MOT Risk Index.co.uk

Suzuki Vitara — MOT statistics 2024

The Suzuki Vitara failed 15.06% of 66,554 first MOT attempts in 2024 ("first-time", excluding retests). Adjusted for the age of the fleet, its initial-failure ratio is 79.9 (100 = expected for its age profile). This car fails its MOT about 20% less often than expected for its age.

MOT risk index 79.9, 95% CI 78.5–81.4 (100 = national average) 100 79.9 0 200
Index
79.9
100 = age-normal
Raw fail rate
15.06%
n = 66,554
Dangerous /100
6
national ≈11
Diesel − petrol
+8.0 pp
fail-rate gap
Rank
257 of 761
lower index = better

Age-adjusted peer: Toyota Prius (index 80.0) — the two published results are 0.1 index points apart.

Suzuki Vitara common problems: what actually fails the MOT

Suspension is well below the reference at 2.2 per 100 tests, against 4.4 per 100 tests across UK vehicles of the same ages.

higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests

Suzuki Vitara common problems: what actually fails the MOT — 2024 UK MOT data

family vs national — matched to UK vehicles of the same ages — top component groups, per 100 tests. Legend: This family · National avg. Combined labels: family / national average. A gap here reflects how these vehicles are driven, used and maintained as well as how they were built — an MOT defect is a test outcome, not a breakdown.

Component-group comparison table

Each ratio carries a 95% interval. With 6 groups compared here, roughly one apparent difference in twenty is chance alone.

GroupThis familyCases behind itUK, same agesFamily / national
Visibility6.217,5385.61.11×1.09–1.12
Tyres5.615,8767.00.80×0.79–0.82
Lamps & electrical4.613,1425.70.80×0.80–0.82
Brakes4.512,6215.10.89×0.86–0.89
Suspension2.26,1894.40.50×0.48–0.51
Body & structure2.15,9821.61.33×1.31–1.37
Named defects — items per 100 initial tests, this family vs UK national average; this model measured on 282,770 tests, 2019-2024, national column 2024
What failedper 100 tests (this family)per 100 tests (UK average)ratio family / UKWhat to check
Wiper blade defectiveWiper blade defective1.891.261.50×Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the…Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements3.993.591.11×Check tyre tread depth across the full width
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the…Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen1.932.220.87×Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously…Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view1.652.360.70×Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view
Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of…Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning0.721.500.48×Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure
Brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mma brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm1.332.150.62×Feel for brake judder and pulling on the test drive
Suspension joint dust cover severely deterioratedA suspension joint dust cover severely deteriorated0.621.900.33×Listen for knocks over bumps — worn joints show up on the test
Lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a…A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning0.762.090.36×Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure
Tyre seriously damagedA tyre seriously damaged0.842.540.33×Check tyre tread depth across the full width
Rear registration plate lamp or light source…A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources0.722.830.25×Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure

Named defects ranked by how much more often they appear than the national average — not by raw rate.

Suzuki Vitara MOT advisories: what gets flagged

Tyres are highest at 33.9 per 100 tests; Emissions & leaks are lowest at 1.4 per 100 tests — the gap is 32.5 per 100 tests.

higher bar = flagged more oftenadvisory items per 100 initial tests

Suzuki Vitara MOT advisories: what gets flagged — 2024 UK MOT data
Advisory rates table
GroupAdvisories per 100
Tyres33.9
Brakes23.3
Non-component advisories7.8
Suspension3.6
Body & structure1.6
Emissions & leaks1.4

Advisories are wear the tester noted but didn't fail — what will need money soon.

Tyres, brakes and suspension: Suzuki Vitara against cars of the same age

AgePartSuzuki VitaraSame age, petrol and dieselDifference
3 yearsTyres3.064.17-1.11
3 yearsBrakes1.081.77-0.69
3 yearsSuspension0.210.63-0.42
4 yearsTyres3.354.54-1.19
4 yearsBrakes1.622.43-0.81
4 yearsSuspension0.241.21-0.97
5 yearsTyres45.06-1.06
5 yearsBrakes2.253.09-0.84
5 yearsSuspension0.452.19-1.74
6 yearsTyres4.685.54-0.86
6 yearsBrakes2.863.81-0.95
6 yearsSuspension1.053.72-2.67
7 yearsTyres4.885.95-1.07
7 yearsBrakes3.524.55-1.03
7 yearsSuspension1.885.68-3.80
8 yearsTyres5.026.31-1.29
8 yearsBrakes4.195.38-1.19
8 yearsSuspension3.047.78-4.74

Failing items per 100 initial tests, 2019-2024. The comparison group is every petrol or diesel car tested at the same age, so weight and drivetrain show up rather than fleet age.

If a car like this fails, does it fail again?

A failure rate does not say whether a failure is a one-off or the start of something. This follows the same vehicles into their next ordinary MOT a year later — retests after a repair are excluded, because they follow a failure by definition. 2019-2024.

After this year's testFails next yearVehicles followed
It failed21.5%11,108
It passed13.3%180,443

A failed test raises next year's chance of failing again by 8.2 percentage points. The failure most likely to come back is noise, emissions and leaks — 32.7% of those vehicles fail again next year. Some of this is the vehicle and some is the owner: a car that was let go once tends to be let go again. One caveat: a car that fails may be sold or scrapped rather than tested again, so these figures describe the vehicles that came back.

Adjusted for how much these are actually driven

The headline index adjusts for the fleet's age. Wear, though, follows mileage: a three-year-old taxi and a three-year-old garage queen sit in the same age band. These two rows compare every car with vehicles of the same age, and then with vehicles of the same age and the same annual mileage, 2019-2024, on 279,348 tests. Both stand on the six-year corpus so they are measured on identical data — compare them with each other, not with the headline index above, which is measured on 2024 alone.

Standardised forIndexReading
Age only77.8fails less often than expected
Age and annual mileage82.2fails less often than vehicles driven as much
Share doing under 3,000 miles a year7.6%a normal spread of use

Mileage matters here: matching on how much these are driven moves the figure by 4.4 points — this fleet is driven less than the vehicles it is measured against, so the age-only view flatters it — but it does not change which side of normal the car sits on. One limit to keep in mind: mileage is partly a result of how often a car breaks down — one that spends weeks in the workshop covers fewer miles — so the mileage-matched figure can understate a real weakness. Tests with no usable odometer reading are left out of it.

