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2010 Proton Savvy MOT pass rate

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Pass rate by postcode →

Pass rate

71.1%

Below average — 3.6 pts behind the 74.7% that cars this age and mileage manage.

Across 470 recorded tests.

Typical repair bill £41–£101

Which year to buy

  • Best 2010 71.1% pass · this year
  • Avoid 2006 63.6% pass

Across the 7 years on record, a spread of 7.5 points. See every year →

First-attempt pass
63.6%
Typical mileage
50k mi

The 2010 Proton Savvy MOT pass rate is 71.1% of its MOT tests — 3.6 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 25.8% of what testers record.

MOT PASS RATES

The 2010 Proton Savvy on the real record

71.1% of 2010 Proton Savvy MOTs passed — 470 tests, 2023–2025

Pass rate

The answer from the DVSA's class-4 MOT records.

Expert verdict

Fewer problems with tyres

Tyres are 13.7% of this car’s recorded faults, against 19.8% nationally — the mirror image of the usual story on a car of this age.

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 Proton Savvy? Get an email when these numbers change .

Every Proton Savvy first registered in 2010 is combined here — 2 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.

How does the 2010 Proton Savvy compare?

Cars of this age and mileage average 74.7%, so this figure is 3.6 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 63.6%. The median 2010 Proton Savvy in this dataset had covered 50,126 mi.

Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 71.6% of the time, April–September 70.4%.

The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp aim too low", noted on 7.02% of tests.

  • 470 recorded tests behind this page.
  • 71.1% overall pass rate, 63.6% on a first attempt.
  • Across every year of the Proton Savvy, the average is 68.0% — best year 2010 (71.1%), worst 2006 (63.6%).

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
470
Typical mileage (median)
50,126 mi
Make and model
Proton Savvy
Updated
2026-11-07

Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.

Top part to budget for

Headlight Alignment

Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.

Does mileage affect the Savvy MOT pass rate?

0-30k 80.5%
30-60k 72.9%
60-90k 63.7%
90-120k 64.0%
120k+ 50.0%

Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 42% so small gaps stay visible.

Where the Proton Savvy is most common

Across all Savvy model years on record (2006–2012): 955 Proton Savvy cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 2,332 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 40 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 Share of all Tests Pass rate
1 Birmingham (B) 40 4.2% 94 69.1%
2 Norwich (NR) 29 3% 86 69.8%
3 Peterborough (PE) 24 2.5% 56 71.4%
4 Brighton (BN) 23 2.4% 79 69.6%
5 Preston (PR) 22 2.3% 67 64.2%
6 Gloucester (GL) 21 2.2% 53 54.7%
7 Sheffield (S) 20 2.1% 43 76.7%
8 Taunton (TA) 19 2% 58 70.7%
9 Leicester (LE) 19 2% 43 69.8%
10 Manchester (M) 18 1.9% 31 83.9%
11 Plymouth (PL) 17 1.8% 53 56.6%
12 Doncaster (DN) 17 1.8% 39 64.1%
13 Nottingham (NG) 17 1.8% 39 66.7%
14 Derby (DE) 16 1.7% 38 71.1%
15 Exeter (EX) 15 1.6% 50 58.0%
16 Bristol (BS) 15 1.6% 47 61.7%
17 Colchester (CO) 15 1.6% 42 66.7%
18 Newport (NP) 15 1.6% 42 69.0%
19 Chester (CH) 14 1.5% 38 65.8%
20 Bradford (BD) 14 1.5% 37 70.3%

The twenty areas with the most Proton Savvy 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 Savvy

Region Tests Pass rate
South West 97 63.9%
South East 92 78.3%
North West 67 73.1%
Yorkshire 53 67.9%
East of England 47 74.5%
West Midlands 45 66.7%
East Midlands 27 66.7%
Wales 16 75.0%
London 15 80.0%

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 Savvy

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.

Brakes 25.8%
+4.9 pts vs national national 20.9% Price brakes parts
Suspension 22.6%
+1.6 pts vs national national 21.0% Price suspension parts
Tyres 13.7%
−6.1 pts vs national national 19.8% Compare tyre prices
Lamps & electrics 11.9%
in line with the national share national 12.2% Order bulbs & wipers
Show the other 6 fault categories
  • Steering 6.8%
  • Body & chassis 5.2%
  • Emissions & leaks 5.0%
  • Visibility 4.0%
  • Advisories 2.0%
  • Road wheels 1.4%

Shares are of every item recorded on 2010 Proton Savvy tests — a composition, so they add to 100% across all sections, not per test.

