Toyota Aygo years to avoid — 753,796 MOT tests ranked

Inspect most carefully: 2005, 2006, 2008. Strongest in the data: 2015 or 2016. The ranking uses 753,796 MOT tests across 18 registration years (2023–2025) and compares each year with all UK cars of the same age.

Every Aygo 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 2015 Strong 106.9 +6.9 pts 85.6% 68,428
2 2016 Strong 106.5 +6.5 pts 87.9% 65,586
3 2014 105.5 +5.5 pts 81.4% 57,194
4 2013 104.8 +4.8 pts 78.1% 44,979
5 2017 104.7 +4.7 pts 88.7% 63,372
6 2018 103.9 +3.9 pts 90.3% 64,756
7 2022 103.7 +3.7 pts 94.9% 1,587
8 2019 103.5 +3.5 pts 91.9% 65,343
9 2012 103.4 +3.4 pts 74.6% 43,877
10 2020 103.3 +3.3 pts 93.2% 48,446
11 2021 103.2 +3.2 pts 93.6% 32,650
12 2011 102.5 +2.5 pts 71.6% 37,930
13 2010 101.8 +1.8 pts 69.2% 34,833
14 2009 101.1 +1.1 pts 67.5% 37,338
15 2007 97.8 -2.2 pts 63.0% 27,327
16 2006 Inspect 97.7 -2.3 pts 62.1% 22,622
17 2008 Inspect 97.4 -2.6 pts 62.5% 33,366
18 2005 Inspect 93.5 -6.5 pts 58.0% 4,162

Why 2005 and 2006 and 2008 rank lower

The 2006 cohort passes 62.1% of tests (-2.3 points versus same-age cars) at a median 90,741 miles, with lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment the leading failure system. The 2008 cohort passes 62.5% of tests (-2.6 points versus same-age cars) at a median 80,770 miles, with brakes the leading failure system. The 2005 cohort passes 58.0% of tests (-6.5 points versus same-age cars) at a median 92,928 miles, with lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 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 2005 example beats a neglected 2015 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 Aygo years should I avoid?

Based on 753,796 MOT tests adjusted against cars of the same age, 2005, 2006, 2008 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 Aygo year to buy used?

2015 and 2016 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 Aygo reliable overall?

Across 753,796 tests, the median age-adjusted index is 103.3 (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.