How the Suzuki Vitara compares with cars of its own age and size

Not against the whole fleet — against cars of the same size class tested at the same age, 2019-2024.

AgeSuzuki VitaraSame class, same ageDifferenceTests
3 years9.43%11.32%-1.89 pp63,557
4 years11.24%14.27%-3.03 pp58,489
5 years12.77%17.45%-4.68 pp53,088
6 years15.11%20.79%-5.68 pp40,267
7 years16.62%24.35%-7.73 pp28,179
8 years18.21%28.17%-9.97 pp16,664
9 years19.31%32.04%-12.74 pp5,698
10 years25.86%35.6%-9.73 pp174
11 years26.85%38.65%-11.81 pp257
12 years30.41%41.25%-10.84 pp319
13 years36.95%43.29%-6.34 pp341
14 years37.24%45.04%-7.79 pp392
15 years39.62%46.32%-6.69 pp530
16 years43.74%47.34%-3.6 pp599
17 years42.28%47.79%-5.51 pp693
18 years42.74%48%-5.26 pp702
19 years45.24%47.74%-2.5 pp851
20 years42.41%47.37%-4.96 pp1,061

Raw first-time failure rates within each age, so fleet age cannot flatter either side. A positive difference means this model fails more often than its own class at that age.

How does the Suzuki Vitara perform as it gets older?

The Vitara at age 9 is well below the reference at 19.2%, against 26.5% for all vehicles of the same age.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

How does the Suzuki Vitara perform as it gets older? — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart axes: car age, years · failure-rate scale 0–48%.

Takeaway: solid line: this family; dashed: all cars.

Data table
AgeSuzuki VitaraAll vehiclesGap
38.0%12.4%-4.4 pp
48.7%13.1%-4.4 pp
510.6%15.1%-4.6 pp
615.4%17.5%-2.1 pp
717.5%20.2%-2.6 pp
818.6%23.3%-4.7 pp
919.2%26.5%-7.3 pp
2044.5%41.0%+3.4 pp

Is a Suzuki Vitara ULEZ compliant?

The share of classifiable 2024 Suzuki Vitara MOT tests likely ULEZ compliant by first-registration date is 98.4%.

Based on 65,710 classifiable initial MOT tests. This describes the tested fleet, not a specific car. MOT data do not record Euro class, so likely compliance is inferred from fuel and first-registration date. For the only authoritative answer, check the registration with TfL's official ULEZ checker.

higher = larger share likely compliantinferred from fuel and first-registration date; not a recorded Euro class

Age-band estimate from classifiable initial MOT tests
Vehicle age at testLikely ULEZ-compliant shareTests
Under 3 yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 157
3–5 years100.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 24,628
6–7 years100.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 23,543
8 years100.0%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 11,002
9 years92.5%
Check a registration with TfL
n = 5,593
10–14 yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 95
15–17 yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 140
18 yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 32
19 yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 75
20+ yearsSuppressed — sample below publication threshold
Check a registration with TfL
n = 445

Suzuki Vitara petrol vs diesel: which ages best

Diesel is highest at 23.6%; Hybrid is lowest at 8.1% — the gap is 15.6 percentage points.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Suzuki Vitara petrol vs diesel: which ages best — 2024 UK MOT data
Fuel split table
FuelTests% failingGap vs best
Petrol52,63215.6%+7.5 pp
Hybrid9,4858.1%+0.0 pp
Diesel4,43723.6%+15.6 pp

Chart sample sizes: n=53k · n=9,485 · n=4,437.

How dangerous are Suzuki Vitara MOT failures?

Major defects are well below the reference at 14.8 per 100 tests, against 52.8 per 100 tests nationally.

higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests

How dangerous are Suzuki Vitara MOT failures? — 2024 UK MOT data
Severity table
SeverityThis family /100National /100Family / national
Minor6.2214.220.44×
Major14.7652.750.28×
Dangerous6.4711.150.58×

Chart values: Minor 6.2 · Major 14.8 · Dangerous 6.5.

Per 100 tests on this family. National average: Minor 14.2 · Major 52.8 · Dangerous 11.2 per 100.

Does the month of a Suzuki Vitara MOT matter?

Oct is highest at 15.3%; Mar is lowest at 13.4% — the gap is 1.9 percentage points.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Does the month of a Suzuki Vitara MOT matter? — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart scale: 12%–33%.

bars: Suzuki Vitara · dashed: all class-4 cars

Month-by-month table
MonthSuzuki VitaraAll vehiclesGap
Jan15.21%31.12%-15.9 pp
Feb14.62%29.99%-15.4 pp
Mar13.42%28.26%-14.8 pp
Apr14.43%29.78%-15.4 pp
May14.09%28.79%-14.7 pp
Jun13.61%28.15%-14.5 pp
Jul14.26%29.33%-15.1 pp
Aug13.77%29.2%-15.4 pp
Sep14.1%28.19%-14.1 pp
Oct15.33%30.34%-15.0 pp
Nov15.08%30.58%-15.5 pp
Dec14.51%29.33%-14.8 pp

Takeaway: the spread between best and worst month is 1.9 percentage points — booking month barely matters for this family. Seasonality partly reflects registration-date clustering, not weather.

Before reading the shape: most of it is not about cars. Britain changes its registration plates twice a year, and 18.9% of these cars were first registered in March with another17.1% in September — 36% in two months against the 17% an even spread would give. An MOT falls due three years after first registration, so the buying calendar becomes the testing calendar. That shapes how many cars are tested each month — not how often they fail: the busiest months here are not the worst ones, so read the failure line on its own and the volume behind it separately.

Suzuki Vitara average mileage by age

At age 8, the middle half of Vitaras runs from 42,597 miles to 72,993 miles, against 56,773 miles as the median.

further right = more milesmedian is the typical car; band is p25–p75

Bars: Suzuki Vitara · dashed: all class-4 cars — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart axes: car age, years · odometer scale 0–121k mi.

Does high mileage mean more Suzuki Vitara MOT failures at the same age?

Within the same age group, split by odometer (2024 MOTs), so this separates wear from age: at ages 6–9, 10% of those with under 40,000 miles failed first time versus 40.8% of those with over 140,000 miles.Inside this age group, higher mileage goes with more failures.

