The medium-van short answer
The Ford Transit Custom wins this duel by a margin big enough to change a shortlist. In the 2024 public UK MOT record, the Vauxhall Vivaro posted a
Pass-rate split
This is not a close win dressed up as a verdict. The Transit Custom’s 81.01% pass rate is strong for a working medium van. The Vivaro’s 66.72% is a different world: still usable as a buying signal, but clearly rougher.
The sample sizes are large enough to take seriously. The Vivaro has the bigger record here, with 396,918 tests. The Transit Custom has 139,855. Both are proper trade-fleet populations, not tiny enthusiast samples. Together they cover 536,773 recorded 2024 tests, which is plenty of evidence for broad buying advice.
The fail-rate split says the same thing. The Vivaro failed 27.66% of recorded 2024 tests. The Transit Custom failed 12.80%. That is the real cut. The Ford does not merely pass a bit more often; it avoids outright failure far more often.
The PRS rates add colour. The Vivaro’s PRS rate is 4.72% by the raw counts, while the Transit Custom sits higher at 5.31%. In plain English, the Ford appears to have more tests where small items are rectified during the test process, but far fewer hard failures. That is a buyer-friendly pattern. You would rather see a van tripped by a lamp, wiper or minor rectification than dragged down by worn steering, tired suspension and brake corrosion.
This does not mean every Transit Custom is a winner. It means the Ford gives you a cleaner starting point. With vans, starting point matters because the worst examples are not just inconvenient. They lose work days.
Where They Fail
The Vivaro’s failure list is exactly what puts pressure on its verdict. Its top recorded failure reasons in the 2024 file are:
- Steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play: 28,753
- Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured, but not adversely affecting the driver’s view: 21,916
- Suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn: 14,405
- Suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn: 12,403
- Rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative: 10,449
That is a very physical list. Steering ball joints first. Suspension wear twice in the top four. Then the usual van background noise: screens and lamps. The Vivaro is telling you where to put the pry bar and where to listen on the road test.
The Transit Custom’s top failures are different:
- Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured, but not adversely affecting the driver’s view: 6,884
- Rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative: 3,798
- Brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm: 2,726
- Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen: 2,200
- Transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated: 2,098
The Ford’s list is still not soft. Brake pads and CV boots are real money, especially if the van has been worked hard and the issue has been left long enough to damage other parts. But the top of the list is more inspectable and more predictable. Glass, plate lamps, pads, wipers and CV boots are easier to spot, price and negotiate than a general pattern of steering and suspension wear.
The brake story is worth separating. The Vivaro has brake pipe corrosion and parking brake efficiency in the wider top-ten list. The Transit Custom has worn pads in the top three and brake pipe corrosion lower down. That makes the Vivaro feel more age-and-condition sensitive underneath, while the Ford looks more like a van that needs routine consumables kept on top of.
Cohort Tells
The age bands explain why this head-to-head is not just a badge fight. The Vivaro’s record is heavily weighted towards older vans. In the pre-2018 cohort it has 354,661 tests, a 65.75% pass rate and 126,898 miles on average at test. That is the bulk of the Vivaro evidence, and it is tough reading.
The Transit Custom has a much smaller pre-2018 cohort: 10,016 tests. But that older group still passes at 78.30%, with 88,464 miles on average. That mileage is much lower than the older Vivaro group, so do not pretend the two pre-2018 bands are identical. They are not. The older Vivaro population is larger, older-feeling and more worn on mileage.
The 2018-2020 band is the fairest fight because it is where most Transit Customs in this file sit. The Ford has 128,810 tests in that band, an 81.26% pass rate and 75,842 miles on average. The Vivaro has 42,149 tests, a 74.89% pass rate and 76,842 miles on average. That is the killer comparison. Similar average mileage, same broad age band, and the Ford is 6.37 points ahead.
The 2021-on cohort is small for both vans in this file. The Vivaro shows 108 tests at 77.78%, while the Transit Custom shows 1,029 tests at 76.48%. That is the one place the Vivaro noses ahead, but it is not where the verdict should live. A 108-test newer cohort is too thin to outweigh hundreds of thousands of older and middle-aged tests.
So the cohort call is blunt. If you are buying a 2018-2020 medium van, the Transit Custom looks far cleaner. If you are buying older, the Ford still looks better on pass rate, though the mileage mix is different. If you are buying nearly new, inspect the specific van and do not lean too hard on the tiny sample.
