Does the Smart City-Coupe fail the MOT on vehicle identification more than it should?
The Smart City-Coupe records 0.65 vehicle identification failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 0.70 expected for a car of the same age mix: about as expected for its class and age (the difference is within its interval or under 0.5 items per 100 tests) (−0.05, 95% interval −0.13 to +0.03). It ranks 405 of 636 models on vehicle identification (1 = most failures above expected).
Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on vehicle identification · check a Smart City-Coupe by registration
What exactly fails on vehicle identification?
The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Smart City-Coupe is “Number plate does not conform to the specified requirements”, recorded 113 times in 2019–2024.
| DVSA defect wording | Items | Per 100 tests |
|---|---|---|
| Number plate does not conform to the specified requirements | 113 | 0.27 |
| Number plate inscription missing or illegible | 103 | 0.25 |
| Number plate missing or so insecure that it is likely to fall off | 40 | 0.10 |
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 41,807 (initial tests) · Method: failure items (major and minor) grouped by DVSA's defect tree; wordings with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
If a Smart City-Coupe gets a vehicle identification advisory, how often does it fail next time?
2.8% of Smart City-Coupe MOTs with a vehicle identification advisory were followed by a fail in the same group at the next MOT, typically 12.3 months and 2,589 miles later (1,467 advisories followed).
Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,467 (advisories followed) · Method: the same vehicles followed to their next ordinary MOT · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV
Other pages for this model
Smart City-Coupe 2000 · Smart City-Coupe 2001 · Smart City-Coupe 2002 · Smart City-Coupe 2003 · Smart City-Coupe 2004 · Smart City-Coupe 2005 · Smart City-Coupe 2006 · Smart City-Coupe 2007 · Smart City-Coupe 2008 · Smart City-Coupe 2009 · Smart City-Coupe 2010 · Smart City-Coupe by postcode area · Smart City-Coupe body, chassis and structure failures · Smart City-Coupe brakes failures · Smart City-Coupe lamps, reflectors and electrics failures · Smart City-Coupe noise, emissions and leaks failures · Smart City-Coupe road wheels failures · Smart City-Coupe seat belts and airbags failures · Smart City-Coupe steering failures · Smart City-Coupe suspension failures · Smart City-Coupe tyres failures · Smart City-Coupe visibility failures