Comparison · family SUVs

Volkswagen Tiguan vs Land Rover Discovery Sport: which is more reliable?

The Volkswagen Tiguan does better at the MOT, with a score of 106 against 101 for the Land Rover Discovery Sport, comparing each with cars of the same age. Based on 338,534 real MOT tests in 2024.

By age

MOT Rank score for each age group (100 = an average car that age).

Age at test	Volkswagen Tiguan	Land Rover Discovery Sport
3–5 years	103Above average	96Below average
6–9 years	107Above average	104Above average
10–14 years	107Above average	–
15+ years	109Well above average	–

Year by year

Share that passed first time, same registration year.

Year	Volkswagen Tiguan	Land Rover Discovery Sport
2021	89.1%	82.9%
2020	89.0%	82.0%
2019	88.1%	82.5%
2018	86.4%	82.7%
2017	86.4%	81.8%
2016	84.2%	80.2%
2015	78.3%	80.1%

Problem areas

Failure items per 100 tests.

Area	Volkswagen Tiguan	Land Rover Discovery Sport
Tyres	6.3	6.7
Suspension	7.8	1.9
Lights & electrics	4.0	5.6
Brakes	4.2	4.1
Visibility (wipers, screen, mirrors)	2.1	3.8
Emissions & leaks	1.9	2.8
Body & chassis	1.0	0.5
Seat belts & airbags	0.6	0.3

Volkswagen Tiguan: top failures

Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm2.5%
Suspension arms - pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn2.2%
Coil spring: fractured or broken2.1%
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick1.7%
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction1.5%
Tyres - condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords1.2%

Land Rover Discovery Sport: top failures

Tyres - condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords2.5%
Wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively2.3%
Brake pads: less than 1.5 mm thick1.9%
Malfunction indicator lamp: inoperative or indicates a malfunction1.8%
Tyres - condition: has ply or cords exposed1.3%
Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm1.2%

Questions

Which is more reliable, the Volkswagen Tiguan or the Land Rover Discovery Sport?

The Volkswagen Tiguan does better at the MOT, with a score of 106 against 101 for the Land Rover Discovery Sport, comparing each with cars of the same age.

Which years of the Volkswagen Tiguan and Land Rover Discovery Sport can be compared?

Both were tested for 7 registration years (2015–2021). The Volkswagen Tiguan had the higher pass rate in 6 of them and the Land Rover Discovery Sport in 1.

What fails most on each?

Volkswagen Tiguan: tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm; suspension arms - pins and bushes: pin or bush excessively worn. Land Rover Discovery Sport: tyres - condition: has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords; wipers: does not clear the windscreen effectively.