Volkswagen Touran Reliability: MOT Pass Rate by Year & Engine

Verdict

The Volkswagen Touran passes its MOT first time on 65.8% of tests, 2.5 points higher than a typical car of the same age and mileage (63.4%). That puts it ahead of 61% of cars on UK roads once age and mileage are taken into account.

By year of first registration, the 2012 Touran does best (beats 75% of cars) and the 2018 worst (beats 41%).

Of its engines, the 1.4 Petrol does best (beats 80%) and the 1.6 Petrol worst (beats 44%).

Better than average on lights & electrics, brakes, steering.

Watch these weak spots

Seat belts & airbags1.4×as often as a typical car

Ball joint dust covers2.7×as often as a typical car

Tyre damage & cracking1.5×as often as a typical car

Drive shaft (CV) joints1.6×as often as a typical car

MOT pass rate by age

First-time pass rate at each MOT by the car’s age in years.

Volkswagen TouranTypical car, same age & mileage

Best and worst years

By year of first registration, ranked against all cars on UK roads after adjusting for age and mileage. Green = better than half of cars.

Beats 57%

Beats 51%

Beats 50%

Beats 47%

Beats 61%

Beats 59%

Beats 59%

Beats 57%

Beats 74%

Beats 75%

Beats 71%

Beats 72%

Beats 72%

Beats 70%

Beats 55%

Beats 41%

Beats 64%

Beats 65%

Beats 74%

Engines

All years, most common first. Grades compare each car with cars of the same age and mileage (A = best 20% of cars on UK roads, E = worst 20%), so an older or higher-mileage car can grade above one with a higher pass rate.

Engine	Years	Tests	Pass rate	Rank	Grade
1.6 Diesel	2010–2019	205,964	74.1%	Beats 67%	B
2.0 Diesel	2003–2020	198,918	65.0%	Beats 65%	B
1.9 Diesel	2003–2010	184,434	55.2%	Beats 53%	C
1.4 Petrol	2007–2018	34,050	78.8%	Beats 80%	B
1.6 Petrol	2004–2010	30,039	53.5%	Beats 44%	C
1.5 Petrol	2019–2021	13,823	88.3%	Beats 68%	B
1.2 Petrol	2011–2018	5,374	76.4%	Beats 41%	C
1.0 Petrol	2019–2019	1,499	83.9%	Beats 45%	C
2.0 Petrol	2005–2005	1,311	53.6%	Beats 54%	C

Where it fails

Each area compared with a typical car of the same age and mileage, in points of pass rate. Tap or hover an area to see what to check.

Better than typicalTypicalWorse than typical

Tyres: 9.4% of tests fail on tyres, against 7.7% for a typical car of the same age and mileage. Check the tread on every tyre, including the inner edge, and look for cuts or bulges.

Every MOT area

Share of tests failing on each area, against a typical car of the same age and mileage (black line).

Suspension

14.1% vs 13.3%

Lights & electrics

10.7% vs 16.7%

Tyres

9.4% vs 7.7%

Brakes

7.2% vs 9.8%

Visibility

4.9% vs 5.8%

Body & structure

4.8% vs 5.1%

Emissions & leaks

4.6% vs 4.5%

Seat belts & airbags

2.3% vs 1.6%

Steering

1.3% vs 2.8%

Wheels

0.5% vs 0.5%

Buying one or MOT due? Check these

Tyre damage & cracking 1.5× typical
Look for cuts, bulges and cracking on both sidewalls of every tyre.
Suspension arm bushes 1.7× typical
Listen for knocks over speed bumps and feel for wandering or vague steering.
Coil springs
Look behind each wheel for a snapped coil (often the bottom one) and listen for clunks over bumps.
Tyre tread depth
Check every tyre, including the inner edge, has at least 3 mm of tread. Uneven wear can point to alignment or suspension problems.
Headlight aim
Park facing a wall at night: both dipped beams should sit level and dip to the left.
Brake lights
Walk around with the lights on: bulb failures are the easiest MOT fails to avoid.

Pass rate by mileage

First-time pass rate by mileage at the test.

Volkswagen TouranTypical car

Most common MOT failures

Item	This car	Typical	vs typical
Tyre damage & cracking	5.8%	4.0%	1.5×
Coil springs	3.8%	3.2%	1.2×
Tyre tread depth	3.5%	3.5%	1.0×
Drive shaft (CV) joints	3.3%	2.0%	1.6×
Ball joint dust covers	3.0%	1.1%	2.7×
Suspension arm bushes	2.9%	1.7%	1.7×
Headlight aim	2.8%	4.5%	0.6×
Brake lights	2.6%	3.2%	0.8×
Windscreen wipers	2.2%	2.4%	0.9×
Windscreen washers	2.2%	2.8%	0.8×

Specific defects found

Tester wording for the most frequent failure items, per 1,000 tests.

