Abarth 500 2012: MOT failure rate for its age

32.5% of 4,665 MOT tests of the Abarth 500 first registered in 2012 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 102.4 (95% CI 97.2–107.6; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2012 build year is no different from other years of the same model at the same age.

Abarth 500 built in 2012 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	32.5	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	4665
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 97.2–107.6)	102.4	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	4665
Rank among this model's 8 build years	6	of 8	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	4665
Tested in 2024	760	tests	median 69,385 miles	2024	760

Built 2012 against Abarth 500 normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 7: 31.4% vs 29.8%; age 8: 30.1% vs 30.3%; age 9: 31.4% vs 31%; age 10: 36% vs 33.7%; age 11: 32.2% vs 32.5%; age 12: 33.9% vs 33.2%. Axis from 0% to 40%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2012 Abarth 500 by registration · All Abarth 500 MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2012 Abarth 500 fail at each age?

Cars built in 2012 were tested at ages 7 to 12 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

Abarth 500 built 2012: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
7	822	31.4	28.3–34.6	29.8	105.3
8	771	30.1	27–33.4	30.3	99.4
9	797	31.4	28.2–34.7	31	101.1
10	772	36	32.7–39.5	33.7	106.8
11	743	32.2	28.9–35.6	32.5	99.1
12	760	33.9	30.7–37.4	33.2	102.2

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 4,665 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2012 Abarth 500?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2012 is suspension: 21.5 items per 100 first tests, against 21.6 across all build years of the Abarth 500. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2012 were tested at ages 7 to 12.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Abarth 500 built 2012 against the Abarth 500 in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2012, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Suspension	21.5	21.6	1,003
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	16.6	15.2	776
Tyres	9.4	9.8	439
Body, chassis, structure	8.9	8.3	416
Brakes	8.7	9.8	405

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 4,665 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2012 compare with the years around it?

Among the 8 published build years of the Abarth 500, 2012 ranks 6 (1 = fails least for its age). 2011: index 103.1. 2013: index 97.4.

Abarth 500 build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
2009	100.3	95.5–105.2	no different	4,750
2010	102.9	98.4–107.3	no different	5,860
2011	103.1	98.5–107.8	no different	5,478
2012	102.4	97.2–107.6	no different	4,665
2013	97.4	91.4–103.5	no different (rough estimate)	3,334
2014	97.1	91.9–102.3	no different	4,759
2015	93.5	88.0–99.1	better	4,451
2016	93.0	71.9–114.0	no different (rough estimate)	326

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 33,623 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). Abarth 500 2012 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/abarth-500/2012/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

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