Volkswagen Lupo: MOT pass rate and reliability data

The Volkswagen Lupo fails its first MOT more often than the average UK car, by 11 percentage points. These figures come from the DVSA's full year of anonymised MOT results, covering 6,065 individual Volkswagen Lupo tests. Nothing here is an estimate or a survey.

The numbers

What this means if you are buying one

A 65.7% first-time pass rate means roughly 34 in every 100 Volkswagen Lupos presented for MOT fail on the first attempt. That is worse than average, so budget for remedial work and treat a fresh 12-month MOT as a genuine selling point rather than a given. The average Volkswagen Lupo tested had covered 88,080 miles and was built around 2002.

What this means at salvage auction

Pass rate is a proxy for what a car costs to keep on the road. On a Volkswagen Lupo bought as a repairable salvage, assume the mechanical side needs more than the visible accident damage, and pad your repair estimate accordingly.

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 Volkswagen Lupo 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 Volkswagen Lupos actually sold for at UK salvage auction.

Most common MOT failures on a Volkswagen Lupo

1. Emissions levels exceed the manufacturer's specified limits, 2.7% of tests (12.21x the national rate for this defect)
2. Emissions levels exceed default limits, 3.1% of tests (10.47x the national rate for this defect)
3. Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer, 3.9% of tests (9.84x the national rate for this defect)
4. Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle., 2.6% of tests (6.64x the national rate for this defect)
5. Emissions test unable to be completed, 1.9% of tests (5.96x the national rate for this defect)
6. Exhaust system leaking or insecure, 4% of tests (5.33x the national rate for this defect)
7. The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements, 6.6% of tests (3.77x the national rate for this defect)
8. Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction, 2.4% of tests (2.59x the national rate for this defect)
9. A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc, 2.8% of tests (2.53x the national rate for this defect)
10. Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen, 2.7% of tests (1.95x the national rate for this defect)

From 9,319 DVSA-tracked Volkswagen Lupo tests, 2024. DVSA testers marked 2.99% of these flagged Volkswagen Lupo defects as "dangerous", meaning the tester judged the car unsafe to drive away, against 4.97% nationally.

Volkswagen Lupo 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 Volkswagen Lupo year:

• 1999 Volkswagen Lupo - 64.9% first-time pass, 350 tests
• 2000 Volkswagen Lupo - 65.6% first-time pass, 739 tests
• 2001 Volkswagen Lupo - 65.5% first-time pass, 1,040 tests
• 2002 Volkswagen Lupo - 65% first-time pass, 1,419 tests
• 2003 Volkswagen Lupo - 68.6% first-time pass, 1,006 tests
• 2004 Volkswagen Lupo - 66.2% first-time pass, 1,023 tests
• 2005 Volkswagen Lupo - 72.5% first-time pass, 411 tests

Volkswagen Lupo by fuel type

Diesel and petrol versions of the same car fail on different things, so the fuel type moves the number:

• Petrol Volkswagen Lupo - 66.6% first-time pass, 5,299 tests
• Diesel Volkswagen Lupo - 65.5% first-time pass, 698 tests

Other Volkswagen models

• Volkswagen Golf - 77.1%
• Volkswagen Polo - 71.4%
• Volkswagen Transporter - 70.8%
• Volkswagen Tiguan - 82.4%
• Volkswagen Passat - 74.7%
• Volkswagen Caddy - 73.5%
• Volkswagen Up - 84.4%
• Volkswagen Touran - 72.7%

Models with a similar pass rate

• Hyundai Amica - 65.8%
• Daihatsu Fourtrak - 65.8%
• Alfa Romeo 156 - 65.8%
• Citroen Ds5 - 65.7%
• Volkswagen Bora - 65.6%
• Hyundai Veloster - 65.6%

If this car is a salvage or write-off

• What does Cat N mean? Category N explained
• What does Cat S mean? Category S explained
• Cat S vs Cat N: the real differences

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All 2,005 models ranked by MOT pass rate