All generations and engines together · 141,141 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 116k
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. 63,228 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 traction battery pack fades with age more than mileage, showing up as duller acceleration, the engine running more often to help out, and worse real-world fuel economy. Early NiMH packs (Gen 1 to Gen 3, up to 2015) are the ones to worry about; the Li-ion pack in later cars holds up better. Toyota's response is a long hybrid-system warranty with an annual health check at a dealer, which is itself an admission this is a known wear item. A full pack swap runs roughly £1,500 to £3,000 at a dealer, less through an independent hybrid specialist or reconditioned unit.
The inverter has its own small coolant pump to keep the power electronics cool, and it can fail or get noisy, especially on Gen 2 and Gen 3 cars past 100,000 miles. Owners report a sudden loss of drive power or a red triangle warning light appearing on the dash, sometimes with a whining noise beforehand. The pump itself is cheap, but a dealer will often quote for the whole inverter assembly, which pushes the bill up towards £1,000 or more.
Owners on early and mid-generation cars (roughly 2007-2015) report HID headlamps flickering or cutting out, needing the ignition cycled to bring them back, plus occasional combination meter (the digital dash readout) faults from ageing solder joints. This lines up with the measured MOT data for the model, where lights and electrics is the standout fault category; the folklore version is a specific bulb or ballast fault and a fiddly dash unit rather than a single wiring gremlin, but the general electrical weakness checks out.
Some Gen 3 cars, mostly built 2010 to 2014, burn oil faster than they should, with owners needing to top up between services rather than just at the yearly check. It is put down to piston ring wear and tends to appear from around 90,000 miles onward, sometimes not badly enough to trip a warning light. Left unchecked for long enough it can contribute to bigger engine wear; a repair or rebuild runs into four figures, but most owners just monitor and top up.
A rapid clicking noise from the front wheels when braking gently at low speed, most often reported on Gen 3 and Gen 4 cars. Garages differ on the cause and on whether it is worth fixing: some owners have had a driveshaft or CV joint replaced only for the noise to come back within a year or two, and several forum threads conclude it is a cosmetic annoyance rather than a safety issue. Not something to walk away from a car over, but worth knowing it may never fully go away.
On the Gen 4 car, the exhaust heat recovery system can develop a leak that lets coolant seep into the exhaust, showing up as a weak cabin heater, a sweet smell, or coolant level dropping steadily with no visible puddle. It tends to appear from around 90,000 miles and a repair (usually a front exhaust pipe or heat exchanger replacement) costs roughly £700-900. Reports point to a technical bulletin covering the fix, though the exact reference could not be confirmed.
Built from the two sections above.
Same segment (Family hatchbacks), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.