All generations and engines together · 345,773 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 62k
Better than most family hatchbacks, by age and by mileage. Watch suspension and corrosion. A solid used buy, provided its MOT history has no repeating suspension advisories.
Split by first-registration year. Cars registered in a changeover year can belong to either generation.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press, with how well each report stands up. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
The 1.5 evo engine can hesitate and hop when pulling away in the first minutes from cold, mostly on manuals. VW Group acknowledged it in January 2019 and issued a software fix in February 2020; stubborn cases also needed the injector adaptations reset.
A known weak spot on the EA211 petrol engines. The pump and the plastic thermostat housing are one integrated part, and the plastic cracks with heat cycling until coolant seeps out. The first signs are a low coolant warning, the level dropping between services, a sweet smell around the engine bay, or weak cabin heat. Because the two are integrated they get replaced together, which is why the bill is larger than a water pump sounds: reckon on several hundred pounds at an independent and more at a franchise. Audi has covered some out of warranty on goodwill, so it is worth asking.
Audi UK says the belt is fitted for life (policy since July 2023, previously 5 years). Independent specialists and many owners change it at 8–10 years anyway, around £400–600, because a snapped belt destroys the engine.
Long-running owner complaint: creaks from top mounts, drop links and bushes, often around 60–80k. The measured data partly backs it, with a twist: springs and dampers run above the class average, but bush wear itself stays well below it. The creak is real; the part the forums blame may not be.
The expensive one on S tronic cars. The DQ200 is the dry clutch seven speed, and two things go wrong with it: the clutch packs wear and start juddering as you pull away, and the mechatronic unit develops micro cracks around the pressure accumulator, bringing on jerky shifts, an EPC light, or a refusal to select a gear at all. Owners warn that replacing the clutch pack without the mechatronic unit that killed it just buys you the same fault again. Reckon on four figures either way, and check the gearbox oil has been changed on schedule rather than treated as a lifetime fill.
Ranked from this model’s own MOT record, then from what owners report.
Saveable checklistThe physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
Drawn from the reports above rather than the MOT data. These are the model-specific ones.
Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.
Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.
The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 129,290 tests in this band.
Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.
Same segment (Family hatchbacks), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.
Head to head with the other popular cars in its class on reliability and common faults.