2012 Volvo Xc70: MOT pass rate and reliability

75.2% of 2012 Volvo Xc70s pass the MOT first time, measured across 1,330 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 116,265 miles.

How the 2012 compares

  • Against all Volvo Xc70s (74.1%, 17,398 tests): +1.1 points
  • Against all 2012 cars (70.8%): +4.4 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Volvo Xc70 model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2012 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Volvo Xc70:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2003 61.5% 434 165,097
2004 59.3% 727 165,260
2005 63.5% 1,244 162,334
2006 66% 1,155 151,617
2007 67.6% 1,271 146,376
2008 73.1% 974 143,841
2009 77.5% 1,006 137,055
2010 76.5% 1,393 137,225
2011 76% 1,806 126,048
2012 75.2% 1,330 116,265
2013 79% 1,571 109,947
2014 80.6% 1,751 97,919
2015 81.4% 1,605 88,135
2016 79% 1,025 79,739

What this means if you are buying a 2012 Xc70

The 2012 sits close to the Volvo Xc70 average, so there is no strong model-year signal either way. Judge the individual car on its own history. 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 14-year-old car fails on

A 2012 car is 14 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 high mileage, so timing belts, clutches, suspension bushes and corrosion are the items worth budgeting for rather than the MOT itself. On a 2012 Volvo Xc70 the average at test was 116,265 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 2015 at 81.4%, and the weakest in our data is 2004 at 59.3%. That 22.1 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2012 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Volvo Xc70 MOT data · Every model