Defect	per 1,000
A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc	47.7
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn	47.2
A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened	37.7
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements	35.0
A tyre cords visible or damaged	34.6
A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc	33.6
The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements	28.1
Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning	24.1

Check another car

Pick a make and model to see its MOT pass rate, best and worst years and weak spots.

Every year and engine

Tap a year to see its engines. Grades compare each car with cars of the same age and mileage (A = best 20% of cars on UK roads, E = worst 20%), so an older or higher-mileage car can grade above one with a higher pass rate.

2021 Volkswagen Touran1 engine89.0% passB

Engine	Tests	Pass rate	Rank	Grade
1.5 Petrol	2,599	89.0%	Beats 74%	B

2020 Volkswagen Touran2 engines87.4% passB

Engine	Tests	Pass rate	Rank	Grade
1.5 Petrol	6,172	88.2%	Beats 66%	B
2.0 Diesel	2,446	85.6%	Beats 63%	B

2019 Volkswagen Touran4 engines85.9% passB

Engine	Tests	Pass rate	Rank	Grade
1.6 Diesel	5,743	84.5%	Beats 63%	B
1.5 Petrol	5,052	88.0%	Beats 70%	B
1.0 Petrol	1,499	83.9%	Beats 45%	C
2.0 Diesel	1,207	86.2%	Beats 72%	B

2018 Volkswagen Touran4 engines81.5% passC

Engine	Tests	Pass rate	Rank	Grade
1.6 Diesel	10,186	81.3%	Beats 44%	C
2.0 Diesel	5,305	81.6%	Beats 50%	C
1.4 Petrol	4,771	82.2%	Beats 31%	D
1.2 Petrol	1,366	79.6%	Beats 14%	E

2017 Volkswagen Touran4 engines81.4% passC

Engine	Tests	Pass rate	Rank	Grade
2.0 Diesel	9,873	80.7%	Beats 56%	C
1.6 Diesel	9,671	80.6%	Beats 56%	C
1.4 Petrol	7,176	83.9%	Beats 59%	C
1.2 Petrol	2,557	80.4%	Beats 34%	D

2016 Volkswagen Touran3 engines81.4% passB

Engine	Tests	Pass rate	Rank	Grade
1.6 Diesel	15,526	80.1%	Beats 63%	B
2.0 Diesel	9,558	82.3%	Beats 78%	B
1.4 Petrol	2,533	85.8%	Beats 88%	A

2015 Volkswagen Touran3 engines79.4% passB

Engine	Tests	Pass rate	Rank	Grade
1.6 Diesel	25,793	78.8%	Beats 67%	B
2.0 Diesel	6,751	80.7%	Beats 82%	A
1.4 Petrol	1,360	85.1%	Beats 93%	A

2014 Volkswagen Touran3 engines76.7% passB

Engine	Tests	Pass rate	Rank	Grade
1.6 Diesel	31,594	75.8%	Beats 67%	B
2.0 Diesel	9,860	78.4%	Beats 83%	A
1.4 Petrol	1,594	82.9%	Beats 95%	A

2013 Volkswagen Touran3 engines73.3% passB

Engine	Tests	Pass rate	Rank	Grade
1.6 Diesel	34,043	72.2%	Beats 66%	B
2.0 Diesel	9,877	75.0%	Beats 81%	A
1.4 Petrol	2,545	80.4%	Beats 94%	A

2012 Volkswagen Touran3 engines71.0% passB

Engine	Tests	Pass rate	Rank	Grade
1.6 Diesel	34,933	69.9%	Beats 70%	B
2.0 Diesel	12,096	72.4%	Beats 83%	A
1.4 Petrol	2,806	79.5%	Beats 95%	A

2011 Volkswagen Touran4 engines68.4% passB

Engine	Tests	Pass rate	Rank	Grade
1.6 Diesel	32,632	67.9%	Beats 72%	B
2.0 Diesel	14,827	67.6%	Beats 73%	B
1.4 Petrol	3,777	77.1%	Beats 94%	A
1.2 Petrol	1,451	66.5%	Beats 61%	B

