Honda Civic vs Volkswagen Golf
On MOT-testable defects the Volkswagen Golf comes out ahead: 18.3% of its tests record a failure against 20.8% for the Honda Civic, a 2.5-point gap. The biggest single difference is lighting & signalling, where the Civic records failures noticeably more often.
20.8%
Civic fail rate
18.3%
Golf fail rate
2.53pp
Difference
Side by side
| Metric | Honda Civic | Volkswagen Golf |
|---|---|---|
| MOT tests analysed | 1,795,430 | 5,426,375 |
| Pass rate | 79.2% | 81.8% |
| Fail rate | 20.8% | 18.3% |
Where they differ
| Category | Civic | Golf |
|---|---|---|
| Lighting & signalling | 14.4% | 7.5% |
| Visibility | 4.5% | 0.0% |
| Body, structure & corrosion | 0.0% | 3.3% |
| Brakes | 6.7% | 5.4% |
| Suspension | 8.9% | 7.9% |
| Tyres | 5.3% | 5.5% |
Methodology & source. Dataset: DVSA MOT testing data (2021,2022,2023,2024,2025). Data last updated 2026-07-27. Figures reflect MOT-testable defects only — read the methodology for how these are calculated and what they don't measure.