Subaru Impreza 1998: MOT failure rate for its age

31.3% of 1,455 MOT tests of the Subaru Impreza first registered in 1998 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 103.6 (95% CI 94.1–113.2; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 1998 build year is no different from other years of the same model at the same age. This is a rough estimate from a smaller sample.

Subaru Impreza built in 1998 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	31.3	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	1455
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 94.1–113.2)	103.6	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	1455
Rank among this model's 16 build years	14	of 16	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	1455
Tested in 2024	144	tests	median 87,630 miles	2024	144

Built 1998 against Subaru Impreza normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 21: 31.3% vs 31.4%; age 22: 31.3% vs 28.5%. Axis from 0% to 40%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 1998 Subaru Impreza by registration · All Subaru Impreza 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 1998 Subaru Impreza fail at each age?

Cars built in 1998 were tested at ages 21 to 22 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.

Subaru Impreza built 1998: 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)
21	851	31.3	28.2–34.5	31.4	99.7
22	604	31.3	27.7–35.1	28.5	109.8

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 1,455 (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 1998 Subaru Impreza?

The most common failure group on cars built in 1998 is lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment: 26.3 items per 100 first tests, against 24.6 across all build years of the Subaru Impreza. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 1998 were tested at ages 21 to 22.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Subaru Impreza built 1998 against the Subaru Impreza in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 1998, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	26.3	24.6	792
Suspension	20.8	20	628
Noise, emissions and leaks	13.3	13.9	402
Body, chassis, structure	11.4	10.6	344
Brakes	10.3	10.7	311

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 3,014 (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 1998 compare with the years around it?

Among the 16 published build years of the Subaru Impreza, 1998 ranks 14 (1 = fails least for its age). 1999: index 99.0.

Subaru Impreza build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
1998	103.6	94.1–113.2	no different (rough estimate)	1,455
1999	99.0	92.6–105.4	no different (rough estimate)	3,137
2000	97.2	92.1–102.3	no different	4,836
2001	114.3	109.5–119.1	worse	6,418
2002	105.2	101.1–109.2	worse	8,306
2003	102.0	98.8–105.2	no different	12,636
2004	93.3	90.2–96.4	better	12,482
2005	95.3	92.5–98.2	better	15,286
2006	98.3	95.0–101.5	no different	12,157
2007	100.6	97.4–103.8	no different	12,984
2008	99.7	95.4–104.0	no different	7,326
2009	92.4	87.4–97.3	better	5,259
2010	97.6	92.5–102.8	no different	5,354
2011	89.4	77.1–101.6	no different (rough estimate)	882
2012	52.0	33.7–70.3	better (rough estimate)	234
2014	97.4	73.4–121.5	no different (rough estimate)	272

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 109,024 (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). Subaru Impreza 1998 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/subaru-impreza/1998/

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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