Mazda 2: which years to avoid

Based on 122,343 real MOT tests from DVSA records. Each year is compared against every other car first registered the same year — otherwise the numbers would only tell you that older cars fail more, which you knew.

The short answer

No model year stands out as one to avoid. Every year sits within 15% of the failure rate for cars of the same age. The 2019 is the strongest, failing 41% less often than average.

Found a Mazda 2 you like?

Averages tell you what to expect. Its registration tells you what actually happened — every MOT, every advisory, and whether the mileage adds up.

Every 2 model year

Shaded rows are the years that differ most from other cars of the same age — worse, better.

MOT failure rate by registration year for the Mazda 2
Registered	MOT tests	Fail rate	vs same-age cars
2004	1,062	32.0%	about average
2005	1,281	34.1%	about average
2006	1,492	32.0%	about average
2007	3,051	33.0%	about average
2008	8,603	39.0%	about average
2009	12,978	35.8%	about average
2010	12,865	34.9%	about average
2011	10,837	32.1%	about average
2012	8,977	29.0%	about average
2013	8,625	26.7%	about average
2014	8,486	22.2%	about average
2015	9,965	16.7%	15% better
2016	10,129	15.4%	about average
2017	7,684	10.6%	26% better
2018	8,118	8.3%	31% better
2019	8,190	6.1%	41% better

How this is worked out

Every MOT test recorded by DVSA in 2023 on a Mazda 2, grouped by the year the car was first registered. Retests are excluded, so a car that failed and was fixed still counts as a failure. Each year's rate is then divided by the rate for all cars first registered that year — so 120 means 20% more failures than its contemporaries, not 20% more than a brand new car.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.