Pass rate
68.4%
Below average — 4.9 pts behind the 73.3% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 114 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £25–£87
2001 Mcc Smart Passion MOT pass rate
- 2001
- typical 70,505 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
25.5% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2001 68.4% pass · this year
- Avoid 2001 68.4% pass · this year
Across the 1 years on record, a spread of 0 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 60.2%
- Typical mileage
- 71k mi
The 2001 Mcc Smart Passion MOT pass rate is 68.4% of its MOT tests — 4.9 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 25.5% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 2.2× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 12.4% of everything recorded on the 2001 Mcc Smart Passion, against 5.5% nationally — 6.9 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 25.5%, but at 20.9% nationally that one is ordinary. A smoky diesel or a leaking joint fails on emissions more often than on wear, so ask for a recent emissions printout.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 73.3%; this one manages 68.4% — 4.9 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- Based on a small sample. 114 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Mcc Smart Passion? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2001 Mcc Smart Passion compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 73.3%, so this figure is 4.9 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 60.2%. The median 2001 Mcc Smart Passion in this dataset had covered 70,505 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 70.4% of the time, April–September 66.7%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Washers provides insufficient washer liquid", noted on 6.14% of tests.
- 114 recorded tests behind this page.
- 68.4% overall pass rate, 60.2% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Mcc Smart Passion, the average is 68.4% — best year 2001 (68.4%), worst 2001 (68.4%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 114
- Typical mileage (median)
- 70,505 mi
- Make and model
- Mcc Smart Passion
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Windscreen Washer
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Smart Passion MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 49% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Smart Passion
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 46 | 71.7% |
| South West | 16 | 62.5% |
| West Midlands | 15 | 73.3% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2001 Smart Passion
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2001 Smart Passion
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the wipers and washers 6.1% of tests
“washers provides insufficient washer liquid”
Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.
-
Check the lights 4.4% of tests
“headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check the exhaust and emissions 3.5% of tests
“catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits”
Listen for a blow at idle and have someone rev it gently. Then look at the tailpipe smoke: blue is oil, white when warm is coolant, black is over-fuelling. Any of those and the emissions test is the least of it.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2001 Smart Passion through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £25–£87 — and 49% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £25–£87
- Cheapest common item: srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 49%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 114 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Compare the 2001 Mcc Smart Passion with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2001 cars with a similar record
- MINI Mini 68.2%
- Citroen Xsara 68.1%
- Ford Fiesta 69.0%
- Volkswagen Beetle 67.8%
- Vauxhall Corsa 69.1%
- Honda Accord 69.5%
Closest pass rates among 2001 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2001 Mcc Smart Passion 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 272 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 72 | 25.50% | 20.89% | +4.61 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 48 | 17.00% | 12.21% | +4.79 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 35 | 12.40% | 5.52% | +6.88 |
| Suspension | 29 | 10.30% | 20.98% | −10.68 |
| Tyres | 28 | 9.90% | 19.76% | −9.86 |
| Visibility | 19 | 6.70% | 4.97% | +1.73 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 14 | 5.00% | 5.57% | −0.57 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 14 | 5.00% | 1.76% | +3.24 |
| Steering | 8 | 2.80% | 2.57% | +0.23 |
| Non-component advisories | 5 | 1.80% | 4.18% | −2.38 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Major | 6.1% | £5–15 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.4% | £30–80 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.5% | £60–250 |
| Emissions not tested unable to be completed Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.5% | £60–250 |
| Service brake imbalance across an axle Brakes | Major | 3.5% | £45–110 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.6% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.6% | £5–25 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.6% | £5–20 |
| Srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp indicates a fault Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 2.6% | £3–12 |
| Stop lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.6% | £3–12 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 21.1% | £80–180 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 14.9% | £200–700 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 14.0% | £45–110 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 14.0% | £45–95 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 10.5% | £20–80 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 4.4% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 10 | 70.0% | 23,718 mi |
| 30-60k | 35 | 77.1% | 47,319 mi |
| 60-90k | 38 | 68.4% | 76,050 mi |
| 90-120k | 21 | 57.1% | 105,274 mi |
| 120k+ | 9 | 66.7% | 139,869 mi |
Source: 114 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2001 Smart Passion MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2001 Mcc Smart Passion?
68.4% of the 114 2001 Mcc Smart Passion tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 73.3% for cars first used in 2001. First-attempt pass rate: 60.2%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2001 Mcc Smart Passion?
The three most recorded items are washers provides insufficient washer liquid (6.14%), headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect (4.39%), catalyst emissions lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits (3.51%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2001 Mcc Smart Passion MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 70.0% of the time, falling to 66.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2001 Mcc Smart Passion in this dataset had covered 70,505 mi.
Does the season affect the 2001 Mcc Smart Passion MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 70.4% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 66.7%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.