Smart MOT pass rates by model

Every completed first-attempt MOT on a class-4 Smart in Great Britain in 2025 — 88,573 tests. How they age, and how each model compares, computed by SortedCars from the official DVSA record of every test.

Smart pass rate 2025
71.2%
1.1 points below the class-4 average (72.3%); covers all Smart class-4 vehicles; unadjusted for fleet age — the age-matched comparison is below
Tests analysed
88,573
first tests, 2025
Models tracked
3
with 2,000+ tests in 2025
Arrived with a dangerous fault
6.2%
of Smart first tests; national 7.3%

How many Smart cars are still on the road?

At the end of 2025, DVLA's register held 103,495 Smart cars that were taxed or on SORN: 89,091 taxed and 14,404 on SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification — kept, but declared off the road by the keeper), so 86.1% of them were taxed. DVLA lists 19 named Smart car models, counted across the whole United Kingdom. A further 468 taxed Smart cars are on the register with no model name recorded; they are in the totals here and under no model below. DVLA records the make as MCC and SMART; all are counted. These are counts of cars, not tests, and cars only: vans, pickups and motorhomes are recorded as goods vehicles or motor caravans in the licensing data and are not in these figures. The model table below carries the count for each model DVLA records under a name of its own.

Still taxed, end of 2025
89,091
86.1% of the 103,495 Smart cars taxed or on SORN
On SORN, end of 2025
14,404
declared off the road by their keepers — 13.9% of that total

Population source: Department for Transport / DVLA vehicle licensing statistics, table VEH0124, updated 15 July 2026; counts of the cars on DVLA's register that were taxed or on SORN at the end of each year shown, United Kingdom, cars only; the make totals include cars recorded with no model name, the model figures exclude them. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. SortedCars is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, DVLA or the Department for Transport.

How Smart cars age

First-time pass rate by vehicle age, Smart vs all cars, 2025.

SmartAll cars
50%60%70%80%90%100%3579111315171920Vehicle age (years)Smart, vehicle age 3: 91%Smart, vehicle age 4: 87.4%Smart, vehicle age 5: 87%Smart, vehicle age 6: 83.4%Smart, vehicle age 7: 81.1%Smart, vehicle age 8: 78%Smart, vehicle age 9: 73.9%Smart, vehicle age 10: 68.9%Smart, vehicle age 11: 74.7%Smart, vehicle age 12: 70.5%Smart, vehicle age 13: 71%Smart, vehicle age 14: 68.4%Smart, vehicle age 15: 65.5%Smart, vehicle age 16: 63.4%Smart, vehicle age 17: 62.5%Smart, vehicle age 18: 60.2%Smart, vehicle age 19: 59.2%Smart, vehicle age 20: 62.7%All cars, vehicle age 3: 88.5%All cars, vehicle age 4: 87.2%All cars, vehicle age 5: 86%All cars, vehicle age 6: 83.5%All cars, vehicle age 7: 80.9%All cars, vehicle age 8: 78.2%All cars, vehicle age 9: 74.9%All cars, vehicle age 10: 71.9%All cars, vehicle age 11: 68.6%All cars, vehicle age 12: 65.8%All cars, vehicle age 13: 63.5%All cars, vehicle age 14: 61.2%All cars, vehicle age 15: 59.3%All cars, vehicle age 16: 58.3%All cars, vehicle age 17: 57.2%All cars, vehicle age 18: 57.4%All cars, vehicle age 19: 57%All cars, vehicle age 20: 57.6%Smart 62.7%All cars 57.6%
View this chart as a table
Age (years)Smart testsSmart pass rateAll cars
31,09891.0%88.5%
41,36487.4%87.2%
51,17587.0%86.0%
63,82883.4%83.5%
77,16181.1%80.9%
89,53978.0%78.2%
910,96773.9%74.9%
107,62168.9%71.9%
113,71874.7%68.6%
124,27170.5%65.8%
134,44071.0%63.5%
143,80768.4%61.2%
155,20665.5%59.3%
165,57663.4%58.3%
174,58262.5%57.2%
182,74760.2%57.4%
192,77559.2%57.0%
202,79662.7%57.6%

Better or worse than the average car?

Smart's pass rate minus the all-cars pass rate at each age, in percentage points. Bars above zero: Smart beats the average car of that age. Below zero: it trails.

