Britain's most and least reliable vans: 2.2 million MOT tests analysed

We ranked 34 vans by MOT pass rate across 2.2 million tests. Three of the bottom five are the same van under different badges, and the Transit sits 22nd.

MOT DATA · 5 min read

We ran the van numbers too

Our most-and-least-reliable-cars piece used the DVSA's anonymised MOT dataset to rank cars by first-time pass rate. The obvious next question from readers running a trade or a small fleet was: what about vans? We took every mainstream light commercial van name in the same dataset with at least 2,000 tests. That leaves 34 vans across 2,246,784 tests. Every figure below is the one on that van's own model page, so you can click through and check it. The UK average across all models is 76.7 percent.

The most reliable vans

Ranked by first-time MOT pass rate: 1. Ford Transit Custom, 83.3 percent (64,248 tests). 2. Ford Transit Courier, 78.8 percent (27,407 tests). 3. Nissan NV300, 77.5 percent (2,340 tests). 4. Toyota Proace, 77.4 percent (11,189 tests). 5. Fiat Ducato, 77.1 percent (71,160 tests). Read the top four with their age in mind: the average van tested was a 2018 or 2019 model, when most of the list averages 2012 to 2014. Newer vans pass more often, so part of that lead is age, not build.

The Ducato and Boxer are the odd ones out

The Ducato and Peugeot Boxer (76.8 percent) sit near the top despite being the oldest vans in the top ten, averaging 2008 and 2010. They also average the lowest mileage of any van here, 56,818 and 59,623 miles, against 115,599 for the Transit. The Citroen Relay is the same van under a third badge, and it averages 100,510 miles and passes 68.2 percent of the time. Same van, very different use: the Ducato and Boxer are also the usual base for UK motorhomes, which cover far fewer miles than a working van, a likely explanation though not one this data can prove.

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The least reliable vans

At the other end: 34. Nissan Primastar, 54.0 percent (8,920 tests). 33. Fiat Scudo, 58.3 percent (8,183 tests). 32. Vauxhall Vivaro, 59.7 percent (159,785 tests). 31. Renault Kangoo, 61.1 percent (54,883 tests). 30. Renault Trafic, 61.6 percent (97,030 tests). The Primastar, the Vivaro before its 2019 redesign, and the Trafic are the same Renault-designed van under three badges, and all three land in the bottom five. That is the clearest shared-platform result in the data, and it points at the van, not at how any one brand's buyers treat it.

The Ford Transit sits in the bottom half

Britain's best-selling van, the Ford Transit, passes 67.6 percent of the time across 299,937 tests, the largest sample of any van here. That is 22nd of 34, nine points under the UK average, at an average of 115,599 miles. Its smaller siblings do much better: the Transit Custom tops the table and the Transit Connect passes 72.0 percent. Sheer numbers on the road do not translate into a reliability edge.

Same badge, different van

The Berlingo (68.3 percent) and Partner (71.5 percent) have been twins for decades. The Vauxhall Combo (66.3 percent) only joined them in 2018; older Combos were built on the Corsa and then the Fiat Doblo, so a Combo figure covers three different vans. The Sprinter (74.3 percent), Crafter (73.2) and Vito (72.7) all sit in the top ten despite averaging 115,000 to 140,000 miles, which is the stronger result for a trade buyer.

What this means if you are buying a van as salvage

A below-average pass rate is not a reason to walk away from a specific van, it is a reason to budget harder for the MOT-time items and check service history properly before you bid, same logic as the car data. See our Transit and Sprinter flipping guide for the salvage angle. Run the specific reg through our free Vehicle History checker for its own MOT record, then put the lot through the Analyzer to see if the repair and fee numbers still work.

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