Bmw 1 Series vs Honda Civic

On MOT-testable defects, the Bmw 1 Series (fail rate 16.1%) performed better than the Honda Civic (20.9%) across comparable years. The biggest divergence was lighting & signalling, where the Civic recorded failures more often.

16.1%
1 Series fail rate
20.9%
Civic fail rate
4.87pp
Difference

Side by side

MOT figures compared
MetricBmw 1 SeriesHonda Civic
MOT tests analysed2,262,1821,771,579
Pass rate83.9%79.1%
Fail rate16.1%20.9%
Fail rate compared (lower is better) Bmw 1 Series 16.1% Honda Civic 20.9%
Overall MOT fail rate across comparable model years.

Where they differ

Failure-area share, by category
Category1 SeriesCivic
Lighting & signalling7.6%14.5%
Suspension4.1%9.0%
Brakes4.5%6.8%
Tyres6.4%5.3%
Visibility3.5%4.5%

Methodology & source. Dataset: DVSA MOT testing data (2021,2022,2023,2024,2025). Data last updated 2026-07-01. Figures reflect MOT-testable defects only — read the methodology for how these are calculated and what they don't measure.

See the full data