New data obtained from the DVSA has revealed which cars cars are the most likely to pass their first MOT test, and which are least likely.

While most new cars should be expected to pass their first MOT after three years on the road, there are some models which don’t fare so well. The new data looks at cars which have had their MOT test three years after being first registered, which means that the cars must have been available as new in 2016.

Unsurprisingly it is the cars at the top end of the market which perform best in MOT centres, with the Porsche Boxster, Lexus RX, BMW i3, Bentley Continental joined by the more modest Honda Jazz in the top five.

The Honda Jazz tops the mass-market list, with those models with more than 5000 test results including the Mini One, Skoda Octavia, MINI Countryman and Audi Q5.

Experts at KnowYourCar cruched the MOT data from the DVSA and found that the number one cause for failures on new cars was ‘headlamp aim out of alignment’, this being the problem for many of the worst performing cars including the Isuzu D-Max and Dacia Sandero.

KnowYourCar’s Dan Owen said: “It’s worrying that headlamp alignment issues rank so highly as failure items, and not just for the top three 2016 cars – it was a common failure for the 10 worst performers, which included the Vauxhall Corsa and Volkswagens Passat and Golf.

“The fact that headlamps are such a problem for so many different models is startling. Misalignment can be caused by a number of issues, including minor collisions, faulty headlight motors and even assembly issues at the car factory. These MoT results certainly explain why so many cars’ headlights tend to dazzle at night.”

The 20 cars that are MOST likely to pass their first MOT test

1. Porsche Boxster (petrol) - 97.46% pass rate (1,325 tested)

2. Lexus RX (hybrid) - 96.82% pass rate (2,548 tested)

3. BMW i3 (electric) - 96.78% pass rate (528 tested)

4. Bentley Continental (petrol) - 96.77% pass rate (899 tested)

5. Honda Jazz (petrol) - 96.49% pass rate (19,276 tested)

6. Audi A8 (diesel) - 96.37% pass rate (963 tested)

7. Porsche Cayman (petrol) - 96.15% pass rate (1,116 tested)

8. Infiniti Q30 (diesel) - 95.96% pass rate (1,706 tested)

9. Mini Paceman (petrol) - 95.93% pass rate (861 tested)

10. Toyota GT86 (petrol) - 95.91% pass rate (684 tested)

11. Audi A5 (petrol) - 95.88% pass rate (728 tested)

12. Kia Niro (hybrid) - 95.75% pass rate (1,270 tested)

13. Porsche Macan (petrol) - 95.73% pass rate (1,899 tested)

14. Mercedes-Benz S-Class (petrol) - 95.69% pass rate (534 tested)

15. Lexus NX (hybrid) - 95.64% pass rate (3,898 tested)

16. BMW X1 (petrol) - 95.55% pass rate (1,867 tested)

17. BMW M135 (petrol) - 95.55% pass rate (1,484 tested)

18. Mercedes-Benz GLA (petrol) - 95.45% pass rate (1,408 tested)

19. Mercedes-Benz SL (petrol) - 95.31% pass rate (789 tested)

20. Jaguar F-Type (petrol) - 95.28% pass rate (2,161 tested)

Source: KnowYourCar using DVSA data

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