2012 Vauxhall Zafira: MOT pass rate and reliability

69.2% of 2012 Vauxhall Zafiras pass the MOT first time, measured across 16,117 DVSA tests on that model year alone. The average one had covered 95,759 miles.

How the 2012 compares

  • Against all Vauxhall Zafiras (69.2%, 200,463 tests): +0 points
  • Against all 2012 cars (70.8%): -1.6 points
  • National first-time pass rate, all cars and years: 77%

Every Vauxhall Zafira model year

Pass rates fall as cars age, so the only fair comparison for a 2012 car is other cars of the same age. The full run for the Vauxhall Zafira:

Year Pass rate Tests Avg mileage
2000 59.7% 233 123,480
2001 64.3% 690 121,082
2002 63.5% 1,447 119,741
2003 61.7% 2,347 116,277
2004 61.9% 4,134 115,807
2005 60.3% 5,258 115,596
2006 60.6% 7,627 115,280
2007 59.2% 11,529 113,386
2008 60.5% 13,709 112,074
2009 60.7% 9,596 106,464
2010 63.3% 16,520 107,118
2011 65.2% 12,795 105,642
2012 69.2% 16,117 95,759
2013 71.7% 27,676 90,786
2014 74% 27,528 86,528
2015 77% 14,463 78,829
2016 79.3% 11,893 69,532
2017 81.1% 11,968 57,319
2018 83.8% 4,865 48,921

What this means if you are buying a 2012 Zafira

The 2012 sits close to the Vauxhall Zafira 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 14-year-old car fails on

A 2012 car is 14 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 and into the range where cambelts and water pumps are due if they have not already been done, so ask for the service history rather than take the mileage on trust. On a 2012 Vauxhall Zafira the average at test was 95,759 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 2018 at 83.8%, and the weakest in our data is 2007 at 59.2%. That 24.6 point spread across the model's life is why comparing a 2012 car against a newer one tells you very little.

Nearby model years

All Vauxhall Zafira MOT data · Every model