Pass rate
75.2%
Around average — 2.7 pts ahead of the 72.5% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 101 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £17–£50
2006 Smart Fortwo Grandstyle MOT pass rate
- 2006
- typical 57,582 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
28.2% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2006 75.2% pass · this year
- Avoid 2006 75.2% pass · this year
Across the 1 years on record, a spread of 0 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 68.4%
- Typical mileage
- 58k mi
The 2006 Smart Fortwo Grandstyle MOT pass rate is 75.2% of its MOT tests — 2.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 28.2% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Smart Fortwo Grandstyle does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Suspension: 1.3× the national share
Suspension accounts for 28.2% of everything recorded on the 2006 Smart Fortwo Grandstyle, against 21.0% nationally — 7.2 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.
- Based on a small sample. 101 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 Smart Fortwo Grandstyle? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2006 Smart Fortwo Grandstyle compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.5%, so this figure is 2.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 68.4%. The median 2006 Smart Fortwo Grandstyle in this dataset had covered 57,582 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 71.4% of the time, April–September 78.0%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases", noted on 3.96% of tests.
- 101 recorded tests behind this page.
- 75.2% overall pass rate, 68.4% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Smart Fortwo Grandstyle, the average is 75.2% — best year 2006 (75.2%), worst 2006 (75.2%).
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
- 101
- Typical mileage (median)
- 57,582 mi
- Make and model
- Smart Fortwo Grandstyle
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Exhaust
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Fortwo Grandstyle MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 67% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Fortwo Grandstyle
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 29 | 69.0% |
| East of England | 18 | 83.3% |
| South West | 17 | 82.4% |
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 Fortwo Grandstyle
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 Fortwo Grandstyle
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 exhaust and emissions 4.0% of tests
“exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases”
Listen for a blow at idle and have someone rev it gently. Then look at the tailpipe smoke: blue is oil, white when warm is coolant, black is over-fuelling. Any of those and the emissions test is the least of it.
-
Check the lights 4.0% of tests
“headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect”
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 wipers and washers 4.0% of tests
“washers provides insufficient washer liquid”
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 2006 Fortwo Grandstyle through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £17–£50 — and 51% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £17–£50
- Cheapest common item: mirrors slightly damaged
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust…
- £45–£120
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 51%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 101 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 →
Compare the 2006 Smart Fortwo Grandstyle 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
- Toyota Avensis 75.2%
- Jaguar S-Type 75.3%
- Volvo S60 75.3%
- Saab 9-5 75.1%
- BMW 118 75.4%
- Chrysler Jeep 300 75.0%
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 Fortwo Grandstyle 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 241 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 | 68 | 28.20% | 20.98% | +7.22 |
| Brakes | 42 | 17.40% | 20.89% | −3.49 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 38 | 15.80% | 12.21% | +3.59 |
| Tyres | 24 | 10.00% | 19.76% | −9.76 |
| Visibility | 19 | 7.90% | 4.97% | +2.93 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 12 | 5.00% | 5.57% | −0.57 |
| Non-component advisories | 12 | 5.00% | 4.18% | +0.82 |
| Steering | 11 | 4.60% | 2.57% | +2.03 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 10 | 4.10% | 5.52% | −1.42 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 5 | 2.10% | 1.76% | +0.34 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases Body, chassis, structure | Major | 4.0% | £45–120 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.0% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp not working on dipped beam Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 4.0% | £5–25 |
| Mirrors slightly damaged Visibility | Minor | 4.0% | £3–15 |
| Washers provides insufficient washer liquid Visibility | Major | 4.0% | £5–15 |
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 3.0% | £18–45 |
| Coil spring fractured or broken Suspension | Major | 3.0% | £25–65 |
| Headlamp aim not tested unable to be tested Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.0% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp not working on main beam Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.0% | £5–25 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.0% | £5–25 |
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 | 13.9% | £80–180 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 11.9% | £45–95 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 9.9% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 9.9% | £45–110 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 8.9% | £25–65 |
| Wheel bearings has excessive play Suspension | Advisory | 8.9% | £20–55 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30-60k | 56 | 75.0% | 49,532 mi |
| 60-90k | 26 | 76.9% | 79,717 mi |
| 90-120k | 13 | 76.9% | 100,796 mi |
| 120k+ | 5 | 80.0% | 136,220 mi |
Source: 101 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 Fortwo Grandstyle MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2006 Smart Fortwo Grandstyle?
75.2% of the 101 2006 Smart Fortwo Grandstyle tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.5% for cars first used in 2006. First-attempt pass rate: 68.4%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2006 Smart Fortwo Grandstyle?
The three most recorded items are exhaust system has a major leak of exhaust gases (3.96%), headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect (3.96%), headlamp not working on dipped beam (3.96%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2006 Smart Fortwo Grandstyle MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 75.0% of the time, falling to 80.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2006 Smart Fortwo Grandstyle in this dataset had covered 57,582 mi.
Does the season affect the 2006 Smart Fortwo Grandstyle MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 71.4% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 78.0%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.