2003 Land Rover Freelander: MOT pass rate and reliability

59% of 2003 Land Rover Freelanders pass the MOT first time, measured across 2,939 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 131,624 miles.

How the 2003 compares

  • Against all Land Rover Freelanders (71%, 119,779 tests): -12 points
  • Against all 2003 cars (64.7%): -5.7 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Land Rover Freelander model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2003 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Land Rover Freelander:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
1998 63.1% 203 115,496
1999 54.5% 257 121,317
2000 63.6% 429 116,191
2001 58.5% 1,108 125,971
2002 61.7% 2,202 136,005
2003 59% 2,939 131,624
2004 59.5% 4,739 127,653
2005 58.6% 5,719 125,589
2006 59.5% 6,217 128,567
2007 66.2% 13,747 141,785
2008 67.6% 10,792 136,813
2009 71.2% 9,898 127,900
2010 71.9% 13,987 122,093
2011 76.9% 12,260 115,265
2012 77% 10,443 104,961
2013 78.4% 13,176 98,665
2014 82.7% 11,577 87,663

What this means if you are buying a 2003 Freelander

The 2003 is a weaker year for this model, passing 12 points less often than the Land Rover Freelander average. Some of that is simply age, so compare it against the 2003 figure for all cars above rather than against newer examples. Check the exact car with the free MOT history checker before you buy, and run its VIN and mileage through our free VIN decoder and clocking check.

What a 23-year-old car fails on

A 2003 car is 23 years old now, and age drives the failure mix more than the badge does. Across all cars tested, these are the categories that actually cause failures:

  • Lights and electrical: 10.36% of all cars tested
  • Suspension: 8.65% of all cars tested
  • Tyres: 6.23% of all cars tested
  • Brakes: 6.1% of all cars tested
  • Visibility: wipers, washers, glass: 4.65% of all cars tested
  • Body, chassis and structure: 3.18% of all cars tested

That is high mileage, so timing belts, clutches, suspension bushes and corrosion are the items worth budgeting for rather than the MOT itself. On a 2003 Land Rover Freelander the average at test was 131,624 miles, so treat anything far above that as a car that has worked harder than its peers, and anything far below as one worth checking for the faults that come from standing still.

The strongest year for this model is 2014 at 82.7%, and the weakest in our data is 1999 at 54.5%. That 28.2 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2003 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Land Rover Freelander MOT data · Every model