Pass rate
71.7%
Below average — 0.8 pts behind the 72.5% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 583 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £19–£56
2006 Smart Forfour Passion MOT pass rate
- 2006
- typical 100,018 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Suspension
22.6% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2005 72.8% pass
- Avoid 2006 71.7% pass · this year
Across the 3 years on record, a spread of 1.1 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 63.6%
- Typical mileage
- 100k mi
The 2006 Smart Forfour Passion MOT pass rate is 71.7% of its MOT tests — about what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 22.6% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Lamps & electrics: 1.8× the national share
Lamps & electrics make up 21.4% of everything recorded on the 2006 Smart Forfour Passion, against 12.2% nationally — 9.2 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 22.6%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. Walk round the car with the lights on before the test: bulbs, indicators and number-plate lamps are the cheapest failures to prevent and among the most common.
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 Smart Forfour Passion? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2006 Smart Forfour Passion compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.5%, so this figure is 0.8 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 63.6%. The median 2006 Smart Forfour Passion in this dataset had covered 100,018 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 90% of tests, with a 71.6% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 72.9% of the time, April–September 70.2%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources", noted on 11.49% of tests.
- 583 recorded tests behind this page.
- 71.7% overall pass rate, 63.6% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Smart Forfour Passion, the average is 72.3% — best year 2005 (72.8%), worst 2006 (71.7%).
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
- 583
- Typical mileage (median)
- 100,018 mi
- Make and model
- Smart Forfour Passion
- 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 Forfour Passion MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 60% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (90% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Forfour Passion
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 158 | 72.2% |
| East of England | 75 | 66.7% |
| South West | 70 | 67.1% |
| London | 49 | 87.8% |
| North West | 46 | 73.9% |
| East Midlands | 45 | 68.9% |
| Yorkshire | 44 | 77.3% |
| West Midlands | 43 | 72.1% |
| Wales | 28 | 64.3% |
| Scotland | 15 | 53.3% |
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 2006 Forfour Passion
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 2006 Forfour Passion
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 11.5% 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 4.8% 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.
-
Check the coil springs 3.3% 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.
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 2006 Forfour Passion through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £19–£56 — and 49% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £19–£56
- 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
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 49%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 583 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 Forfour Passion, side by side
3 model years on record, from 2004 to 2006. Across them the pass rate runs from 71.7% to 72.8% — a spread of 1.1 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2004 72.6% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2005 72.8% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2006 71.7%registration plate lamp(s)…
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 2006 Smart Forfour Passion 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 2006 cars with a similar record
- MINI Mini 71.7%
- Peugeot 206 71.7%
- Skoda Octavia 71.8%
- Suzuki Jimny 71.8%
- Vauxhall Astravan 71.6%
- Chrysler Grand Voyager 71.6%
Closest pass rates among 2006 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 2006 Smart Forfour Passion 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 1,664 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 | 382 | 22.60% | 20.98% | +1.62 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 363 | 21.40% | 12.21% | +9.19 |
| Brakes | 313 | 18.50% | 20.89% | −2.39 |
| Tyres | 206 | 12.20% | 19.76% | −7.56 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 108 | 6.40% | 5.57% | +0.83 |
| Steering | 72 | 4.30% | 2.57% | +1.73 |
| Visibility | 64 | 3.80% | 4.97% | −1.17 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 60 | 3.50% | 1.76% | +1.74 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 54 | 3.20% | 5.52% | −2.32 |
| Non-component advisories | 42 | 2.50% | 4.18% | −1.68 |
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 | 11.5% | £5–20 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 5.2% | £5–25 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 4.8% | £18–45 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.6% | £30–80 |
| Rbt (sp) efficiency below requirements Brakes | Major | 4.0% | £45–110 |
| Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering | Minor | 4.0% | £18–45 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 3.3% | £25–65 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.9% | £5–25 |
| Stop lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.9% | £3–12 |
| Joints constant velocity boot severely deteriorated Body, chassis, structure | Minor | 2.7% | £80–250 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 17.5% | £25–65 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 16.3% | £45–110 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 15.4% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 13.0% | £45–95 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 9.8% | £20–80 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 8.2% | £30–75 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 4 | 100.0% | 22,058 mi |
| 30-60k | 55 | 85.5% | 48,673 mi |
| 60-90k | 159 | 73.0% | 77,189 mi |
| 90-120k | 209 | 69.4% | 104,465 mi |
| 120k+ | 151 | 68.9% | 143,485 mi |
Source: 583 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.
2006 Forfour Passion MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2006 Smart Forfour Passion?
71.7% of the 583 2006 Smart Forfour Passion tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.5% for cars first used in 2006. First-attempt pass rate: 63.6%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2006 Smart Forfour Passion?
The three most recorded items are registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (11.49%), headlamp lens slightly defective (5.15%), ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (4.80%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2006 Smart Forfour Passion MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 100.0% of the time, falling to 68.9% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2006 Smart Forfour Passion in this dataset had covered 100,018 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2006 Smart Forfour Passion?
Petrol: 71.6% pass rate across 522 tests. Diesel: 71.2% pass rate across 59 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2006 Smart Forfour Passion MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 72.9% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 70.2%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.