2003 Rover 25: MOT pass rate and reliability
70.4% of 2003 Rover 25s pass the MOT first time, measured across 646 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 69,560 miles.
How the 2003 compares
- Against all Rover 25s (69.7%, 3,222 tests): +0.7 points
- Against all 2003 cars (64.7%): +5.7 points
- National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%
Every Rover 25 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 Rover 25:
| Year | Pass rate | Tests | Avg mileage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 69.6% | 378 | 68,343 |
| 2001 | 70.4% | 605 | 67,203 |
| 2002 | 70.2% | 583 | 67,186 |
| 2003 | 70.4% | 646 | 69,560 |
| 2004 | 67.1% | 565 | 69,219 |
| 2005 | 71.4% | 370 | 67,227 |
What this means if you are buying a 2003 25
The 2003 sits close to the Rover 25 average, so there is no strong model-year signal either way. Judge the individual car on its own history. 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 a shade above the middle of the range, still ordinary wear rather than a red flag, but worth checking against the service book for the car's age. On a 2003 Rover 25 the average at test was 69,560 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 71.4%, and the weakest in our data is 2004 at 67.1%. That 4.3 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2003 car against a newer one tells you very little.
Nearby model years
- 2000 Rover 25 - 69.6%
- 2001 Rover 25 - 70.4%
- 2002 Rover 25 - 70.2%
- 2004 Rover 25 - 67.1%
- 2005 Rover 25 - 71.4%