Suzuki Swift 2003: MOT failure rate for its age

46.5% of 778 MOT tests of the Suzuki Swift 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 90.7 (95% CI 81.4–100.1; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2003 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.

Suzuki Swift built in 2003 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	46.5	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	778
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 81.4–100.1)	90.7	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	778
Rank among this model's 19 build years	4	of 19	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	778
Tested in 2024	75	tests	median 54,244 miles	2024	75

Built 2003 against Suzuki Swift normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 16: 46.8% vs 53.6%; age 17: 42% vs 50.7%; age 18: 46.6% vs 50%; age 19: 52.8% vs 48.3%; age 20: 37.3% vs n/a%; age 21: 37.3% vs n/a%. Axis from 0% to 60%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2003 Suzuki Swift by registration · All Suzuki Swift 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 Suzuki Swift 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.

Suzuki Swift 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	297 (rough estimate)	46.8	41.2–52.5	53.6	87.3
17	193 (rough estimate)	42	35.2–49	50.7	82.8
18	161 (rough estimate)	46.6	39–54.3	50	93.1
19	127 (rough estimate)	52.8	44.1–61.2	48.3	109.3
20	102 (rough estimate)	37.3	28.5–46.9	not available	not available
21	75 (rough estimate)	37.3	27.3–48.6	not available	not available

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 955 (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 Suzuki Swift?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2003 is body, chassis, structure: 27.3 items per 100 first tests, against 2.9 across all build years of the Suzuki Swift. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2003 were tested at ages 16 to 21.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Suzuki Swift built 2003 against the Suzuki Swift in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2003, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Body, chassis, structure	27.3	2.9	261
Suspension	26.4	16.2	252
Brakes	25.3	18.5	242
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	23.5	14.8	224
Visibility	12.3	9.1	117

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 955 (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 19 published build years of the Suzuki Swift, 2003 ranks 4 (1 = fails least for its age). 2002: index 93.9. 2005: index 104.0.

Suzuki Swift build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
2001	89.3	79.2–99.5	better (rough estimate)	627
2002	93.9	87.7–100.0	no different (rough estimate)	1,825
2003	90.7	81.4–100.1	no different (rough estimate)	778
2005	104.0	101.5–106.6	worse	12,644
2006	103.3	101.7–104.8	worse	35,040
2007	102.1	100.9–103.3	worse	56,923
2008	106.1	104.8–107.4	worse	55,082
2009	106.0	104.6–107.4	worse	48,494
2010	104.9	103.2–106.5	worse	40,028
2011	96.5	94.9–98.2	better	39,423
2012	95.0	93.5–96.5	better	55,714
2013	96.1	94.5–97.7	better	53,423
2014	96.0	94.3–97.6	better	61,127
2015	97.4	95.8–99.0	better	75,054
2016	103.1	101.1–105.0	worse	63,681
2017	94.1	91.7–96.5	better	42,277
2018	97.6	95.0–100.2	no different	41,234
2019	90.3	87.4–93.2	better	33,528
2020	85.1	80.8–89.4	better	16,184

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 733,086 (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). Suzuki Swift 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/suzuki-swift/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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