Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 322,715 tests

Pass rate climbs 7.2 points across the cohorts — newer Range Rover Evoque examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.

Pre-2018 cohort 293,774

Pass

86.0%

Fail

10.9%

PRS

2.6%

Avg mileage at test

76,566 mi

2018–2020 cohort 28,838

Pass

88.8%

Fail

8.3%

PRS

2.6%

Avg mileage at test

45,410 mi

2021+ cohort 103

Pass

93.2%

Fail

3.9%

PRS

2.9%

Avg mileage at test

30,295 mi

Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.

Generations on file · 2

Land Rover Range Rover Evoque · UK market

Land Rover Range Rover Evoque 2011-2019 — 2011–2019

Land Rover Range Rover Evoque 2019-now — 2019–now

Photos: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA / CC BY / public domain.

The picture

Evoque's 84.4% Pass Rate Is Misleading at Low Mileage

An 84.4% first-time pass rate from 151,835 tests sounds strong, and at an average of just 66,139 miles it should be — these are relatively young cars. Brake pads worn below 1.5mm, tyre damage, and tread failures lead the failure list, pointing more to owner neglect than mechanical fragility. But the ownership picture is patchier than the MOT numbers suggest. Power steering failure caused by water ingress was reported on a 2020 car, with the fault recurring after initial dealer repair. Windscreen cracks during the 2019-2020 winter led to a months-long wait for replacement glass.

Early oil service indicators appearing at just 3,300 miles on a 2019 D180 caused friction with dealers. Factor in above-average brake and tyre wear rates into the cost of ownership.

ABI Insurance Group

Group 30–40

Above average — worth comparing quotes before buying. Lower groups cost less to insure; UK fleet average is around Group 22.

Source: ABI Group Rating Panel · administered by Thatcham Research · groups cover standard variants; performance trims may sit higher. Browse all insurance groups →

30–40

out of 50

Compare quotes →

Top ten reasons for rejection.

Filter failures:

Hide wear items to see the model's real defects.

01

a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm

6,142 occurrences · 1.9% of tests
02

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

4,214 occurrences · 1.3% of tests
03

Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view

4,092 occurrences · 1.3% of tests
04

A tyre seriously damaged

3,056 occurrences · 0.9% of tests
05

A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened

2,937 occurrences · 0.9% of tests
06

A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED

2,391 occurrences · 0.7% of tests
07

A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated

2,216 occurrences · 0.7% of tests
08

A tyre cords visible or damaged

1,776 occurrences · 0.6% of tests
09

A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED

1,586 occurrences · 0.5% of tests
10

Engine MIL illuminated indicating a malfunction

1,523 occurrences · 0.5% of tests

Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.

Worst-case fix budget · top 3 failures

£220–£495

If every one of this Range Rover Evoque's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →

Try the calculator

Build your own retest budget.

Year-band analysis

Best year to buy. Worst to avoid.

First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 7.2-point gap between bands means the year you buy Land Rover Range Rover Evoque has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

93.2%

2021+ registration

the 2021-on band climbs to 93.2% — a 7.2-point improvement. Tests in this band average 30,295 miles — roughly 46K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: has ply or cords exposed, has a cut in excess of the… — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. Post-2020 examples are early in their MOT life and generally show the cleanest records.

Band to be cautious about

86.0%

Pre-2018 registration

On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 86.0% pass rate against a fleet average of 93.2% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: less than 1.5 mm thick, tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm, and damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view. Average mileage on test for this band is 76,566 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.

Best band to buy: 2021+ (93.2% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (86.0% pass). That's a 7.2-point spread across 293,774 older tests and 103 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.

Year-spread leaderboard →

Tools that pre-empt a retest.

Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.

Item 01 · Amazon UK

Brake pad measurement gauge

Testers fail pads under 1.5mm. A wear gauge tells you if you've got two months left or two weeks.

Search Amazon UK

Item 02 · Amazon UK

Digital tyre-tread depth gauge

Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.

Search Amazon UK

My Motor World · affiliate

Parts & supplies for this fix

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Hycote

Hycote Land Rover Chamonix White Double Acrylic Spray Paint 150ml

£6.59

View at My Motor World →

Hycote

Hycote Land Rover Epsom Green Pearlescent Double Acrylic Spray Paint 150ml

£6.59

View at My Motor World →

Hycote

Hycote Land Rover Fuji White Double Acrylic Spray Paint 150ml

£6.59

View at My Motor World →

Hycote

Hycote Land Rover Santorini Black Double Acrylic Spray Paint 150ml

£6.59

View at My Motor World →

Click Mechanic · affiliate

Book a mobile mechanic

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Mobile mechanic · UK-wide

Book a mechanic at your door.

Fixed-price quotes upfront. No garage needed. Click Mechanic sends a vetted local mechanic to you — home, work, or roadside.

Get a quote →

Owner reports · Honest John

What owners actually report.

Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.

Where it falls short

Owner reports (3 entries) flag recurring issues with power steering, electrical faults, AdBlue.

Recent owner-reported faults

12 Nov 2020
Report of steering problems with Range Rover Evoque purchased in April. In early September the power steering failed. The dealer said the fault was caused by water ingress. Dealer repaired the car but the fault returned and the owner has been offered replacement car of similar age and spec.
21 Feb 2020
Report of unavailability of replacement windscreens for latest model Range Rover Evoque. Reader's cracked on 20 December 2019. Still waiting at 21 February 2020.
15 Jan 2020
Owner of Evoque 2019 D180 reporting oil service indicator at 3300 miles. Land Rover dealer is unwilling to change the oil free of charge will simply reset the offending warning light.

Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 3 reports indexed

Recall history

27 UK recalls on record.

The Range Rover Evoque has 27 official UK vehicle recalls covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.

See all recalls

Buying or keeping a Range Rover Evoque?

Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.

If you own a Range Rover Evoque and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.