Mileage Tells
Average mileage is where the Vivaro gets part of its defence. Across the whole 2024 record, the Vivaro averaged 121,550 miles at test. The Transit Custom averaged 76,517 miles. That is a huge gap.
This matters. A van with 45,000 extra miles on average should be expected to show more wear. Steering joints, suspension bushes, springs, brake pipes, pads, tyres and wipers all live harder lives under payload. The Vivaro is not simply worse because of design or owner neglect. It is also older and more used in this record.
But mileage does not excuse everything. The 2018-2020 cohort strips away much of that defence. There, the Vivaro averaged 76,842 miles and the Transit Custom averaged 75,842. That is almost level. The Ford still passed at 81.26% against the Vivaro’s 74.89%.
That is the strongest buying signal in the whole article. Same broad age bracket, nearly the same average mileage, and the Ford walks away.
The Vivaro can blame mileage in the full sample. It cannot hide behind mileage in the 2018-2020 cohort.
For a buyer, that means the Vivaro price has to work harder. If a Vivaro is cheaper than a Transit Custom, it needs to be cheaper for a reason you understand. If the seller wants Transit Custom money, the van needs evidence: recent front-end work, clean brake pipes, good tyres, no repeated advisories, and a road test that does not clonk, wander or judder.
The Transit Custom gets the easier recommendation, but do not buy one lazily. Its top failures still include pads below the limit, CV boot deterioration, tyres, brake pipes and headlamp faults. A van can have a strong model average and still be a poor individual buy.
The Numbers We Trust
The headline numbers are clear enough to put on one line:
- Vauxhall Vivaro: 396,918 tests, 66.72% pass rate, 121,550 average miles
- Ford Transit Custom: 139,855 tests, 81.01% pass rate, 76,517 average miles
- Ford lead: 14.29 percentage points
- Vivaro pre-2018: 354,661 tests, 65.75% pass rate, 126,898 average miles
- Transit Custom pre-2018: 10,016 tests, 78.30% pass rate, 88,464 average miles
- Vivaro 2018-2020: 42,149 tests, 74.89% pass rate, 76,842 average miles
- Transit Custom 2018-2020: 128,810 tests, 81.26% pass rate, 75,842 average miles
- Vivaro 2021-on: 108 tests, 77.78% pass rate, 35,585 average miles
- Transit Custom 2021-on: 1,029 tests, 76.48% pass rate, 44,445 average miles
The fairest interpretation is not “Ford good, Vauxhall bad”. That is too lazy. The better reading is this: the Transit Custom has the stronger MOT record, especially in the key 2018-2020 cohort, while the Vivaro population is older, higher mileage and more front-end-wear heavy.
For trade use, the Ford is the better default. It gives you a higher chance of passing first time and a failure pattern that is easier to inspect before money changes hands. For private buyers, camper converters and small businesses, that matters because MOT failure is not just a test bill. It is lost time, delayed jobs and repairs that arrive exactly when the van is supposed to be earning.
For the Vivaro, the path to a good buy is narrower but still real. Look for proof of suspension and steering work. Check whether brake pipe advisories have been fixed or merely carried forward. Look at tyres for uneven wear. Do a proper road test over rough surfaces. If it knocks, pulls, wanders or feels vague through the wheel, price the van as though the front end needs work.
Buying Call
If you are choosing between two similar vans with similar history, buy the Transit Custom. The pass-rate advantage is too large to ignore, and the 2018-2020 cohort backs it up without relying on an obvious mileage excuse.
The Vivaro should win only when the individual van is clearly better. That means cleaner history, better underside, recent steering or suspension receipts, matching tyres, no repeat brake advisories and a seller who can explain the maintenance rather than wave at a fresh ticket.
Do not let ply lining make the decision for you. A tidy load bay can hide a hard life. On both vans, look underneath before you look at accessories. Brake pipes, CV boots, suspension joints, tyre wear and structural corrosion are more important than parking sensors, roof bars or a shiny bulkhead.
For fleets, the Transit Custom is the more rational bet. For a single used purchase, the Ford still starts ahead, but condition gets the final vote. A neglected Transit Custom is still a neglected van. A well-maintained Vivaro can still be the right buy if the price reflects the model’s weaker record.
The Vivaro is not a write-off. It can be a good buy when the individual van has cleaner history and evidence of proper steering, suspension and brake work. But on equal condition, equal paperwork and equal price, start with the Transit Custom. The public UK MOT record gives it the much cleaner medium-van case.