Pass rate
84.2%
Around average — 7.0 pts ahead of the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 2,201 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £26–£73
2012 MINI Countryman MOT pass rate
- 2012
- 2 trims combined
- typical 79,989 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Tyres
24.7% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Part only £55–£85 for Tread depth below 1.6 mm. What fitting it takes →
3.4 pts down across model years — 6.7% in 2011, 3.3% in 2022.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 95.5% pass
- Avoid 2010 80.5% pass
Across the 14 years on record, a spread of 15 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 81.5%
- Typical mileage
- 80k mi
The 2012 MINI Countryman MOT pass rate is 84.2% of its MOT tests — 7.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 24.7% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
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 77.2% and this one manages 84.2% — 7.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- Failures here tend to be cheap ones. 63% of the repairs this model fails on cost under £30 in parts. The pass rate matters less than what a bad afternoon at the test centre actually costs you.
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 MINI Countryman? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every MINI Countryman first registered in 2012 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
How does the 2012 MINI Countryman compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 7.0 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 81.5%. The median 2012 MINI Countryman in this dataset had covered 79,989 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Diesel — 59% of tests, with a 83.6% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 84.5% of the time, April–September 83.9%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 5.82% of tests.
- 2,201 recorded tests behind this page.
- 84.2% overall pass rate, 81.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the MINI Countryman, the average is 90.3% — best year 2023 (95.5%), worst 2010 (80.5%).
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
- 2,201
- Typical mileage (median)
- 79,989 mi
- Make and model
- MINI Countryman
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Number Plate Lamp
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Countryman MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 71% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (59% of tests).
Where the MINI Countryman is most common
Across all Countryman model years on record (2010–2023): 139,775 MINI Countryman cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 290,260 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 3,557 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham (B) | 3,557 | 91.2% |
| 2 | Guildford (GU) | 2,957 | 88.0% |
| 3 | Sheffield (S) | 2,642 | 91.9% |
| 4 | Reading (RG) | 2,522 | 89.1% |
| 5 | Peterborough (PE) | 2,373 | 90.9% |
| 6 | Chelmsford (CM) | 2,358 | 91.0% |
| 7 | Bristol (BS) | 2,330 | 88.1% |
| 8 | Nottingham (NG) | 2,262 | 90.0% |
| 9 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 2,258 | 91.6% |
| 10 | Ashford (TN) | 2,188 | 89.5% |
| 11 | Kingston upon Thames (KT) | 2,140 | 92.1% |
| 12 | Glasgow (G) | 2,134 | 87.7% |
| 13 | Leicester (LE) | 2,121 | 91.0% |
| 14 | Brighton (BN) | 2,084 | 89.5% |
| 15 | Coventry (CV) | 2,014 | 91.9% |
| 16 | Oxford (OX) | 2,009 | 92.1% |
| 17 | High Wycombe (HP) | 1,935 | 90.2% |
| 18 | Derby (DE) | 1,877 | 92.3% |
| 19 | Gloucester (GL) | 1,862 | 89.1% |
| 20 | Stockport (SK) | 1,847 | 89.6% |
The twenty areas with the most MINI Countryman cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the Countryman
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 496 | 86.3% |
| South West | 318 | 82.4% |
| North West | 242 | 82.6% |
| East of England | 225 | 85.3% |
| Yorkshire | 200 | 85.0% |
| Scotland | 181 | 76.8% |
| West Midlands | 150 | 89.3% |
| East Midlands | 118 | 81.4% |
| North East | 96 | 83.3% |
| London | 94 | 91.5% |
| Wales | 81 | 82.7% |
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 2012 Countryman
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 2012 Countryman
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 lights 5.8% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
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 windscreen 3.0% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
-
Check the wipers and washers 1.3% of tests
“wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively”
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.
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 2012 Countryman through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £26–£73 — and 63% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £26–£73
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 63%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 2,201 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 Countryman, side by side
14 model years on record, from 2010 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 80.5% to 95.5% — a spread of 15 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2010 80.5% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2011 81.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 84.2%registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 85.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 87.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 88.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2016 89.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2017 90.7% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 91.0% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 92.3% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2020 92.4% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2021 92.7% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2022 93.0% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2023 95.5% has a cut in excess of the…
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 2012 MINI Countryman 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 2012 cars with a similar record
- Honda Cr-V 84.2%
- Jaguar Xj 84.2%
- Skoda Citigo 84.3%
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class 84.3%
- Toyota RAV4 84.1%
- Audi A6 84.5%
Closest pass rates among 2012 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 2012 MINI Countryman 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 3,125 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 788 | 24.70% | 19.76% | +4.94 |
| Brakes | 564 | 17.70% | 20.89% | −3.19 |
| Suspension | 509 | 16.00% | 20.98% | −4.98 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 471 | 14.80% | 12.21% | +2.59 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 244 | 7.70% | 5.52% | +2.18 |
| Visibility | 196 | 6.20% | 4.97% | +1.23 |
| Non-component advisories | 188 | 5.90% | 4.18% | +1.72 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 78 | 2.40% | 5.57% | −3.17 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 55 | 1.70% | 1.76% | −0.06 |
| Road Wheels | 32 | 1.00% | 0.75% | +0.25 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.8% | £5–20 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 3.0% | £80–200 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.7% | £5–25 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.9% | £5–25 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 1.3% | £8–22 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 1.2% | £80–250 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 1.2% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 1.1% | £30–80 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 1.0% | £8–22 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 0.95% | £45–95 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 17.3% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 9.0% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 7.1% | £18–45 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 6.6% | £200–700 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 6.5% | £45–110 |
| Sub-frame corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 4.8% | £180–450 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 35 | 88.6% | 24,928 mi |
| 30-60k | 432 | 89.4% | 49,349 mi |
| 60-90k | 941 | 84.4% | 74,891 mi |
| 90-120k | 571 | 81.4% | 103,022 mi |
| 120k+ | 219 | 79.9% | 135,650 mi |
Source: 2,201 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.
2012 Countryman MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 MINI Countryman?
84.2% of the 2,201 2012 MINI Countryman tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 81.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 MINI Countryman?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (5.82%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (3.00%), position lamp not working (2.73%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 MINI Countryman MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 88.6% of the time, falling to 79.9% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 MINI Countryman in this dataset had covered 79,989 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2012 MINI Countryman?
Diesel: 83.6% pass rate across 1,292 tests. Petrol: 85.1% pass rate across 909 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2012 MINI Countryman MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 84.5% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 83.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.