All generations and engines together · 8,239 MOT tests in the 2025 data
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. 7,930 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.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
A small number of owners of newer 1.0 TSI Scalas have reported a buzz or vibration through the steering wheel and driver's seat when pulling away or idling, flagged in separate owner threads on Honest John's forum. It's a mild annoyance rather than a safety issue, and dealers have generally sorted it with a wheel balance check or engine mount inspection. The measured MOT data for this class shows steering as the standout defect category, and while this owner complaint isn't the same fault as a worn track rod end or rack, it's the nearest folklore equivalent, a milder, earlier-onset cousin of the same area of the car.
Some owners have seen an SOS or eCall warning light or message appear on the dash, which can knock out the car's built-in emergency call and connected services. It isn't unique to the Scala, it's been reported across Skoda and VW Group cars generally, and a reader wrote to Honest John in late 2025 asking why there's no organised recall to fix it. The usual cure is a dealer reset or replacement of the telematics control unit; whether that's free depends on the car's age and whether the dealer treats it as goodwill.
The entry S-trim's 6.5-inch touchscreen is basic next to rivals, and Honest John's own review calls it 'pretty rubbish for its time' with no navigation and limited features. It's not a failure, more a case of buyers on the cheapest trim feeling short-changed, and Skoda answered it with bigger 8.0-inch and 9.2-inch screens further up the range, plus a larger screen as standard from the 2024 facelift. Whether it's a genuine 'fault' or just cheap-trim penny-pinching is a matter of opinion among owners.
The 1.6 TDI diesel, dropped from the range in 2022, needs its cambelt changed on a schedule (quoted at around 112,000 miles by Auto Express) rather than the chain fitted to the petrol engines; miss it and a snapped belt can wreck the engine. Like most small diesels bought for motorway miles but often used for short trips, the DPF and EGR valve can clog over time, bringing on a warning light or limp mode that's costly to clear once it's gone that far. Only relevant if you're looking at an early diesel Scala, the vast majority sold in the UK are petrol.
Skoda as a brand fell to 23rd out of 32 manufacturers in the 2024 Driver Power survey, with owners marking the range down on infotainment, safety kit, ride quality and engine performance. Around a quarter of owners reported some kind of problem with their car in its first year. This is brand-wide data covering the whole Skoda range rather than anything specific to the Scala, so treat it as a general reliability temperature check rather than a named defect.
Built from the two sections above.
Same segment (Family hatchbacks), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.