Does high mileage mean more Suzuki Vitara MOT failures at the same age? — 2024 UK MOT data
Suzuki Vitara: first-time failure by mileage within each age group (2024)
AgeOdometer% failing95% intervalTests
3–5<40k miles7.8%7.4–8.1%19,047
3–540-70k miles15.1%14.2–16.1%5,092
3–570-100k miles17.9%14.6–21.8%441 (rough estimate)
6–9<40k miles10%9.5–10.6%12,640
6–940-70k miles17.9%17.4–18.5%19,260
6–970-100k miles26.1%25.1–27.2%6,763
6–9100-140k miles33.5%31–36.1%1,340
6–9140k+ miles40.8%32.7–49.4%130 (rough estimate)
15+40-70k miles43%34.7–51.6%128 (rough estimate)
15+70-100k miles47.5%41.3–53.8%240 (rough estimate)
15+100-140k miles43.5%37.4–49.9%239 (rough estimate)
15+140k+ miles48.3%35.9–60.8%58 (rough estimate)

line: median · band: middle half of the fleet (p25–p75)

Mileage by age (p25 / median / p75)
Agep25Medianp75Tests
313,99020,83628,9236,646
418,65626,26335,6205,242
523,62932,85243,45312,740
630,13041,02153,20912,104
736,48848,77263,16511,439
842,59756,77372,99311,002
947,46963,61481,2515,593
20+69,94695,193115,299445

A typical 8-year-old Vitara has ~56,773 miles on the clock. Much more — ask why; much less — check for gaps in the MOT history.

Where in Britain the Suzuki Vitara fails its MOT most

Lerwick area is highest at 31.7%; Oldham area is lowest at 8.6% — the gap is 23.2 percentage points.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Suzuki Vitara line: median · band: middle half of the fleet (p25–p75) — 2024 UK MOT data
Toughest areas% failingvs model overall
Lerwick (ZE)31.74%+17.4 pp
Salisbury (SP)22.99%+8.7 pp
Torquay (TQ)21.47%+7.1 pp
Bristol (BS)20.46%+6.1 pp
Dorchester (DT)19.81%+5.5 pp
Easiest areas% failingvs model overall
Oldham (OL)8.59%-5.7 pp
Nottingham (NG)8.76%-5.6 pp
Blackburn (BB)9.13%-5.2 pp
Wolverhampton (WV)9.25%-5.1 pp
Slough (SL)10.49%-3.8 pp

Why do areas differ?

For each external factor we correlate the area fail rate with the factor across postcode areas that have ≥800 tests of this family, then compare the bottom vs top fifth (quintile) of the factor. Correlation, not causation — factors travel together (the north is colder and often poorer; urban areas are denser and less salted). Road surface condition is joined now, for the 91 English areas the DfT publishes, and it explains nothing: the correlation with suspension failures is −0.01 and with body and structure failures 0.07. Potholes wreck wheels and tyres between tests, but by the time a car reaches the bay the road it drives on leaves no measurable trace.

In areas with the highest road-salt proxy this model fails 1.8 pp less often than in the lowest fifth (r=-0.28, n=105 areas with ≥800 tests).

In areas with the highest frost days this model fails 2.7 pp less often than in the lowest fifth (r=-0.27, n=105 areas with ≥800 tests).

In the most coastal fifth of areas this model fails 2.3 pp more often than in the most inland fifth (r=-0.27, n=105 areas with ≥800 tests).

Suzuki Vitara Why do areas differ? — 2024 UK MOT data
Values shown in the quintile chart
FactorLow QHigh QGapCorrelation
Road-salt proxy15.6%13.8%-1.8 ppr=-0.28
Frost days16.1%13.4%-2.7 ppr=-0.27
Distance to coast15.6%13.3%-2.3 ppr=-0.27

Factors that only mean something combined

Some conditions are useless on their own and informative multiplied together. Frost days alone say little — Britain barely freezes. Salt tonnage alone says little — it tracks frost. Distance to the sea alone says little. Multiply the first two and divide by the third and you get an index of how hard an area attacks a car's underside, and it lines up with the corrosion defects we actually record. We built five such combinations and tested each against our own data. Three survived; two did not, and the failures are listed here on purpose — a proxy that was never checked is decoration. One survivor only survived on the second attempt: built from a crude stand-in for street parking it failed outright, and rebuilt from the census — terraced streets carrying more cars than they have driveways — it works, and carries information the salt index does not.

Composite area indicators, each tested against a defect rate we measure
CompositeBuilt fromTested againstrVerdict
Underbody corrosionfrost days × salt load ÷ (distance to coast + 1)share of tests with a corrosion defect+0.42holds (116 areas)
Tyre wearrain days × annual miles ÷ age at first tyre advisoryshare of tests failing on tyres+0.45holds (116 areas)
Overnight corrosionterraced housing × cars per household × frost daysshare with a corrosion defect+0.41holds (102 areas) — and adds signal beyond the first index
Deferred maintenancedeprivation × advisory-to-failure conversion ÷ labour ratecars repeating the same advisory−0.26fails (118 areas)
Powertrain stressengine capacity ÷ kerb weightsuspension, brake and emissions failures−0.16fails (22 models)

The deprivation result is the one worth dwelling on. The intuition that poorer areas defer repairs is strong enough that most people treat it as established. We tested it twice — once on raw failure rates (r = 0.04) and again, more fairly, on whether an advisory turns into a failure — and it did not hold any of the three times we tried it — on raw failure rates, on advisory-to-failure conversion, and again with deprivation measured properly inside each nation rather than England alone. We are closing it. What does predict local failure rates is the density of test centres, which is a statement about testing, not about cars.

All external-factor correlations (machine-readable)
Factorrn areasLow-Q fail %High-Q fail %Gap ppLow-Q factorHigh-Q factor
Road-salt proxy (g/m²-yr)-0.28010515.613.8-1.8222.4685.6
Frost days (days/year)-0.27310516.113.4-2.711.638.3
Distance to coast (km)-0.26610515.613.3-2.36.480.2
Income deprivation (score)-0.1678815.613.8-1.80.10.2
Urban share (0–1)-0.06910515.014.1-0.90.41
MOT centre density (per 10k vehicles)-0.01810514.914.6-0.45.28.8
Terrain gradient (% grade)0.0106214.915.3+0.50.54.3

Deprivation uses England IMD 2019 income score only (Scotland SIMD is a different scale). Salt proxy is a simplified NWSRG-style dry-salt sum from air Tmin; coastalness is distance from the area centroid to the nearest coastline.

