Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate MOT Pass Rate & Official DVSA Failure Statistics

Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate MOT History and Failure Rates vs UK National Average

The Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate passed on its first attempt in 91.3%, and its overall record sits +11.0 percentage points above the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate in the 2023–2025 data: 8,108 tests across 4 model years (2020–2023). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.

Figures are computed from every recorded DVSA test for this model in the 2023–2025 data.

Most Common Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate MOT Problems by Failure Category

Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate, the Visibility section leads the record — the breakdown below shows where the recorded failures cluster, then the exact strings behind the three biggest sections.

Shares are over the Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.

Top Recorded Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate DVSA MOT Test Statistics & Defect Descriptions

The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate, each with how many of the model's 8,108 tests it was noted on.

• "Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively" (Rectified) — noted on about 397 Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate tests, 4.9% of the model's MOT record.
• "Wipers blade defective" (Minor) — noted on about 171 Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate tests, 2.1% of the model's MOT record.
• "Headlamp aim too high" (Rectified) — noted on about 167 Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate tests, 2.1% of the model's MOT record.
• "Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords" (Major) — noted on about 125 Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate tests, 1.5% of the model's MOT record.
• "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" (Minor) — noted on about 56 Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate tests, 0.7% of the model's MOT record.
• "Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick" (Major) — noted on about 46 Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate tests, 0.6% of the model's MOT record.

Best and Worst Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate Model Years by Pass Rate

The strongest Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate model year on record is 2023 (95.4% across 569 tests), and the weakest is 2022 (91.5%). The gap between them is 3.9 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.

Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate reliability is improving in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 1.0 points a year across the most recent model years shown above.

Newest model year first. Only years with at least 50 recorded tests are listed.

Pre-MOT Inspection Checklist for Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate Owners

These checks follow this Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate.

• the wipers and washers — “wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively”

  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.

• the lights — “headlamp aim too high”

  Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.

• the windscreen — “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.

Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.

Where the Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate is most common

Across every Corsa Ultimate model year on record (2020–2023): 6,506 Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 8,108 tests. Cardiff (CF) has the most, with 180 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.

The twenty areas with the most Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate 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 →

Frequently Asked Questions: Vauxhall Corsa Ultimate MOT & Reliability