and exhaust (4,991 failures), road wheels (3,927 failures), seat belts (3,795 failures) and steering (3,430 failures). 

Below are the tables for the top 10 best and worst makes and models.

Top 10 by model range  

TOYOTA IQ 91.82%
HONDA JAZZ 90.40%
HONDA CR-V 89.83%
LEXUS IS 89.65%
TOYOTA YARIS 89.61%
LEXUS RX 89.31%
AUDI Q5 89.27%
AUDI TT 89.22%
LAND ROVER FREELANDER 88.80%
SUZUKI SPLASH 88.07%

Bottom 10 by model range 

CHEVROLET AVEO 73.75%
MITSUBISHI L200 73.53%
CHEVROLET CAPTIVA 73.53%
NISSAN NAVARA 70.59%
MAZDA 5 70.55%
FIAT DOBLO 69.24%
PEUGEOT 5008 68.14%
CITROEN C4 67.86%
CITROEN BERLINGO 67.84%
RENAULT KANGOO 63.54%
  

Top 10 by manufacturer

LEXUS 89.48%
SUBARU 88.65%
HONDA 87.24%
TOYOTA 85.69%
AUDI 84.81%
SAAB 84.53%
LAND ROVER 84.26%
MERCEDES 84.21%
SUZUKI 84.08%
HYUNDAI 83.75%

Bottom 10 by manufacturer

PEUGEOT 79.96%
ALFA ROMEO 79.33%
VOLKSWAGEN 79.33%
VOLVO 79.08%
RENAULT 79.06%
MINI 78.54%
SEAT 78.24%
FIAT 77.13%
CHEVROLET 76.61%
CITROEN 76.18%