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Smart MOT Pass Rate 2023

How often did a Smart pass its MOT first time in 2023? Here’s the year-keyed pass-rate estimate, the change vs the prior year, top advisories, and how it sits against the UK national average.

By Bertram Sargla, Founder, MOT CheckupLast updated: 2026-05-16Data sourced from DVSA

Smart MOT pass rate 2023: approximately 77.5% (failure rate 22.5%) — that’s 13.5 pp above the UK national first-time pass rate of 64%. The Smart brand-wide pass-rate baseline is 77.5%; this year-keyed figure adjusts for the typical age-related variation between recent test years.

Smart · MOT pass rate · 2023

77.5%

Implied failure rate: 22.5% · UK average: 64%

vs 2022 (76.9%):+0.6 pp

See another year for Smart

20212022202320242025

How Smart 2023 compares

Smart’s 2023 first-time MOT pass rate of 77.5% sits above the UK national figure of 64% for that period. Pass rates tend to rise slowly year on year as newer, better-built cars enter the testable fleet and older, end-of-life vehicles attrit out — so a 1-2 pp gap between adjacent years is normal at brand level.

Smart 202377.5%
UK average (64%)64%
Smart brand baseline77.5%

Top advisory and failure categories for Smart

These are the categories most likely to trigger an MOT advisory or failure on a Smart across 4 models in our dataset — aggregated for the same period this page covers.

1

Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment

16.6%
2

Suspension

13.3%
3

Brakes

11.9%
4

Tyres

11.1%
5

Exhaust, fuel and emissions

8.2%

Run a free MOT check on a specific Smart

A single car’s 2023 test result is what decides whether you buy it — not the brand average. Enter the registration to see every test result since 2005.

UK

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Related reading

Smart reliability profile

Full reliability breakdown across all years and models.

Smart MOT check

Per-model pass rates and free registration lookup.

Smart pass rate 2022

Year-on-year comparison: 76.9%.

Smart pass rate 2024

See the more recent year-keyed estimate.

Ford pass rate 2023

Same year, different brand — quick comparison.

Alfa Romeo pass rate 2023

Same year, different brand — quick comparison.

Smart MOT pass rate 2023 — FAQ

What was the Smart MOT pass rate in 2023?
In 2023, the Smart first-time MOT pass rate was approximately 77.5% — 13.5 pp above the UK national average of 64%. The corresponding failure rate is 22.5%.
How did the Smart pass rate change between 2022 and 2023?
The Smart pass rate moved from 76.9% in 2022 to 77.5% in 2023 — an improvement of 0.6 percentage points. Year-on-year movement at brand level is usually small; vehicle age and maintenance still dominate.
Is a 77.5% pass rate good for Smart in 2023?
Against the UK national first-time MOT pass rate of 64%, Smart's 77.5% in 2023 is better than average. The figure is brand-wide; individual models and years vary significantly.
Are these pass rates official DVSA figures?
These year-keyed pass rates are MOT Checkup's modelled estimates, anchored to the Smart brand-average pass rate (77.5%) and adjusted for the typical age-related variation between recent test years. DVSA does not publish per-brand per-year first-time pass tables; for a single car, the registration-level MOT history is the canonical record.

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UK

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Source: MOT Checkup analysis. Year-keyed pass rates are modelled estimates anchored on the Smart brand-average pass rate of 77.5% derived from our reliability dataset, with an explicit age-related adjustment between adjacent test years. DVSA does not publish per-brand per-year first-time pass tables; for a single car, the registration-level MOT history is the canonical record.