Every dot is a postcode area — size = how many were tested there, colour = share failing. These figures are not age-adjusted: coastal and rural areas often run older fleets and salted roads, so higher raw fail rates do not automatically mean a worse local stock of this model.

Map labels: Scotland · N. England · Wales · London · S. West. Colour scale: 11%–20% failing.

Suzuki Vitara survival: which cars are still on the road

By age 19 is well below the reference at 1.7%, against 100.0% at the ages 4–6 reference level.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Suzuki Vitara survival: which cars are still on the road — 2024 UK MOT data

Chart axes: car age, years · survival vs ages 4–6 · scale 0–105%.

Survival vs fail rate by age
AgeTestsSurvival vs ages 4–6Fail %
363,557100%9.43%
458,489100%11.24%
553,088100%12.77%
640,26779.6%15.11%
728,17955.7%16.62%
816,66432.9%18.21%
95,69811.3%19.31%
101740.3%25.86%
112570.5%26.85%
123190.6%30.41%
133410.7%36.95%
143920.8%37.24%
155301%39.62%
165991.2%43.74%
176931.4%42.28%
187021.4%42.74%
198511.7%45.24%

By age 19, only about 2% as many cars of this family present for MOT as at ages 4–6 (reference n≈50,614); survivors still fail at 45.2% vs 11.2% at age 4. Older cars that still appear are a selected subset — weaker ones have already left.

How many miles does a Suzuki Vitara last?

100,000+ miles is highest at 2.6%; 150,000+ miles is lowest at 0.2% — the gap is 2.4 percentage points.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

OdometerTests ≥ thresholdShare of sample
100,000+ miles7,3872.64%
150,000+ miles6700.24%

Of 280,196 tests of this family with a usable odometer in 2024, 2.6% had reached 100k miles, 0.2% had reached 150k miles. This is a cross-section of cars still presenting for MOT, not a full birth cohort.

How many years is a Suzuki Vitara likely to last?

Bought at age 15 is highest at 5.9 years; Bought at age 8 is lowest at 2.0 years — the gap is 3.9 years.

bigger number = longer remaining lifeyears on the observed survival curve

Age nowTypical mileage (p50)Expected years left
5—2.7
8—2
15—at least 5.9

estimateObserved only until age 19. The curve does not run five years past the stated age with the share still tested under 50%, so no 'years left' number is given.

Suzuki Vitara faults that come together

Body & structure + Emissions & leaks stand out at 31.91×, against 1.00× if the faults were independent.

above 1.0× = more than expectedbelow 1.0× = less

Group AGroup BTogetherLift
Body, chassis, structureNoise, emissions and leaks73231.91×
Body, chassis, structureSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems39726.3× (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems17522.02× (rough estimate)
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systemsSteering7721.12× (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksSteering11620.93× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureSteering22020.9× (rough estimate)
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systemsSuspension36720.76× (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksSuspension47717.75× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureSuspension88117.26×
Identification of the vehicleSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems2917.16× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureIdentification of the vehicle8216.81× (rough estimate)
SteeringSuspension20716.79× (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleNoise, emissions and leaks3915.18× (rough estimate)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentNoise, emissions and leaks79413.38×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems50813.01×
BrakesNoise, emissions and leaks65512.32×
Body, chassis, structureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment1,34011.89×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSteering30211.09× (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksRoad Wheels2310.96× (rough estimate)
BrakesSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems37810.81× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureBrakes1,07110.61×
Identification of the vehicleSuspension6010.5× (rough estimate)
BrakesSteering24610.08× (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment1259.91× (rough estimate)
BrakesIdentification of the vehicle1089.55× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureRoad Wheels389.54× (rough estimate)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentSuspension1,1568.76×
BrakesSuspension9798.28×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentRoad Wheels807.76× (rough estimate)
BrakesLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment1,9717.55×
BrakesRoad Wheels566.06× (rough estimate)
Road WheelsSuspension286× (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleVisibility1015.16× (rough estimate)
BrakesTyres1,4784.66×
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systemsVisibility2784.59× (rough estimate)
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentTyres1,5314.33×
Road WheelsTyres544.32× (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksVisibility3914.25× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureVisibility7164.1×
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipmentVisibility1,8404.07×
BrakesVisibility1,4703.63×
Identification of the vehicleTyres543.53× (rough estimate)
SteeringVisibility1443.41× (rough estimate)
SteeringTyres1093.3× (rough estimate)
TyresVisibility1,7943.27×
SuspensionVisibility6613.23×
Road WheelsVisibility513.19× (rough estimate)
Noise, emissions and leaksTyres2112.93× (rough estimate)
Seat belts and supplementary restraint systemsTyres1342.83× (rough estimate)
SuspensionTyres4142.59× (rough estimate)
Body, chassis, structureTyres2952.16× (rough estimate)
Road WheelsSteering17too few (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleSteering16too few (rough estimate)
Road WheelsSeat belts and supplementary restraint systems11too few (rough estimate)
Identification of the vehicleRoad Wheels8too few (rough estimate)

Defects in «Body, chassis, structure» and «Noise, emissions and leaks» appear together 31.91× more often than chance (732 co-occurrences in the same test; lift≥1.3, n≥500).

Lift = how many times more often both groups appear on the same test than if independent. A pair is listed from 5 tests with both faults; the lift is shown from 20, and called above chance only when its 95% interval excludes 1 (see rough estimates).

Is low mileage better for a Suzuki Vitara?

