Ford Focus St: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Ford Focus St passes its MOT first time more often than the average UK car, by 10.8 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 3,601 individual Ford Focus St tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

First-time pass rate87.5%
UK national average76.7%
Difference+10.8 points
Tests analysed3,601
Average mileage at test29,242 miles
Average year of manufacture2020
Reliability rank1,054 of 2,005 models

What this means if you are buying one

A 87.5% first-time pass rate means roughly 13 in every 100 Ford Focus Sts presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is better than average, so a well-kept example is a reasonably safe used buy. The average Ford Focus St tested had covered 29,242 miles and was built around 2020.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Ford Focus St bought as a repairable salvage, the mechanical side is less likely to spring surprises, so your repair estimate should hold up reasonably well.

Before you bid: run the lot through the analyzer, check the car's own record, check the mileage, decode the VIN, and if it carries a marker use the write-off value calculator. Or compare it against another model.

Looking at a specific Ford Focus St rather than the model in general? The free check covers its MOT and mileage history, and the full HPI report confirms the insurance write-off category, outstanding finance and whether it is recorded stolen, from licensed data for 5 credits. Already own one that has been damaged? Work out whether fixing it beats selling it with the repair or scrap calculator, and see what damaged Ford Focus Sts actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Ford Focus St

  1. A tyre cords visible or damaged, 3.4% of tests (2.77x the national rate for this defect)
  2. A tyre seriously damaged, 3.6% of tests (1.79x the national rate for this defect)
  3. A tyre pressure monitoring system malfunctioning or obviously inoperative, 0.3% of tests (1.55x the national rate for this defect)
  4. Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, 1% of tests
  5. a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm, 0.9% of tests
  6. Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen, 0.3% of tests
  7. Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen, 0.2% of tests
  8. Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer, 0.2% of tests
  9. A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED, 0.2% of tests
  10. A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play, 0.2% of tests

From 7,091 DVSA-tracked Ford Focus St tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 11.47% of these flagged Ford Focus St defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Ford Focus St pass rate by model year

Pass rates fall steadily as cars age, so the model year matters as much as the model. First-time pass rate for each Ford Focus St year:

Other Ford models

Models with a similar pass rate

If this car is a salvage or write-off

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate