Mitsubishi Asx years to avoid — 79,936 MOT tests ranked

Inspect most carefully: 2014. Strongest in the data: 2018 or 2019. The ranking uses 79,936 MOT tests across 10 registration years (2023–2025) and compares each year with all UK cars of the same age.

Every Asx year, ranked

The age-adjusted MOT index sets 100 as the pass rate of all UK cars registered in the same year and tested in the same calendar year. Higher is better. This prevents an old car being labelled a “bad year” simply because it is old.

RankYearIndexVs same-agePass rateTests
1 2018 Strong 103.4 +3.4 pts 89.7% 6,490
2 2019 Strong 103.0 +3.0 pts 91.4% 3,401
3 2012 102.3 +2.3 pts 73.5% 6,240
4 2016 102.2 +2.2 pts 83.6% 9,432
5 2015 101.7 +1.7 pts 80.4% 13,418
6 2017 101.6 +1.6 pts 85.7% 11,789
7 2011 101.6 +1.6 pts 70.7% 6,203
8 2013 100.0 -0.0 pts 73.3% 7,194
9 2010 99.9 -0.1 pts 67.2% 4,738
10 2014 Inspect 99.4 -0.6 pts 75.2% 11,031

Why 2014 rank lower

The 2014 cohort passes 75.2% of tests (-0.6 points versus same-age cars) at a median 78,452 miles, with brakes the leading failure system. This is population-level evidence, not a known-fault list: service history, engine version and the individual MOT record can outweigh the registration-year average.

How to use this before buying

  • Rankings describe the cohort, not the car. A cherished 2014 example beats a neglected 2018 one — always run the specific reg through the free MOT history check.
  • Read the advisories. Repeated notes for the same component across years mean the owner has been ignoring it. Decode them in our advisory library.
  • Scan before you pay. A 2-minute OBD scan reveals stored faults the dashboard hides — see our scanner guide.

FAQs

Which Asx years should I avoid?

Based on 79,936 MOT tests adjusted against cars of the same age, 2014 are the lower-scoring outliers. That is a prompt for closer inspection, not proof that every car from those years is bad.

What is the best Asx year to buy used?

2018 and 2019 lead the age-adjusted MOT ranking. The score compares each registration year with all UK cars of the same age; the specific car's history and condition still take priority.

Is the Asx reliable overall?

Across 79,936 tests, the median age-adjusted index is 101.7 (100 equals the pass rate of all cars registered in the same year). Use the spread between years as one signal, then check the individual registration.

Methodology: index = 100 + the model-year cohort’s MOT pass-rate difference versus all UK vehicles registered in the same year and tested in the same calendar year. Class 4 initial tests only; retests excluded; at least 1,500 tests per page. “Inspect” years are below both the same-age baseline and the model’s median index by at least 2 points. Association is not proof of a model-year defect. DVSA anonymised data 2023–2025, OGL v3.0.