Pass rate
75.0%
Around average — 2.4 pts ahead of the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 264 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £53–£153
2003 Rover Streetwise MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 76,498 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Body & chassis
17.5% of faults · 5.6% nationally
Which year to buy
- Best 2005 78.1% pass
- Avoid 2006 67.2% pass
Across the 4 years on record, a spread of 10.9 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 68.3%
- Typical mileage
- 76k mi
The 2003 Rover Streetwise MOT pass rate is 75.0% of its MOT tests — 2.4 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Body & chassis is the biggest single reason it fails, at 17.5% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Body & chassis: 3.1× the national share
Body & chassis accounts for 17.5% of everything recorded on the 2003 Rover Streetwise, against 5.6% nationally — 11.9 points above. Look underneath for corrosion near the jacking points and suspension mounts; surface rust is normal, flaking metal is not.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 22% 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.
- Based on a small sample. 264 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 Rover Streetwise? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Rover Streetwise compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 2.4 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 68.3%. The median 2003 Rover Streetwise in this dataset had covered 76,498 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 80% of tests, with a 75.8% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 78.5% of the time, April–September 71.6%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated", noted on 7.20% of tests.
- 264 recorded tests behind this page.
- 75.0% overall pass rate, 68.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Rover Streetwise, the average is 74.6% — best year 2005 (78.1%), worst 2006 (67.2%).
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
- 264
- Typical mileage (median)
- 76,498 mi
- Make and model
- Rover Streetwise
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Body Panel Repair
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Streetwise MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 61% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (80% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Streetwise
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| North West | 56 | 73.2% |
| South West | 49 | 67.3% |
| South East | 34 | 76.5% |
| East of England | 28 | 67.9% |
| West Midlands | 26 | 76.9% |
| Yorkshire | 26 | 88.5% |
| East Midlands | 16 | 87.5% |
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 2003 Streetwise
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 2003 Streetwise
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 windscreen 4.5% 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 3.0% of tests
“wipers blade defective”
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 battery 2.6% of tests
“battery(ies) insecure”
Check the battery is secure and its terminals are clean and tight — a loose battery is a fail on its own, and a weak one shows up as slow cranking on a cold morning.
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 2003 Streetwise through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £53–£153 — and 22% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £53–£153
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp not working
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: joints constant velocity boot severely…
- £80–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 22%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 264 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 Streetwise, side by side
4 model years on record, from 2003 to 2006. Across them the pass rate runs from 67.2% to 78.1% — a spread of 10.9 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2003 75.0%joints constant velocity boot…
- 2004 74.0% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2005 78.1% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2006 67.2% joints constant velocity boot…
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 2003 Rover Streetwise 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 2003 cars with a similar record
- Toyota Land Cruiser 74.7%
- BMW 525 74.7%
- Saab 9-3 74.6%
- Mercedes-Benz Clk 75.5%
- Audi A6 74.5%
- Toyota Avensis 75.6%
Closest pass rates among 2003 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 2003 Rover Streetwise 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 579 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Body, chassis, structure | 104 | 17.50% | 5.57% | +11.93 |
| Suspension | 101 | 17.00% | 20.98% | −3.98 |
| Tyres | 88 | 14.80% | 19.76% | −4.96 |
| Brakes | 79 | 13.30% | 20.89% | −7.59 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 63 | 10.60% | 12.21% | −1.61 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 45 | 7.60% | 5.52% | +2.08 |
| Visibility | 35 | 5.90% | 4.97% | +0.93 |
| Steering | 28 | 4.70% | 2.57% | +2.13 |
| Non-component advisories | 19 | 3.20% | 4.18% | −0.98 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 17 | 2.90% | 1.76% | +1.14 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 7.2% | £80–250 |
| Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Body, chassis, structure | Major | 6.4% | £80–250 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 4.5% | £80–200 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 3.0% | £8–22 |
| Battery(ies) insecure but not likely to fall from carrier Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.6% | £60–140 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.6% | £30–80 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.6% | £5–25 |
| Service brake performance excessively binding Brakes | Major | 2.6% | £60–150 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.3% | £3–12 |
| Track rod end ball joint has excessive play Steering | Major | 2.3% | £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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 17.1% | £45–95 |
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 11.4% | £200–700 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 10.6% | £25–65 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 10.2% | £45–95 |
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 8.0% | £45–120 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 6.4% | £20–80 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 9 | 100.0% | 18,083 mi |
| 30-60k | 61 | 75.4% | 46,360 mi |
| 60-90k | 112 | 71.4% | 75,865 mi |
| 90-120k | 49 | 81.6% | 103,373 mi |
| 120k+ | 33 | 69.7% | 148,067 mi |
Source: 264 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.
2003 Streetwise MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Rover Streetwise?
75.0% of the 264 2003 Rover Streetwise tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 68.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Rover Streetwise?
The three most recorded items are joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated (7.20%), joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (6.44%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (4.55%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Rover Streetwise MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 69.7% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Rover Streetwise in this dataset had covered 76,498 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2003 Rover Streetwise?
Petrol: 75.8% pass rate across 211 tests. Diesel: 71.4% pass rate across 49 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2003 Rover Streetwise MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 78.5% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 71.6%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.