Smart aheadSmart behind
-8-4+0+4+8Age 3: +2.5 points vs the average car3Age 4: +0.2 points vs the average carAge 5: +1.0 points vs the average car5Age 6: -0.1 points vs the average carAge 7: +0.2 points vs the average car7Age 8: -0.2 points vs the average carAge 9: -1.0 points vs the average car9Age 10: -3.0 points vs the average carAge 11: +6.1 points vs the average car11Age 12: +4.7 points vs the average carAge 13: +7.5 points vs the average car13Age 14: +7.2 points vs the average carAge 15: +6.2 points vs the average car15Age 16: +5.1 points vs the average carAge 17: +5.3 points vs the average car17Age 18: +2.8 points vs the average carAge 19: +2.2 points vs the average car19Age 20: +5.1 points vs the average car20Vehicle age (years)
View this chart as a table
Age (years)Gap (points)
3+2.5
4+0.2
5+1.0
6-0.1
7+0.2
8-0.2
9-1.0
10-3.0
11+6.1
12+4.7
13+7.5
14+7.2
15+6.2
16+5.1
17+5.3
18+2.8
19+2.2
20+5.1

The Smart fleet on the road, by age

How many Smart cars of each age took a first MOT in 2025 — the shape of the Smart fleet still in use.

05k10k15k20kAge 3: 1k3Age 4: 1kAge 5: 1k5Age 6: 3kAge 7: 7k7Age 8: 9kAge 9: 10k9Age 10: 7kAge 11: 3k11Age 12: 4kAge 13: 4k13Age 14: 3kAge 15: 5k15Age 16: 5kAge 17: 4k17Age 18: 2kAge 19: 2k19Age 20: 2k20Vehicle age (years)
View this chart as a table
Age (years)First tests
31,098
41,364
51,175
63,828
77,161
89,539
910,967
107,621
113,718
124,271
134,440
143,807
155,206
165,576
174,582
182,747
192,775
202,796

What a Smart fails on

Where the failure items land when a Smart fails or needs a fix at test, 2025. Every make has a signature — this is Smart's.

Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment28.8%
Suspension16.2%
Brakes14.2%
Tyres12.5%
Noise, emissions and leaks10.2%
Visibility10.1%
Body, chassis, structure4.7%
Steering1.4%

Share of all failure items, 2025 — the 8 biggest categories shown (98.1% of the items); smaller categories are not listed.

The advisories to watch

Where testers most often write "keep an eye on this" on a Smart, 2025 — the faults in the post.

Tyres: 35.6% of advisories35.6%Brakes: 28.6% of advisories28.6%Suspension: 16.2% of advisories16.2%Noise, emissions and leaks: 4.4% of advisoriesNon-component advisories: 3.7% of advisoriesLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 3.5% of advisories
TyresBrakesSuspensionNoise, emissions and leaksNon-component advisoriesLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
View this chart as a table
CategoryShare of advisories
Tyres35.6%
Brakes28.6%
Suspension16.2%
Noise, emissions and leaks4.4%
Non-component advisories3.7%
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment3.5%

Petrol, diesel or hybrid Smart?

First-time pass rate for the three most-tested fuel types, 2025, against the all-cars average. Fleet ages differ by fuel — newer fleets help the electrified bars.

50%60%70%80%90%100%all cars 72.3%Petrol: 70.6% of 79,328 tests70.6%Petrol79,328 testsElectric: 87.3% of 4,916 tests87.3%Electric4,916 testsDiesel: 64.1% of 4,315 tests64.1%Diesel4,315 tests
View this chart as a table
FuelTestsPass rate
Petrol79,32870.6%
Electric4,91687.3%
Diesel4,31564.1%

What mileage is normal for a Smart?

Mileage recorded at test by vehicle age, all Smart class-4 vehicles, 2025. The line is the typical (median) Smart; the shaded band holds the middle half. A car far outside the band, in either direction, is worth questions the recorded history can answer.

Typical Smart (median)
0k25k50k75k100k125k3579111315171920Vehicle age (years)Age 3: typical 8,750 miles (middle half 6,250–16,250)Age 4: typical 13,750 miles (middle half 8,750–18,750)Age 5: typical 16,250 miles (middle half 8,750–21,250)Age 6: typical 26,250 miles (middle half 16,250–38,750)Age 7: typical 31,250 miles (middle half 21,250–46,250)Age 8: typical 38,750 miles (middle half 26,250–51,250)Age 9: typical 43,750 miles (middle half 28,750–58,750)Age 10: typical 51,250 miles (middle half 36,250–66,250)Age 11: typical 46,250 miles (middle half 31,250–63,750)Age 12: typical 51,250 miles (middle half 36,250–66,250)Age 13: typical 56,250 miles (middle half 38,750–71,250)Age 14: typical 63,750 miles (middle half 46,250–81,250)Age 15: typical 66,250 miles (middle half 48,750–83,750)Age 16: typical 66,250 miles (middle half 48,750–86,250)Age 17: typical 68,750 miles (middle half 51,250–88,750)Age 18: typical 68,750 miles (middle half 51,250–86,250)Age 19: typical 71,250 miles (middle half 53,750–93,750)Age 20: typical 76,250 miles (middle half 56,250–101,250)76k mi

Mileage values are midpoints of 2,500-mile bands.