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 Savvy

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.

  1. Check the lights 7.0% of tests

    “headlamp aim too low”

    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.

  2. Check the suspension joints 6.4% of tests

    “ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated”

    With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.

  3. Check the brake pipes 3.0% of tests

    “rigid brake pipes excessively corroded”

    Brake pipes run under the car, usually in front of the rear wheels. Flaking or crusty metal is what fails; a light dusting of surface rust does not. Worth asking a garage to look while it is on a ramp.

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 Savvy through its MOT

Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £41–£101 — and 6% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.

Average repair across the 10 common items
£41–£101
Cheapest common item: anti-lock braking system warning lamp…
£3–£15
Dearest common item: rigid brake pipes excessively corroded
£80–£180
Common items a careful owner can do at home
50%
Repairs that still cost under £30
6%

Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 470 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 Savvy, side by side

7 model years on record, from 2006 to 2012. Across them the pass rate runs from 63.6% to 71.1% — a spread of 7.5 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.

  1. 2006 63.6% headlamp aim too low
  2. 2007 67.0% headlamp aim too low
  3. 2008 68.4% headlamp aim too low
  4. 2009 69.3% service brake performance…
  5. 2010 71.1%
    headlamp aim too low
  6. 2011 68.9% service brake performance…
  7. 2012 68.6% headlamp aim too low

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 Proton Savvy 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.

Compare 2010 with another year →

Compare two different cars instead →

Other 2010 cars with a similar record

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 Proton Savvy 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 1,354 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 355 25.80% 20.89% +4.91
Suspension 311 22.60% 20.98% +1.62
Tyres 189 13.70% 19.76% −6.06
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 164 11.90% 12.21% −0.31
Steering 93 6.80% 2.57% +4.23
Body, chassis, structure 71 5.20% 5.57% −0.37
Noise, emissions and leaks 69 5.00% 5.52% −0.52
Visibility 55 4.00% 4.97% −0.97
Non-component advisories 28 2.00% 4.18% −2.18
Road Wheels 19 1.40% 0.75% +0.65

The exact failure items, in the tester's words

Share of the 470 tests on this vehicle that recorded each item
Recorded item Severity Tests Est. cost Part
Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Major 7.0% £30–80 Headlight Alignment →
Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension Minor 6.4% £18–45 Ball Joint →
Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes Major 4.7% £60–150 Brake Servicing →
Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes Major 4.0% £45–110 Brake Discs and Pads Set →
Service brake imbalance across an axle Brakes Major 3.4% £45–110 Brake Discs and Pads Set →
Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes Major 3.0% £80–180 Brake Pipe →
Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Minor 2.8% £60–140 Battery →
Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment Major 2.8% £30–80 Headlight Alignment →
Parking brake performance inoperative on one side Brakes Major 2.8% £60–150 Brake Servicing →
Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault Brakes Major 2.5% £3–15 Bulb →

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.

Items recorded as advisory on this vehicle
Recorded item Severity Tests Est. cost
Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres Advisory 15.7% £45–95
Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension Advisory 14.5% £25–65
Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres Advisory 13.8% £45–95
Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes Advisory 13.0% £60–150
Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes Advisory 12.6% £80–180
Wheel bearings has excessive play Suspension Advisory 8.9% £20–55

Pass rate by mileage

Mileage Tests Pass rate Median odometer
0-30k 87 80.5% 21,269 mi
30-60k 221 72.9% 44,958 mi
60-90k 135 63.7% 71,921 mi
90-120k 25 64.0% 101,544 mi
120k+ 2 50.0% 121,412 mi

Source: 470 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 Savvy MOT questions

What is the MOT pass rate for a 2010 Proton Savvy?

71.1% of the 470 2010 Proton Savvy tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 74.7% for cars first used in 2010. First-attempt pass rate: 63.6%.

What are the most common MOT failures on a 2010 Proton Savvy?

The three most recorded items are headlamp aim too low (7.02%), ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (6.38%), service brake performance excessively binding (4.68%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.

Does mileage affect the 2010 Proton Savvy MOT pass rate?

Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 80.5% of the time, falling to 50.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2010 Proton Savvy in this dataset had covered 50,126 mi.

Does the season affect the 2010 Proton Savvy MOT pass rate?

Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 71.6% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 70.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.