Pass rate
72.4%
Below average — 4.8 pts behind the 77.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 5,035 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £21–£55
2012 Renault Twingo MOT pass rate
- 2012
- typical 64,283 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
26.6% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2019 89.2% pass
- Avoid 2008 69.3% pass
Across the 15 years on record, a spread of 19.9 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 62.9%
- Typical mileage
- 64k mi
The 2012 Renault Twingo MOT pass rate is 72.4% of its MOT tests — 4.8 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 26.6% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.3× the national share
Suspension accounts for 26.6% of everything recorded on the 2012 Renault Twingo, against 21.0% nationally — 5.6 points above. Ask for the front and rear suspension to be checked on a ramp before you buy — worn bushes and broken springs are cheap to look at and expensive to discover at test time.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 77.2%; this one manages 72.4% — 4.8 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not 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 Renault Twingo? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2012 Renault Twingo compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 77.2%, so this figure is 4.8 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 62.9%. The median 2012 Renault Twingo in this dataset had covered 64,283 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 73.0% of the time, April–September 71.8%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Coil spring fractured or broken", noted on 7.59% of tests.
- 5,035 recorded tests behind this page.
- 72.4% overall pass rate, 62.9% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Renault Twingo, the average is 74.6% — best year 2019 (89.2%), worst 2008 (69.3%).
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
- 5,035
- Typical mileage (median)
- 64,283 mi
- Make and model
- Renault Twingo
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Coil Spring
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Twingo MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 55% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the Renault Twingo is most common
Across all Twingo model years on record (2001–2019): 35,319 Renault Twingo cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 94,304 tests. Cardiff (CF) has the most, with 980 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 | Cardiff (CF) | 980 | 71.8% |
| 2 | Birmingham (B) | 898 | 79.5% |
| 3 | Glasgow (G) | 888 | 70.3% |
| 4 | Swansea (SA) | 758 | 71.4% |
| 5 | Sheffield (S) | 699 | 76.6% |
| 6 | Bristol (BS) | 698 | 73.9% |
| 7 | Manchester (M) | 616 | 77.1% |
| 8 | Nottingham (NG) | 599 | 71.9% |
| 9 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 591 | 72.7% |
| 10 | Norwich (NR) | 564 | 75.2% |
| 11 | Edinburgh (EH) | 557 | 68.1% |
| 12 | Leicester (LE) | 536 | 75.9% |
| 13 | Portsmouth (PO) | 519 | 76.3% |
| 14 | Warrington (WA) | 507 | 76.1% |
| 15 | Peterborough (PE) | 498 | 76.4% |
| 16 | Chester (CH) | 495 | 75.1% |
| 17 | Ashford (TN) | 472 | 75.9% |
| 18 | Coventry (CV) | 450 | 76.1% |
| 19 | Stoke On Trent (ST) | 435 | 70.8% |
| 20 | Derby (DE) | 430 | 76.9% |
The twenty areas with the most Renault Twingo 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 Twingo
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 771 | 76.7% |
| North West | 571 | 73.7% |
| South West | 570 | 69.3% |
| East of England | 562 | 72.4% |
| Wales | 538 | 69.5% |
| West Midlands | 489 | 74.6% |
| Yorkshire | 409 | 73.6% |
| Scotland | 406 | 66.7% |
| East Midlands | 348 | 71.8% |
| North East | 247 | 70.0% |
| London | 124 | 79.0% |
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 2012 Twingo
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 Twingo
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 coil springs 7.6% of tests
“coil spring fractured or broken”
Look up inside each wheel arch with a torch, all the way round the spring. A snapped spring usually breaks at the very bottom coil, where a quick glance will not reach.
-
Check the lights 6.8% 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 suspension joints 4.7% of tests
“track rod end ball joint has excessive play”
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.
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 Twingo through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £21–£55 — and 44% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £21–£55
- Cheapest common item: registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the…
- £5–£20
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 44%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 5,035 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 Twingo, side by side
15 model years on record, from 2001 to 2019. Across them the pass rate runs from 69.3% to 89.2% — a spread of 19.9 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2001 76.7% service brake imbalance across an…
- 2002 76.6% headlamp aim projected beam image…
- 2007 69.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 69.3% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 71.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 71.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 70.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 72.4%coil spring fractured or broken
- 2013 72.6% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2014 76.2% coil spring fractured or broken
- 2015 77.8% ball joint excessively worn
- 2016 79.8% ball joint excessively worn
- 2017 85.0% ball joint excessively worn
- 2018 85.9% ball joint excessively worn
- 2019 89.2% wipers does not clear 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 Renault Twingo 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
- Nissan X-Trail 72.5%
- Kia Optima 72.5%
- Hyundai I30 72.2%
- Chevrolet Captiva 72.2%
- Kia Ceed 72.7%
- Suzuki SX4 72.7%
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 Renault Twingo 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 11,287 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 3,043 | 26.60% | 20.98% | +5.62 |
| Brakes | 2,484 | 21.70% | 20.89% | +0.81 |
| Tyres | 1,783 | 15.60% | 19.76% | −4.16 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 1,591 | 13.90% | 12.21% | +1.69 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 566 | 4.90% | 5.52% | −0.62 |
| Steering | 467 | 4.10% | 2.57% | +1.53 |
| Visibility | 403 | 3.50% | 4.97% | −1.47 |
| Non-component advisories | 360 | 3.10% | 4.18% | −1.08 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 307 | 2.70% | 5.57% | −2.87 |
| Road Wheels | 283 | 2.50% | 0.75% | +1.75 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 7.6% | £25–65 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 6.8% | £5–20 |
| Track rod end ball joint has excessive play Steering | Major | 4.7% | £18–45 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 4.7% | £18–45 |
| Horn not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.1% | £8–25 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Major | 2.6% | £80–180 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.1% | £5–25 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.1% | £5–25 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.7% | £80–200 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of a single lamp or all lamps Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.4% | £5–20 |
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 | 16.6% | £80–180 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 15.6% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 12.6% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 10.0% | £45–110 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 8.9% | £40–150 |
| Linkage pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 7.7% | £40–150 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 424 | 86.8% | 20,504 mi |
| 30-60k | 1,780 | 74.4% | 46,791 mi |
| 60-90k | 1,933 | 70.7% | 74,003 mi |
| 90-120k | 760 | 65.8% | 101,741 mi |
| 120k+ | 133 | 63.9% | 134,567 mi |
Source: 5,035 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 Twingo MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2012 Renault Twingo?
72.4% of the 5,035 2012 Renault Twingo tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 77.2% for cars first used in 2012. First-attempt pass rate: 62.9%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2012 Renault Twingo?
The three most recorded items are coil spring fractured or broken (7.59%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (6.79%), track rod end ball joint has excessive play (4.73%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2012 Renault Twingo MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 86.8% of the time, falling to 63.9% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2012 Renault Twingo in this dataset had covered 64,283 mi.
Does the season affect the 2012 Renault Twingo MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 73.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 71.8%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.