Cars driven under 5,000 miles a year is well below the reference at 8.3%, against 19.3% for cars driven 8,000–12,000 miles a year.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

BandFail %Tests
<5k miles/year8.28%33,455
8–12k miles/year19.32%41,965
Gap (low − normal)-11.03 pp—
By fuel and age

Diesel

AgeLow-use fail %nNormal fail %nGap pp
58.644217.61,642-9 pp
69.5244119.781,714-10.25 pp
79.8840522.421,655-12.54 pp
812.2631024.641,262-12.39 pp
99.0212228.21468-19.19 pp

Petrol

AgeLow-use fail %nNormal fail %nGap pp
57.2412,75316.1513,280-8.91 pp
68.78,82619.959,972-11.24 pp
78.725,75420.986,789-12.25 pp
88.923,27422.973,892-14.05 pp
910.461,12824.321,291-13.86 pp
1120.51394030-19.49 pp
1226.194245.9537-19.76 pp
1329.635447.2236-17.59 pp
1429.877751.2839-21.41 pp

At matched ages 5–14, cars averaging under 5k miles/year fail at 8.3% vs 19.3% for 8–12k miles/year — 11.0 pp lower (n_low=33,455, n_normal=41,965). In this family low annual use is associated with fewer MOT fails, not more — the ‘garage queen’ penalty is not visible in overall fail rates.

Which Suzuki Vitara engine is best?

diesel 1.5–1.8 is highest at 127.0; petrol 1.2–1.5 is lowest at 79.8 — the gap is 47.2 points.

below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age

Engine bands against this model's own failure rate at the same ages
FuelCapacityvs own age normRaw fail %Tests
petrol1.2–1.5 litre79.89.76%57,681
petrolover 2.0 litre9831.9%163 (rough estimate)
petrolunder 1.0 litre98.911.29%23,961
diesel1.8–2.0 litre99.837.72%1,742 (rough estimate)
petrol1.8–2.0 litre101.441%1,812 (rough estimate)
petrol1.5–1.8 litre102.115.64%159,457
diesel1.5–1.8 litre12717.99%24,547

Splitting this model by fuel alone hides the thing that actually differs. Within the same badge, the diesel 1.5–1.8 runs at 127 against this model's own age norm while the petrol 1.2–1.5 runs at 79.8 — a spread of 47.2 points between two cars that share a name.

Read this one with more care than the rest of the page. Age is held constant, but who buys which engine is not: the largest capacity in a range is often a performance or executive variant that is garaged, cherished and lightly driven, while the smallest is frequently a fleet or entry car worked hard from new. The gap below is real in the test records; how much of it is the engine and how much is the owner, this data cannot separate. Bands under 100 tests are not shown; bands under 5,000 tests are rough estimates.

Best year for a Suzuki Vitara, and the years to avoid

Build year 2002 is highest at 115.9; Build year 2020 is lowest at 80.2 — the gap is 35.7 points.

below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age

build year vs the same model at the same age · 100 = as expected

Suzuki Vitara build year vs the same model at the same age · 100 = as expected — 2024 UK MOT data
Suzuki Vitara by build year, tests 2019–2024. Below 100 is better than the model's own age norm.
Every build year with its confidence interval
Build yearvs own age norm95% CIRaw fail %TestsVerdict
202080.274.8–85.68.02%10,648better
201991.388.4–94.29.84%38,979better
2018107.5104.8–110.212.69%49,081worse
2017110.4108.1–112.813.93%60,118worse
2016102.5100.4–104.614.1%66,706worse
20159693.4–98.714.81%33,542better
2002115.994.1–137.847.37%228no different
2000105.290.2–120.244.47%425no different
199994.884.4–105.141.89%771no different

The best build year here is 2020 and the weakest is 2017. Comparing build years sounds simple and is not: within a single year of testing, a car's build year and its age are the same number, so a naive comparison of years is a comparison of ages wearing a disguise. Each year below is measured against the same model at the same age in other cohorts, across six years of testing — 6 of 9 years come out distinguishable from their own model's age norm.

Two limits worth knowing before you act on this. Age, test year and build year are locked together by arithmetic, so the test-year effect is taken from the observed national failure level of each year rather than estimated — it is an adjustment, not a solution.

Suzuki Vitara MOT repair costs

The MOT-failure repair budget per test runs from £22.19 to £42.16, against £54.85 for the test itself.

bigger number = costs morepounds per test, MOT-failing faults only

MOT repairs, budget
£22–42
per test, repairs only
The test itself
£54.85
statutory cap, unchanged since 2010
How the figure is built: chance of failing × typical price of that repair
ComponentFails per 100 testsTypical repairIts priceContribution
Brakes4.5 (nat. 11.25)Front brake pads (parts + labour, typical hatchback)£150£6.75
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment4.6 (nat. 18.09)Battery replacement (standard 12V lead-acid)£140£6.44
Tyres5.6 (nat. 8.7)Tyre (single mid-range 16" fitted)£90£5.04
Suspension2.2 (nat. 15.36)Suspension coil spring (single corner)£180£3.96

Multiply how often each component fails on this model by what that repair usually costs, and you get the amount an owner should expect to budget per test for MOT-failing faults only — roughly £22 to £42, on top of the test fee itself. It is a budgeting figure, not a quote: the spread between a set of pads and a set of discs is most of the range.

Prices are modal quotes from a hand-kept catalogue of published UK garage guides — we do not scrape the booking sites, their terms forbid it, so this list is short and updated by hand with a source and date against each line. Each line prices one typical repair in that group, not a full remedy, and only groups our catalogue actually covers are counted. The contrast worth noticing is the second card: the legal maximum for the test has been £54.85 since 2010, while the repairs it uncovers have followed inflation the whole time.

For scale from a different direction: Warrantywise, which sees used-car warranty claims rather than test failures, puts the average claim at £2,052 across the ten highest-claim models it ranks and £539 for Honda, the lowest-claim make in its index (Warrantywise index 2026, 1.6 million claims, cars aged 3–15). Those sit an order of magnitude above the figures in this table, and the gap is the point: a warranty claim is a gearbox or an engine, which almost never fails an MOT, while the faults that do fail one are corrosion, lamps and tyres, which no warranty pays for. The two numbers answer different questions and neither replaces the other.

Suzuki Vitara running costs for a fleet

Vehicles failing at age 9 stand out at 19.0%, against 11.0% at age 5, tested in the same year.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Fails per 100 at age 5
11
vehicles needing work
At age 9
19
other cars of this model tested at age 9 in 2024
Repairs per 100
£2,219
plus £5,485 in test fees
Off the road
0d
median; 55.74% cleared same day
Failure rate and typical odometer by age
AgeFailsMedian odometerTestsGap vs age 5
38.03%20,8366,646-2.5 pp
48.72%26,2635,242-1.8 pp
510.57%32,85212,740+0.0 pp
615.36%41,02112,104+4.8 pp
717.55%48,77211,439+7.0 pp
818.64%56,77311,002+8.1 pp
919.22%63,6145,593+8.6 pp

The number a fleet manager needs is not the failure rate, it is the year the car starts costing more. Between cars aged 5 and cars aged 6, both tested in 2024, the failure rate of this model is 4.79 percentage points higher — the steepest one-year step in this cross-section of different cars, and a natural planning point for replacement.

