That Top Gear Item on Peugeot Drivers Might Hold Some Truth

Yes, as your IE editor has owned a Peugeot, it’s tough to look at this collision and MoT failure data;

The Dacia Sandero and Renault Clio have the worst records of the UK’s 100 most common used cars, according to Banger Watch by CarCanny, a new ranking from the used-car history check. Both score an index of 132, where 100 is the same record as cars their age. The Sandero failed its 2025 MOT 47% more often than cars its age (33.4% against 22.6% expected), and was involved in injury collisions 15% less often. The Clio failed its MOT 41% more often (44.2% against 31.4%).

At the other end, the Mazda MX-5 scores 60. It failed its MOT 34% less often than cars its age (22.4% against 34.0% expected), and was involved in injury collisions 59% less often.

Of the 100 models, 27 have a clearly worse record than cars their age and 48 a clearly better one.

Worst records (index; 100 = cars the same age)

1. Dacia Sandero (132)
2. Renault Clio (132)
3. Citroën C4 (126)
4. Vauxhall Mokka (126)
5. Renault Megane (124)
6. SEAT Ibiza (124)
7. Vauxhall Corsa (121)
8. Peugeot 2008 (120)
9. Peugeot 308 (119)
10. Peugeot 3008 (117)

Best records

1. Mazda MX-5 (60)
2. Audi TT (66)
3. Ford Puma (68)
4. Land Rover Range Rover (68)
5. Volkswagen T-Roc (68)
6. MINI Countryman (69)
7. Audi Q2 (70)
8. Audi Q5 (72)
9. Land Rover Range Rover Sport (73)
10. Honda CR-V (74)

Other findings

• Peugeot: five Peugeots sit in the worst 12: the 2008, 308, 3008, 207 and 208.
• Golf against Fiesta: two of Britain’s best-known used buys go opposite ways. The Volkswagen Golf scores 87: it failed its MOT 18% less often than cars its age (24.6% against 30.0%). The Ford Fiesta scores 110: it failed 13% more often.
• First MOTs: at their first MOT in 2025, 18.6% of 2.0-litre BMW 3 Series hybrids failed, against 10.1% of all hybrids; 18.8% of electric Vauxhall Corsas failed, against 13.7% of all electric cars.

Hubert Rachwalski, Founder of CarCanny, said: “Most buyers judge a used car on its mileage and its looks. The MOT record tells you more. Some of the cheapest, most popular cars fail far more often than others their age, so check the history and budget for repairs before you hand over the money.”

Method

• What’s scored: the UK’s 100 most common used cars, aged 3 to 20.
• MOT (80%): how much more or less often each model failed its 2025 MOT than cars the same age. Source: 31,707,812 MOT tests in DVSA’s anonymised MOT data.
• Injury collisions (20%): how much more or less often each model was involved in injury collisions in 2021 to 2024 than cars the same age. Source: 381,355 involvements in the Department for Transport’s STATS19 data.
• The index: 100 means the same record as cars the same age; above 100 is worse, below 100 better. A model is marked clearly worse or better only when it is at least 5 points from 100 and beyond chance.
• The Ford Puma had too few collisions to score on them, so its index uses MOT data alone.
• Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.