2003 Mitsubishi Space Star: MOT pass rate and reliability

47.5% of 2003 Mitsubishi Space Stars pass the MOT first time, measured across 322 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 89,899 miles.

How the 2003 compares

  • Against all Mitsubishi Space Stars (51.6%, 1,437 tests): -4.1 points
  • Against all 2003 cars (64.7%): -17.2 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Mitsubishi Space Star 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 Mitsubishi Space Star:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2002 52.5% 217 87,825
2003 47.5% 322 89,899
2004 52.4% 483 88,381
2005 52.9% 293 86,450

What this means if you are buying a 2003 Space Star

The 2003 is a weaker year for this model, passing 4.1 points less often than the Mitsubishi Space Star 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 above average, the point where suspension bushes, drop links and exhaust corrosion start showing up as advisories before they become failures. On a 2003 Mitsubishi Space Star the average at test was 89,899 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 2005 at 52.9%, and the weakest in our data is 2003 at 47.5%. That 5.4 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 Mitsubishi Space Star MOT data · Every model