Repair spend uses the same modal prices as the section above, so it inherits the same limits: one typical repair per component group, not a full remedy. Downtime is the gap between the failed test and the passed re-test, which is the window a vehicle is legally off the road.

Suzuki Vitara rust problems: where they corrode

Age-standardised corrosion susceptibility stands out at 3.49×, against 1.00× for the national age-standardised rate.

above 1.0× = rusts more than averagebelow 1.0× = rusts less

How it rusts
3.49×
2.67% of tests record a corrosion defect vs 0.77% typical — age-standardised
Salt Belt exposure
92nd
percentile among the models published here, from its tests across 105 postcode areas

This Suzuki Vitara fails on corrosion far more often than average once age is held constant, and its owners live in areas that are saltier than most for the models we publish.

Corrosion is the one failure mode that is as much about geography as about the car. We keep the two apart on purpose: a model can look rusty simply because it is popular in Scotland, and a model can look clean simply because it is bought in Surrey. Blending them into a single score would hide which of the two is doing the work.

Exposure is this model's tests weighted by an area corrosion index built from frost days, salt load and distance to the coast — the composite validated at r = 0.42 against corrosion defects we actually record. It is published as a rank, not a raw score, because every mainstream model skews towards low-corrosion areas for the simple reason that most of Britain's cars are in the south. Susceptibility is standardised to the national age profile, so an old fleet does not get labelled a rusty model.

Does a Suzuki Vitara advisory become a failure?

Body, chassis, structure are highest at 22.8%; Non-component advisories are lowest at 0.0% — the gap is 22.8 percentage points.

higher = more likelypercentage is the observed transition probability

chance the same component fails at the next MOT, given an advisory now

Suzuki Vitara chance the same component fails at the next MOT, given an advisory now — 2024 UK MOT data
Suzuki Vitara, advisory → failure conversion by component group, chained tests 2019–2024. Chart labels and rates: Body & chassis 22.8% · Suspension 13.8% · Steering 10% · Noise, emissions, leaks 9.2% · Brakes 8.2% · Tyres 7.1% · Identification of the veh… 2.7% · Non-component 0%.
Advisory today → failure at the next test, with how long you have
ComponentFails next timeTypical lead timeMiles of warningAdvisories tracked
Body, chassis, structure22.8%12.1 months1,9121,937
Suspension13.8%12.1 months3,0603,830
Steering10.0%12 months4,755681
Noise, emissions and leaks9.2%12.1 months2,7462,591
Brakes8.2%12 months6,73428,504
Tyres7.1%12 months7,64439,593
Identification of the vehicle2.7%12 months6,7511,724
Non-component advisories0.0%——14,063

This is the question an advisory note actually raises, and it needs six years of test history to answer. We followed the same vehicles from one MOT to the next across 2019–2024 and measured how often a component that was merely advised came back as a genuine failure at the next test.

Read it as a budgeting horizon, not a prophecy: the most likely component above turns into a failure for about 23 in 100 cars, and the median gap is 12.1 months and roughly 1,912 miles. The rest were repaired, sold, scrapped, or simply held. Rows with fewer than 500 tracked advisories are not shown.

What will fail next on a Suzuki Vitara?

Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment after a failure at age 20+ are highest at 27.4%; Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment after a passed at age <3 are lowest at 1.0% — the gap is 26.4 percentage points.

higher = more likelypercentage is the observed transition probability

Probability of each component failing at the next test, by age and last result
AgeLast testMost likely next failuresCars tracked
<3passedVisibility 4.4% · Tyres 2.5% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 1.0%32,293
<3advisoryVisibility 6.2% · Tyres 4.8% · Brakes 2.6%8,498
<3failureVisibility 6.3% · Tyres 4.3% · Brakes 2.5%4,029
3-5passedVisibility 4.0% · Tyres 3.1% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 1.8%80,460
3-5advisoryVisibility 6.1% · Tyres 5.9% · Brakes 3.8%30,195
3-5failureTyres 6.8% · Visibility 6.6% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 4.7%15,725
6-8passedVisibility 3.9% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 3.8% · Tyres 3.8%17,469
6-8advisoryTyres 6.2% · Visibility 6.0% · Brakes 5.9%10,104
6-8failureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 8.6% · Tyres 7.5% · Visibility 7.2%5,476
9-11passedLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 7.2% · Brakes 6.3% · Visibility 3.6%222 (rough estimate)
9-11advisoryLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 14.6% · Brakes 8.8% · Suspension 8.0%226 (rough estimate)
9-11failureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 19.0% · Brakes 12.8% · Suspension 11.7%179 (rough estimate)
12-14passedBrakes 11.9% · Suspension 11.9% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 11.3%302 (rough estimate)
12-14advisoryLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 16.4% · Suspension 15.1% · Body, chassis, structure 10.4%317 (rough estimate)
12-14failureSuspension 18.3% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 17.1% · Body, chassis, structure 16.2%333 (rough estimate)
15-19passedBody, chassis, structure 19.2% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 12.9% · Suspension 10.1%734
15-19advisoryBody, chassis, structure 21.4% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 19.6% · Suspension 17.5%886
15-19failureBody, chassis, structure 24.6% · Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 23.6% · Suspension 18.1%1,144
20+passedLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 13.0% · Body, chassis, structure 12.9% · Brakes 11.2%1,744
20+advisoryLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 21.6% · Body, chassis, structure 20.7% · Brakes 14.5%2,055
20+failureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 27.4% · Body, chassis, structure 23.8% · Brakes 19.7%2,611
unknownfailureLamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 20.4% · Noise, emissions and leaks 11.1% · Body, chassis, structure 9.3%54 (rough estimate)

The same chains, cut differently: given a car's age and how its last test went, which component most often causes trouble at the following one.

The pattern that repeats across every family: a failure at one test roughly doubles the chance of a failure on the same component at the next one, and an advisory sits about half-way between a clean pass and a failure. Age bands in years; probabilities are per car, not per defect item.