View this chart as a table
Age (years)Lower quarterTypical (median)Upper quarter
36,2508,75016,250
48,75013,75018,750
58,75016,25021,250
616,25026,25038,750
721,25031,25046,250
826,25038,75051,250
928,75043,75058,750
1036,25051,25066,250
1131,25046,25063,750
1236,25051,25066,250
1338,75056,25071,250
1446,25063,75081,250
1548,75066,25083,750
1648,75066,25086,250
1751,25068,75088,750
1851,25068,75086,250
1953,75071,25093,750
2056,25076,250101,250

Every Smart model in the data

First-time pass rate per model, 2025. Every model with at least 2,000 tests is listed — all 3 of them, ordered by number of tests; models with 5,000+ tests link to their own page. All trims and variants are grouped under one model name. Pass rates are unadjusted for age: models with older fleets sit lower. The last three columns are the number of that model on DVLA's register at the end of 2025 — taxed, on SORN, and the taxed share — from the licensing statistics rather than the MOT record. They are left blank for vans, pickups and car-and-van models, which the licensing data counts as goods vehicles rather than cars, and for models DVLA does not record under a name of their own. DVLA's model groupings do not always draw the line where the MOT grouping does; each model page says what its count covers.

Model Tests 2025Pass rate Taxed, end 2025SORN, end 2025 Taxed share
ForTwo58,03570.7%58,93710,44085.0%
ForFour25,03872.7%23,8741,34994.7%
Roadster2,46270.8%1,8962,17246.6%

Smart models ranked by pass rate

All two grouped Smart car models with 5,000 or more first tests in 2025, highest first-time pass rate first — the full field at that floor. Pass rates are unadjusted for fleet age — a model whose fleet runs older sits lower for that reason alone. Neighbouring rows can be effectively level, and models sharing a published rate share a rank.

RankModelTests 2025Pass rate
1Smart ForFour25,03872.7%
2Smart ForTwo58,03570.7%
How these figures are computed. Every number on this page is calculated by SortedCars from the DVSA anonymised MOT results dataset (every MOT test in Great Britain — 2025 for single-year figures; trend figures state their span, currently 2023–2025). Where a figure comes from a sample or uses banded values (mileage is banded to 2,500 miles), the page says so beside the figure. Test class 4 only, first tests only — retests are excluded. Class 4 is the car MOT class and also covers car-derived vans, pickups and motorhomes tested to the same standard; where this page says "cars" it means class 4. Pass rate = passes ÷ (passes + failures + pass-after-rectification): a vehicle that failed and was fixed during the visit counts as a fail. Pass rates describe fleets, not individual machines: they reflect how cars were driven, maintained and used as well as how they were built, and beyond recorded mileage none of that is in the data. A well-kept example of a model with a weak average can still pass; a neglected example of a strong one can still fail. No figure is shown for any group with fewer than 500 tests. Alias spellings of a make in the DVSA file are counted under one make name, and all trims and variants of a model are grouped under one model name, using SortedCars' grouping tables. The taxed and SORN counts on this page are the one exception: they are not computed from MOT records but taken from the Department for Transport's vehicle licensing statistics (DfT/DVLA table VEH0124, updated 15 July 2026, Open Government Licence v3.0), which count the cars on DVLA's register that were taxed or on SORN at the end of each year shown, UK-wide, cars only. They describe a model as a whole, grouped under SortedCars' model names, and say nothing about any one car. “Dangerous” is DVSA's statutory defect category (in force since May 2018): a defect posing an immediate risk to road safety — driving the vehicle before repair is an offence. What these figures are for. These statistics are general information about groups of vehicles. They are not advice, a valuation or a recommendation to buy, avoid or price any particular vehicle, and no decision about one car should rest on them alone — check the car itself and its own records. We take care over the calculations, but we cannot guarantee they are complete, current or free of error, and we accept no liability for loss arising from reliance on them. This does not limit any liability that cannot lawfully be limited — see our Terms & Conditions. If you believe any figure on this page is inaccurate, contact us. SortedCars is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the DVSA or DVLA. DVSA publishes the raw test records; the statistics on this page are SortedCars' own calculations from them. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.