All generations and engines together · 21,949 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 45k
Split by first-registration year. Cars registered in a changeover year can belong to either generation.
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. 11,081 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.
Euro NCAP's September 2025 crash test found the right-hand front seat rail on the current MG3 and MG3 Hybrid+ let go under impact, twisting the seat and risking leg and head injuries, something Euro NCAP said it hadn't seen before in its testing. MG fitted a corrected seat rail on the production line from August 2025 and opened a recall that November to retrofit an anchor to earlier cars; by spring 2026 roughly two-thirds of affected cars had been done, with the rest targeted for later in the year. If you're looking at a 2024-on car built before August 2025, get the registration checked for a completed recall before you buy.
Several owners describe the touchscreen or sat-nav locking up or losing its bearings and needing a full factory reset to work again; one owner said their dealer admitted it couldn't be permanently fixed. Other owners report one-off electrical faults, a window that stopped closing partway or a fuel-flap release that stopped springing back. These read as scattered quality-control gremlins rather than one specific part failing, and can turn into a slow fix given MG's patchy dealer back-up.
A handful of owners have reported surface rust starting around the windscreen trim and a tow bar mounting point within a few years, and forum posters have long said the interior plastics feel low-rent for the class. It's far from a universal complaint, plenty of owners report no corrosion at all, so treat it as something to check for at a viewing rather than something to expect.
The MG3 is mechanically simple, a five-speed manual with no dual-mass flywheel and no turbo, so there's less on the driveline to fail than on a downsized turbo rival. Even so, at least one owner has reported a clutch needing replacement in normal use; a clutch and slave cylinder job on a car this size typically runs a few hundred pounds. Doesn't apply to CVT automatic versions.
The mechanicals are simple and generally hold up, but MG has finished bottom of the manufacturer table in Driver Power's customer satisfaction survey for several years running, driven mainly by dealer experience and how slowly niggles get sorted rather than the car breaking down outright. Worth weighing against anything you find at a viewing, on this brand a small fault can take longer to put right than on a mainstream rival.
Built from the two sections above.
Same segment (Superminis), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.