All generations and engines together · 6,586 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 44k
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. 2,249 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.
The flat-four's sump is shallow and sits low in the chassis, and owners who track the car or drive it hard on B-roads report brief oil pressure drops under sustained lateral load, which over time is blamed for accelerated bearing and valve gear wear. It rarely shows up as a sudden failure, more as gradually rattlier top-end noise or a warning light flicker mid-corner. Track day owners commonly fit an aftermarket baffled sump or accusump as a preventative fix rather than waiting for damage.
A rough or lumpy idle, sometimes with a faint knocking or tapping from the top of the engine, has been reported on the 2.0 flat-four, with valve springs named as a wear point. It tends to surface once a car is out of its original warranty and shows up more on cars that have covered a lot of miles or been driven hard from cold. Repairs range from a simple idle relearn to a top-end strip if springs need replacing, so get any knocking noise checked before buying.
Owners report a knock or clonk from the rear diff area, most noticeable on a trailing throttle or when coming on and off the power. It is usually put down to worn diff mounts or internal backlash rather than anything catastrophic, and a rebuild or mount replacement is the usual fix. Not every car does it, and there is no manufacturer acknowledgement, so treat it as a listen-for-it item rather than a certainty.
A recurring complaint of batteries going flat after the car sits for a few days, sometimes traced to the interior light dimmer switch staying live, and in other cases to aftermarket alarms or immobilisers fitted by dealers not being wired correctly. Toyota is reported to have moved from a 45A to a 65A battery on affected cars, which is the closest thing to a manufacturer response found. Cheap enough to fix with a trickle charger or correct battery, but worth flagging on a car that has been sitting on a forecourt.
Main-beam headlight failures have been reported that trace back to the car's Gateway Network ECU rather than a simple bulb, making what looks like a cheap fix into an expensive dealer job. It is not a common complaint but it is a sting when it happens, since the ECU is not a stock part most independent garages carry. Ask whether both main and dip beam work correctly on any test drive.
One documented case involved a 2012 automatic at around 60,000 miles stalling repeatedly and running rough, with dealers unable to pin down a cause. It is a single reported instance rather than a widespread pattern, but the automatic is the less popular gearbox in the UK and has far fewer owner reports overall, so problems on it are harder to corroborate. Worth a longer test drive including some stop-start town driving if buying an automatic.
Built from the two sections above.
Same segment (Coupés, convertibles & GT), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.