2010 Volkswagen Touran5 engines60.9% passC

Engine	Tests	Pass rate	Rank	Grade
1.9 Diesel	27,073	58.3%	Beats 48%	C
2.0 Diesel	10,003	63.7%	Beats 67%	B
1.6 Diesel	5,843	64.2%	Beats 66%	B
1.4 Petrol	2,149	70.0%	Beats 78%	B
1.6 Petrol	1,247	61.3%	Beats 52%	C

2009 Volkswagen Touran4 engines59.3% passC

Engine	Tests	Pass rate	Rank	Grade
1.9 Diesel	34,280	58.1%	Beats 55%	C
2.0 Diesel	12,968	60.7%	Beats 63%	B
1.6 Petrol	2,853	60.9%	Beats 58%	C
1.4 Petrol	1,815	68.7%	Beats 77%	B

2008 Volkswagen Touran4 engines57.9% passC

Engine	Tests	Pass rate	Rank	Grade
1.9 Diesel	24,610	56.5%	Beats 56%	C
2.0 Diesel	20,659	59.2%	Beats 64%	B
1.6 Petrol	4,845	56.1%	Beats 48%	C
1.4 Petrol	1,685	65.2%	Beats 71%	B

2007 Volkswagen Touran4 engines57.6% passB

Engine	Tests	Pass rate	Rank	Grade
1.9 Diesel	29,122	56.2%	Beats 58%	C
2.0 Diesel	23,976	59.1%	Beats 66%	B
1.6 Petrol	7,078	56.1%	Beats 53%	C
1.4 Petrol	1,839	65.1%	Beats 72%	B

2006 Volkswagen Touran3 engines52.2% passC

Engine	Tests	Pass rate	Rank	Grade
1.9 Diesel	27,296	52.7%	Beats 50%	C
2.0 Diesel	18,217	52.7%	Beats 49%	C
1.6 Petrol	6,469	48.6%	Beats 31%	D

2005 Volkswagen Touran4 engines51.5% passC

Engine	Tests	Pass rate	Rank	Grade
1.9 Diesel	24,782	50.9%	Beats 49%	C
2.0 Diesel	16,361	52.6%	Beats 55%	C
1.6 Petrol	2,767	50.0%	Beats 38%	D
2.0 Petrol	1,311	53.6%	Beats 54%	C

2004 Volkswagen Touran3 engines50.7% passC

Engine	Tests	Pass rate	Rank	Grade
1.9 Diesel	14,568	50.4%	Beats 51%	C
2.0 Diesel	12,667	51.5%	Beats 55%	C
1.6 Petrol	4,780	49.2%	Beats 41%	C

2003 Volkswagen Touran2 engines51.6% passC

Engine	Tests	Pass rate	Rank	Grade
1.9 Diesel	2,703	51.6%	Beats 56%	C
2.0 Diesel	2,267	51.5%	Beats 58%	C

FAQ

What is the Volkswagen Touran MOT pass rate?

65.8% of MOT tests on the Volkswagen Touran were passed first time, based on 675,412 tests between 2018 and 2026 of cars first registered 2003–2021. A typical car of the same age and mileage passes 63.4% of the time.

Is the Volkswagen Touran reliable?

On MOT results it rates B (good): it passes first time more often than a typical car of the same age and mileage and does better than 61% of cars on UK roads. MOT results cover safety and emissions items, not every kind of breakdown.

Which Volkswagen Touran year is best?

Among years with enough data, the 2012 Touran does best for its age and mileage: it beats 75% of cars on UK roads. The 2018 does worst: it beats 41%.

Which Volkswagen Touran engine is best?

Across all years, the 1.4 Petrol does best: it beats 80% of cars on UK roads. The 1.6 Petrol does worst: it beats 44%.

What are the most common MOT failures on the Volkswagen Touran?

The most common failure items are tyre damage & cracking, coil springs, tyre tread depth. Compared with similar cars, ball joint dust covers comes up 2.7× as often.

How we calculate this. We use official MOT results for cars tested in Great Britain from 2018 to 2026. Each car is compared with typical cars of the same age and mileage, so old and new cars are judged fairly; “pts” are percentage points above or below them. Differences also reflect how cars are used and maintained, not only how they are built.

Volkswagen Touran reliability

Verdict

Watch these weak spots

MOT pass rate by age

Best and worst years

Engines

Where it fails

Every MOT area

Buying one or MOT due? Check these

Pass rate by mileage

Most common MOT failures

Specific defects found

Every year and engine

FAQ