Suzuki Vitara ownership: what six years of MOTs show

The same-day re-test pass rate is highest at 55.7%; The later re-test pass rate is lowest at 2.7% — the gap is 53.0 percentage points.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Fixed same day
55.74%
of failures re-tested
Fails /10k miles
0.228
miles actually driven
Clean streaks
50.43%
3+ tests, nothing noted
Odometer anomaly
0.638%
reading went backwards

Failing is usually a same-week event, not a disaster. Of 24,915 failures followed through to their re-test, 55.74% were repaired and passed the same day and 41.52% within ten days; the median gap is 0 days. 50,407 defect items were cleared in the process.

Per mile driven, not per year. Dividing failures by the miles that actually went onto the odometers between consecutive tests gives 0.228 failures per 10,000 miles, on a median of 6,006 miles a year across 61,505 chains. This is the number to compare between models — an annual rate quietly rewards cars that barely leave the drive.

Two populations hide inside one model. 50.43% of these cars strung together three or more tests with nothing recorded at all, while 12.88% carried the same advisory three times or more — the same fault, noted, ignored, noted again. When you buy used you are buying one of those two histories, and the MOT record shows which.

Odometer anomalies: 0.638% of 61,556 chains show a reading lower than the previous test, with a median drop of 11,228 miles. We call this an anomaly and not fraud on purpose — instrument swaps, imports, unit mix-ups and keying errors all land in the same bucket. Obvious typos (drops under 100 miles or over 90% of the reading) are already excluded.

Suzuki Vitara safety recalls and how to check yours

DVSA recall campaigns stand out at 31.

bigger number = more recorded casescompare like-for-like scope, not sample size alone

recall campaigns launched per year

Suzuki Vitara recall campaigns launched per year — 2024 UK MOT data
Campaigns launched per year for the Suzuki Vitara. Source: DVSA vehicle safety recalls. Chart values: 2011: 1 · 2012: 0 · 2013: 0 · 2014: 0 · 2015: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2018: 0 · 2019: 0 · 2020: 3 · 2021: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2023: 0 · 2024: 1 · 2025: 8.
Most recent safety recall campaigns for the Suzuki Vitara
ReferenceLaunchedVehiclesConcern
R/2025/12716/04/20254,165Canister Replacement
R/2025/12716/04/20255,908Canister Replacement
R/2025/12716/04/20254,080Canister Replacement
R/2025/12716/04/20251,801Canister Replacement
R/2025/12716/04/20251,649Canister Replacement
All 31 campaigns
ReferenceLaunchedBuild datesVehiclesConcern
R/2025/12716/04/202513/09/2019 – 07/01/20204,165Canister Replacement
R/2025/12716/04/202513/12/2019 – 11/12/20205,908Canister Replacement
R/2025/12716/04/202501/12/2020 – 26/10/20224,080Canister Replacement
R/2025/12716/04/202525/01/2021 – 05/04/20221,801Canister Replacement
R/2025/12716/04/202526/07/2021 – 17/02/20221,649Canister Replacement
R/2025/12716/04/202512/11/2021 – 10/11/20221,536Canister Replacement
R/2025/12716/04/202507/09/2022 – 14/11/2022388Canister Replacement
R/2025/12716/04/202506/10/2022 – 21/03/202410,046Canister Replacement
R/2024/03214/02/202420/09/2023 – 12/10/20230Left Rear Brake Pipe Inspection
R/2022/26701/12/202221/09/2018 – 27/05/201971,508Some vehicles have an inappropriate design and material on check valve of vacuum pump
R/2021/05926/02/202107/02/2015 – 23/09/20167,001VEHICLE EMISSION OUTPUTS MAY NOT BE CORRECT
R/2020/04214/03/202009/07/1998 – 31/05/19994,340IN THE EVENT OF DEPLOYMENT THE AIR BAG MAY NOT INFLATE PROPERLY
R/2020/04214/03/202028/04/1998 – 31/05/19994,340IN THE EVENT OF DEPLOYMENT THE AIR BAG MAY NOT INFLATE PROPERLY
R/2020/04214/03/202015/01/1998 – 31/05/19994,340IN THE EVENT OF DEPLOYMENT THE AIR BAG MAY NOT INFLATE PROPERLY
R/2017/07620/03/201701/06/2008 – 30/06/20134,272DRIVER MAY BE UNABLE TO CHANGE / SELECT GEAR
R/2016/04108/03/201629/10/2015 – 17/12/20152,760REAR AXLE MAY FAIL
R/2015/16507/08/201507/01/2015 – 06/05/20151,316UNINTENDED VEHICLE BRAKING
R/2011/01018/04/201102/06/2008 – 20/10/20102,690DRIVE BELT TENSIONER MAY BREAK.
R/2010/06726/07/20105,425LOSS OF STEERING ASSISTANCE.
R/2009/04915/06/200901/06/2005 – 28/02/20073,751FIRE MAY OCCUR
R/2008/12022/09/200828/06/2005 – 31/05/20086,591FIRE MAY OCCUR
R/2007/18004/02/200801/06/2006 – 31/07/20072,197FUEL MAY LEAK
R/2007/08510/09/200728/06/2005 – 02/04/20073,775RISK OF FIRE
R/2007/08410/09/200728/06/2005 – 02/04/20073,421RISK OF FIRE
R/2007/10210/09/200717/06/2005 – 29/12/20063,579WIRING HARNESS MAY CHAFE RESULTING IN POSSIBLE LOSS OF ENGINE POWER
R/2006/17220/11/200628/06/2005 – 01/08/20062,931INTERCOOLER PIPE CLAMP MAY FAIL
R/2005/14909/01/200622/09/2000 – 25/02/20045,884RISK OF FIRE
R/2004/17517/01/200506/10/1998 – 05/10/20035,724UNDER LOW TEMPERATURES THE PRESSURE REGULATOR MAY FREEZE AND CAUSE LEAKAGE
R/2000/01408/05/200001/06/1995 – 28/09/19993,115FRONT SUSPENSION STRUT MOUNTING STUDS MAY SHEAR
R/1999/04525/06/199901/12/1997 – 31/01/1998137POSSIBILITY THAT THE DRIVERS SIDE AIRBAG WHEN ACTIVATED MAY DEPLOY WITH A FORCE GREATER TH
R/1998/02127/07/199801/10/1991 – 31/10/19931,333SEAT BELT STALK

DVSA lists 31 safety recall campaigns for the Suzuki Vitara, covering roughly 180,003 vehicles in total. A recall is the manufacturer fixing a fault for free, so an open recall on your car costs nothing to clear.

