MINI Hatch 2003: MOT failure rate for its age

48.5% of 119,958 MOT tests of the MINI Hatch first registered in 2003 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 102.8 (95% CI 101.9–103.6; 100 = normal for this model at that age): close to other build years of the same model at the same age (within 5 points of normal).

MINI Hatch built in 2003 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	48.5	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	119958
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 101.9–103.6)	102.8	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	119958
Rank among this model's 20 build years	15	of 20	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	119958
Tested in 2024	12768	tests	median 105,881 miles	2024	12768

Built 2003 against MINI Hatch normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 16: 50.1% vs 48.8%; age 17: 49.9% vs 47.2%; age 18: 48.7% vs 47.4%; age 19: 47.7% vs 46%; age 20: 46.5% vs 46.5%; age 21: 46.1% vs 46.5%. Axis from 0% to 60%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2003 MINI Hatch by registration · All MINI Hatch 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 2003 MINI Hatch fail at each age?

Cars built in 2003 were tested at ages 16 to 21 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.

MINI Hatch built 2003: 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)
16	27,928	50.1	49.5–50.7	48.8	102.8
17	23,355	49.9	49.2–50.5	47.2	105.7
18	21,316	48.7	48–49.4	47.4	102.7
19	18,729	47.7	47–48.5	46	103.9
20	15,862	46.5	45.8–47.3	46.5	100.2
21	12,768	46.1	45.3–47	46.5	99.2

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 119,958 (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 2003 MINI Hatch?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2003 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 53.7 items per 100 first tests, against 18.1 across all build years of the MINI Hatch. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2003 were tested at ages 16 to 21.

Failure items per 100 first tests, MINI Hatch built 2003 against the MINI Hatch in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2003, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	53.7	18.1	64,441
Brakes	35	11.2	41,995
Suspension	22.6	7.7	27,075
Body, chassis, structure	20.4	5	24,505
Visibility	14.7	9.6	17,660

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 119,958 (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 2003 compare with the years around it?

Among the 20 published build years of the MINI Hatch, 2003 ranks 15 (1 = fails least for its age). 2002: index 106.1. 2004: index 100.6.

MINI Hatch build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
2001	112.0	110.0–114.0	worse	21,282
2002	106.1	105.1–107.1	worse	85,640
2003	102.8	101.9–103.6	worse	119,958
2004	100.6	99.8–101.3	no different	152,926
2005	100.3	99.6–101.0	no different	176,561
2006	102.7	101.9–103.4	worse	160,706
2007	102.2	101.5–102.9	worse	201,630
2008	101.7	101.0–102.5	worse	189,805
2009	100.4	99.6–101.1	no different	197,772
2010	95.9	95.1–96.7	better	207,778
2011	103.7	102.8–104.6	worse	180,925
2012	97.8	96.9–98.7	better	200,019
2013	103.2	102.3–104.1	worse	234,569
2014	96.1	95.0–97.1	better	188,271
2015	95.0	94.1–96.0	better	267,718
2016	96.0	95.0–97.0	better	268,763
2017	97.1	96.0–98.2	better	227,252
2018	93.9	92.6–95.2	better	170,904
2019	93.1	91.6–94.6	better	145,708
2020	103.7	101.2–106.2	worse	63,473

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 3,461,660 (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). MINI Hatch 2003 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/mini-hatch/2003/

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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