2021 Audi A1: MOT pass rate and reliability
91.3% of 2021 Audi A1s pass the MOT first time, measured across 8,477 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 23,429 miles.
How the 2021 compares
- Against all Audi A1s (79.8%, 212,324 tests): +11.5 points
- Against all 2021 cars (90%): +1.3 points
- National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%
Every Audi A1 model year
Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2021 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Audi A1:
| Year | Pass rate | Tests | Avg mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 67.7% | 1,396 | 96,236 |
| 2011 | 70% | 16,216 | 95,224 |
| 2012 | 72.7% | 18,408 | 88,240 |
| 2013 | 73.8% | 22,285 | 79,906 |
| 2014 | 76.8% | 22,939 | 71,910 |
| 2015 | 79.2% | 23,808 | 65,636 |
| 2016 | 79.4% | 25,674 | 57,155 |
| 2017 | 81.2% | 23,024 | 48,839 |
| 2018 | 84.5% | 19,969 | 41,079 |
| 2019 | 89.3% | 19,962 | 35,271 |
| 2020 | 90.9% | 9,740 | 28,587 |
| 2021 | 91.3% | 8,477 | 23,429 |
| 2022 | 95.5% | 404 | 20,017 |
What this means if you are buying a 2021 A1
The 2021 is one of the stronger years for this model, passing 11.5 points more often than the Audi A1 average. That is a point in its favour, though condition and service history still matter more than the model year. Check the exact car with the free MOT history checker before you buy, and run its VIN and mileage through our free VIN decoder and clocking check.
What a 5-year-old car fails on
A 2021 car is 5 years old now, and age drives the failure mix more than the badge does. Across all cars tested, these are the categories that actually cause failures:
- Lights and electrical: 10.36% of all cars tested
- Suspension: 8.65% of all cars tested
- Tyres: 6.23% of all cars tested
- Brakes: 6.1% of all cars tested
- Visibility: wipers, washers, glass: 4.65% of all cars tested
- Body, chassis and structure: 3.18% of all cars tested
That is low mileage, which usually means light urban use. Short journeys are harder on batteries, brakes and exhausts than motorway miles, so do not assume low miles means low wear. On a 2021 Audi A1 the average at test was 23,429 miles, so treat anything far above that as a car that has worked harder than its peers, and anything far below as one worth checking for the faults that come from standing still.
The strongest year for this model is 2022 at 95.5%, and the weakest in our data is 2010 at 67.7%. That 27.8 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2021 car against a newer one tells you very little.
Nearby model years
- 2018 Audi A1 - 84.5%
- 2019 Audi A1 - 89.3%
- 2020 Audi A1 - 90.9%
- 2022 Audi A1 - 95.5%