Counter-intuitive, and measured on our own data: across the 25 families published here, more recalls go with a lower MOT Risk Index (r = −0.52). Heavily recalled models are not worse cars in the test bay — an active manufacturer removes the fault before it becomes an MOT failure.

Check whether a specific car has an outstanding recall — free, by registration — at DVSA's recall service. Source: DVSA vehicle safety recalls (check-vehicle-recalls.service.gov.uk), OGL.

Suzuki Vitara inspection results in other countries

Finland Katsastus is well below the reference at 3.8%, against 26.3% nationally.

higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points

Same model, different national inspection regimes
CountryTestThis model failsNational averagePositionSample
United KingdomMOT (class 4)15.06%26.01%-11 pp66,554
NetherlandsAPK33%50.8%-17.8 pp10,919
NorwayPKK16.5%33.7%-17.2 pp2,926
FinlandKatsastus3.8%26.3%-22.5 pp2,419

The verdict is consistent across every regime where the difference is clear, which is the strongest form this comparison takes: independent inspectorates, different rulebooks, same direction of travel.

What Finland fails it for — share of recorded faults
Fault areaShare
Brake systems41.1%
Axles, wheels and suspension30.4%
Steering equipment9.8%
Other equipment and accessories5.4%
Environmental hazards4.5%

Useful as a cross-check on the UK defect table above: the categories are named differently, but a component that dominates in both regimes is a genuine weak point of the model rather than an artefact of one country's testing style.

The exact faults Netherlands records — APK defect codes, 2024
CodeFaultRecordedType
210Tyre pressure not at the correct value1,508failure
205Tyre with insufficient tread1,143failure
391Wipers leave insufficient visibility973failure
516Dipped headlight incorrectly aimed619failure
AC1Tyre down to 1.6–2.5 mm of tread600advisory
584Sidelight not working properly420failure
497Number-plate light not working or missing396failure
203Tyre damaged214failure

Worth dwelling on how mundane the top of that list is: tyre pressure, tread depth, headlight aim. The Dutch APK records 0.694 defects per inspection against a much higher national failure rate than Britain's, and the reason is not that Dutch cars are worse — it is that the two regimes draw the line between "note it" and "fail it" in different places. Codes are the RDW's own; the English wording here is our translation of the Dutch original.

Britain is not the only country that inspects every car every year, and the Suzuki Vitara is on the road in all of them. Each national regime writes its own rules, so the pass rates below are not comparable to each other — what does travel across a border is whether a model sits above or below its own country's average.

Rows with fewer than 500 inspections are not published. Sources: RDW open data — Meldingen Keuringsinstantie + Geconstateerde Gebreken + Gekentekende voertuigen (2024), CC0. Not an RDW endorsement.; Statens vegvesen — Periodisk kjøretøykontroll (PKK) 2024, CC BY 4.0; Traficom — Periodic inspections of cars by model / by model and fault object 2024, CC BY 4.0. Adapted; licences and full notice.

Suzuki Vitara MOT: quick answers

Suzuki Vitara MOT Risk Index is well below the reference at 79.9, against 100 for a car with the same age profile.

below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age

What is the Suzuki Vitara first-time MOT pass rate?
84.94% of first attempts passed in 2024 (66,554 tests). This is the first-time figure: retests after repair are excluded. Basis: first-time, excluding retests.
Why does this number differ from other sites?
Other sites often report a pass rate that includes retests or counts all attempts. Our 15.06% figure is the first-time initial failure rate, using 66,554 primary tests as the denominator (first-time, excluding retests). The age-adjusted MOT initial-failure ratio 79.9 is shown separately because raw rates compare fleet age as well as cars.

Compare the Suzuki Vitara with other cars

BMW 3 Series is highest at 80.7; Suzuki Vitara is lowest at 79.9 — the gap is 0.8 points.

below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age

Same brand

All Suzuki MOT statisticsSuzuki Swift MOT stats

Similar risk

Toyota Prius (index 80.0)Honda CR-V (index 80.3)BMW 3 Series (index 80.7)

Same size class

how Mazda CX-5 compareshow Tesla Model 3 compareshow Vauxhall Crossland compares

By build year

Suzuki Vitara 1999Suzuki Vitara 2000Suzuki Vitara 2002Suzuki Vitara 2015Suzuki Vitara 2016Suzuki Vitara 2017Suzuki Vitara 2018Suzuki Vitara 2019Suzuki Vitara 2020

By area

Suzuki Vitara MOT failure rate by postcode area

By failure group

Suzuki Vitara body, chassis and structure failuresSuzuki Vitara brakes failuresSuzuki Vitara vehicle identification failuresSuzuki Vitara lamps, reflectors and electrics failuresSuzuki Vitara noise, emissions and leaks failuresSuzuki Vitara road wheels failuresSuzuki Vitara seat belts and airbags failuresSuzuki Vitara steering failuresSuzuki Vitara suspension failuresSuzuki Vitara tyres failuresSuzuki Vitara visibility failures

Inspections abroad

Suzuki Vitara in NorwaySuzuki Vitara in FinlandSuzuki Vitara in the Netherlands


Data details & how to cite

Scope: class-4 vehicles (cars), initial tests only, outcomes pass / fail / fixed-on-the-spot at the station (PRS counts towards the failure rate — the defect was present at arrival). Index = observed initial failures ÷ failures expected for this fleet's exact age profile, ×100; margin of error is a 95% confidence interval. Covers ALL generations together — a 3-year-old and a 15-year-old are very different cars; a generation split is on the roadmap. Dataset release dataset_release_id=dvsa-2024-v2, frozen baseline; headline claim_id=family-stats:suzuki-vitara:dvsa-2024-v2. Full method: methodology.

Cite: MOT Risk Index (2026). Suzuki Vitara MOT statistics 2024 (data release dvsa-2024-v2; downloadable dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, doi:10.5281/zenodo.22975051). https://motriskindex.co.uk/cars/suzuki-vitara/ · Published 2026-07-30.