Pass rate
92.7%
Above average — 1.5 pts ahead of the 91.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 259 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £25–£62
2021 Subaru Xv MOT pass rate
- 2021
- typical 23,136 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
33.3% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£40 for Brake pads under 1.5 mm. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2020 93.5% pass
- Avoid 2012 76.7% pass
Across the 10 years on record, a spread of 16.8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 92.1%
- Typical mileage
- 23k mi
The 2021 Subaru Xv MOT pass rate is 92.7% of its MOT tests — 1.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 33.3% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.6× the national share
Brakes make up 33.3% of everything recorded on the 2021 Subaru Xv, against 20.9% nationally — 12.4 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
- Based on a small sample. 259 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Subaru Xv? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2021 Subaru Xv compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 91.2%, so this figure is 1.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 92.1%. The median 2021 Subaru Xv in this dataset had covered 23,136 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 91.6% of the time, April–September 93.8%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick", noted on 1.93% of tests.
- 259 recorded tests behind this page.
- 92.7% overall pass rate, 92.1% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Subaru Xv, the average is 85.9% — best year 2020 (93.5%), worst 2012 (76.7%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 259
- Typical mileage (median)
- 23,136 mi
- Make and model
- Subaru Xv
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Brake Pads Set
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Xv MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 42% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the Subaru Xv is most common
Across all Xv model years on record (2012–2021): 8,119 Subaru Xv cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 19,370 tests. Edinburgh (EH) has the most, with 226 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edinburgh (EH) | 226 | 85.0% |
| 2 | Guildford (GU) | 216 | 86.4% |
| 3 | Aberdeen (AB) | 213 | 79.8% |
| 4 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 208 | 86.7% |
| 5 | Glasgow (G) | 181 | 84.5% |
| 6 | Swindon (SN) | 180 | 85.7% |
| 7 | Inverness (IV) | 172 | 88.4% |
| 8 | Northampton (NN) | 171 | 90.1% |
| 9 | Ayr (KA) | 162 | 88.7% |
| 10 | Newport (NP) | 161 | 84.9% |
| 11 | Newton Abbot (TQ) | 154 | 85.8% |
| 12 | Gloucester (GL) | 152 | 85.4% |
| 13 | Coventry (CV) | 147 | 89.1% |
| 14 | Sheffield (S) | 143 | 89.1% |
| 15 | Taunton (TA) | 142 | 85.8% |
| 16 | Reading (RG) | 139 | 86.6% |
| 17 | Leeds (LS) | 139 | 90.7% |
| 18 | Exeter (EX) | 133 | 84.0% |
| 19 | Birmingham (B) | 132 | 88.5% |
| 20 | Ashford (TN) | 126 | 89.8% |
The twenty areas with the most Subaru Xv cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the Xv
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 73 | 91.8% |
| North West | 35 | 94.3% |
| South East | 30 | 83.3% |
| South West | 29 | 93.1% |
| East of England | 23 | 95.7% |
| Yorkshire | 18 | 100.0% |
| West Midlands | 17 | 94.1% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2021 Xv
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2021 Xv
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the brakes 1.9% of tests
“brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick”
Look through the spokes of each wheel at the pad — less than 3mm of friction material, or a lip on the disc edge, is the usual failure. Check the handbrake holds on a slope with a few clicks, not at the top of its travel.
-
Check the windscreen 1.5% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
-
Check the wipers and washers 1.5% of tests
“wipers blade defective”
Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2021 Xv through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £25–£62 — and 52% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £25–£62
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 90%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 52%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 259 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the Xv, side by side
10 model years on record, from 2012 to 2021. Across them the pass rate runs from 76.7% to 93.5% — a spread of 16.8 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2012 76.7% ball joint excessively worn
- 2013 80.0% ball joint excessively worn
- 2014 81.1% ball joint excessively worn
- 2015 84.5% pins and bushes pin or bush…
- 2016 85.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 87.4% stop lamp not working
- 2018 91.5% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2019 92.5% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
- 2020 93.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2021 92.7%brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2021 Subaru Xv with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2021 cars with a similar record
- Nissan Qashqai 92.7%
- BMW 118 92.7%
- MINI Countryman 92.7%
- Kia Rio 92.7%
- Toyota C-Hr Gr 92.7%
- MINI John COOPER Works 92.7%
Closest pass rates among 2021 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2021 Subaru Xv 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 8 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 162 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 54 | 33.30% | 20.89% | +12.41 |
| Tyres | 51 | 31.50% | 19.76% | +11.74 |
| Suspension | 19 | 11.70% | 20.98% | −9.28 |
| Visibility | 14 | 8.60% | 4.97% | +3.63 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 11 | 6.80% | 12.21% | −5.41 |
| Non-component advisories | 9 | 5.60% | 4.18% | +1.42 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 3 | 1.90% | 5.52% | −3.62 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 1 | 0.60% | 5.57% | −4.97 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 1.9% | £18–45 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.5% | £80–200 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 1.5% | £8–22 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 1.5% | £8–22 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 1.2% | £45–95 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.2% | £5–20 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.77% | £5–20 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Rectified | 0.77% | £8–22 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 0.39% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Major | 0.39% | £45–110 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 11.6% | £18–45 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 11.2% | £45–95 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 7.0% | £40–150 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 4.3% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 3.1% | £45–110 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Advisory | 2.7% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 169 | 94.7% | 17,620 mi |
| 30-60k | 79 | 89.9% | 38,929 mi |
| 60-90k | 9 | 88.9% | 69,697 mi |
| 90-120k | 2 | 50.0% | 94,117 mi |
Source: 259 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2021 Xv MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2021 Subaru Xv?
92.7% of the 259 2021 Subaru Xv tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 91.2% for cars first used in 2021. First-attempt pass rate: 92.1%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2021 Subaru Xv?
The three most recorded items are brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (1.93%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (1.54%), wipers blade defective (1.54%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2021 Subaru Xv MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 94.7% of the time, falling to 50.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2021 Subaru Xv in this dataset had covered 23,136 mi.
Does the season affect the 2021 Subaru Xv MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 91.6% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 93.8%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.