Pass rate
81.2%
Around average — 6.5 pts ahead of the 74.7% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 154 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £49–£155
2010 Microcar Mgo MOT pass rate
- 2010
- typical 24,217 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Brakes
27.4% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2011 81.8% pass
- Avoid 2012 75.0% pass
Across the 4 years on record, a spread of 6.8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 78.0%
- Typical mileage
- 24k mi
The 2010 Microcar Mgo MOT pass rate is 81.2% of its MOT tests — 6.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 27.4% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 2.2× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 12.2% of everything recorded on the 2010 Microcar Mgo, against 5.5% nationally — 6.7 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 27.4%, 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.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 74.7% and this one manages 81.2% — 6.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 18% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
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 Microcar Mgo? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2010 Microcar Mgo compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 74.7%, so this figure is 6.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 78.0%. The median 2010 Microcar Mgo in this dataset had covered 24,217 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 79.4% of the time, April–September 82.6%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Wheel bearings rough when rotated", noted on 3.25% of tests.
- 154 recorded tests behind this page.
- 81.2% overall pass rate, 78.0% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Microcar Mgo, the average is 80.1% — best year 2011 (81.8%), worst 2012 (75.0%).
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
- 154
- Typical mileage (median)
- 24,217 mi
- Make and model
- Microcar Mgo
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Wheel Hub Bearing Kit
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Mgo MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 68% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Mgo
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| Yorkshire | 38 | 78.9% |
| South West | 35 | 77.1% |
| East Midlands | 21 | 76.2% |
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 2010 Mgo
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 2010 Mgo
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 wheel bearings 3.3% of tests
“wheel bearings rough when rotated”
Listen for a hum that rises and falls with speed and changes when you load one side in a bend. A noisy bearing is an easy pre-test diagnosis and an awkward surprise at the test station.
-
Check the exhaust and emissions 2.6% of tests
“catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's 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.
-
Check the steering 2.6% of tests
“steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt”
With the wheels straight, rock the steering wheel gently with the engine off — more than about an inch of free play before the wheels move is worth investigating. Split rack gaiters are cheap to replace and commonly recorded.
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 2010 Mgo through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £49–£155 — and 18% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £49–£155
- Cheapest common item: wipers does not clear the windscreen…
- £8–£22
- Dearest common item: steering rack gaiter missing or no longer…
- £120–£300
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 18%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 154 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 →
Every year of the Mgo, side by side
4 model years on record, from 2009 to 2012. Across them the pass rate runs from 75.0% to 81.8% — a spread of 6.8 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2009 78.8% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2010 81.2%wheel bearings rough when rotated
- 2011 81.8% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2012 75.0% service brake imbalance across an…
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2010 Microcar Mgo 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 2010 cars with a similar record
- Honda Jazz 81.0%
- Land Rover Range Rover 81.0%
- Subaru Impreza 81.4%
- Honda Insight 80.9%
- Honda Cr-Z 80.9%
- Volvo S60 81.5%
Closest pass rates among 2010 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 2010 Microcar Mgo 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 295 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 | 81 | 27.40% | 20.89% | +6.51 |
| Suspension | 71 | 24.00% | 20.98% | +3.02 |
| Tyres | 36 | 12.20% | 19.76% | −7.56 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 36 | 12.20% | 5.52% | +6.68 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 30 | 10.10% | 5.57% | +4.53 |
| Visibility | 15 | 5.10% | 4.97% | +0.13 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 14 | 4.70% | 12.21% | −7.51 |
| Non-component advisories | 5 | 1.70% | 4.18% | −2.48 |
| Steering | 5 | 1.70% | 2.57% | −0.87 |
| Road Wheels | 2 | 0.70% | 0.75% | −0.05 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wheel bearings rough when rotated Suspension | Major | 3.3% | £20–55 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.6% | £60–250 |
| Steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Steering | Major | 2.6% | £120–300 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.9% | £60–250 |
| Door condition cannot be opened from outside the vehicle Body, chassis, structure | Major | 1.9% | £80–250 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 1.9% | £80–250 |
| Wheel bearings has excessive play Suspension | Major | 1.9% | £20–55 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 1.9% | £8–22 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Rectified | 1.9% | £8–22 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 1.3% | £18–45 |
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 | 17.5% | £80–180 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 14.9% | £200–700 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 13.0% | £45–95 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 10.4% | £25–65 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 10.4% | £30–75 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 8.4% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 107 | 84.1% | 19,181 mi |
| 30-60k | 42 | 76.2% | 38,167 mi |
| 60-90k | 2 | 100.0% | 61,034 mi |
Source: 154 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.
2010 Mgo MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2010 Microcar Mgo?
81.2% of the 154 2010 Microcar Mgo tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.7% for cars first used in 2010. First-attempt pass rate: 78.0%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2010 Microcar Mgo?
The three most recorded items are wheel bearings rough when rotated (3.25%), catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits (2.60%), steering rack gaiter missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (2.60%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2010 Microcar Mgo MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 84.1% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2010 Microcar Mgo in this dataset had covered 24,217 mi.
Does the season affect the 2010 Microcar Mgo MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 79.4% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 82.6%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.