Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 2,292 tests

Pass rate is broadly flat across the cohorts — new and old Superlight examples track each other at the test bay.

Pre-2018 cohort 890

Pass

66.7%

Fail

22.9%

PRS

10.1%

Avg mileage at test

10,743 mi

2018–2020 cohort 1,210

Pass

71.4%

Fail

20.9%

PRS

7.4%

Avg mileage at test

7,632 mi

2021+ cohort 192

Pass

66.2%

Fail

21.9%

PRS

11.5%

Avg mileage at test

6,142 mi

Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.

The picture

Superlight: a below-average pass rate worth digging into

Across 1,756 MOT tests, the Superlight returns 68.3% first-time pass — well below the UK fleet average. The single most-logged Major fail is a stop-lamp out. Headlamp missing, inoperative and stop lamp(s) does not illuminate by the operation of both brake controls round out the top three. Average tested mileage sits at 8,713, which is the lens to read those failure rankings through. If you own one and the next test is close, the ranked list below is a sensible pre-test checklist.

Top ten reasons for rejection.

Filter failures:

Hide wear items to see the model's real defects.

01

Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

76 occurrences · 3.3% of tests
02

A headlamp missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED

63 occurrences · 2.7% of tests
03

A shock absorber not functioning or leaking severely

48 occurrences · 2.1% of tests
04

A stop lamp(s) does not illuminate by the operation of both brake controls or remains on when the brakes are released

43 occurrences · 1.9% of tests
05

A transmission belt, chain, sprocket or pulley excessively loose or worn

38 occurrences · 1.7% of tests
06

Brake efficiency below minimum requirement

36 occurrences · 1.6% of tests
07

Projected beam image is obviously incorrect

35 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
08

Headlamp aim unable to be tested

33 occurrences · 1.4% of tests
09

A direction indicator lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning

31 occurrences · 1.4% of tests
10

A headlamp missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED

30 occurrences · 1.3% of tests

Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.

Worst-case fix budget · top 3 failures

£26–£150

If every one of this Superlight's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →

Try the calculator

Build your own retest budget.

Year-band analysis

Best year to buy. Worst to avoid.

First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 5.3-point gap between bands means the year you buy Keeway Superlight has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

71.4%

2018–2020 registration

the 2018–2020 band climbs to 71.4% — a 5.3-point improvement. Failures here are mostly wear items: not working, not working on dipped beam — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band.

Band to be cautious about

66.2%

2021+ registration

On the 2021-on band, the data shows a 66.2% pass rate against a fleet average of 71.4% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: not working on dipped beam, not working, and not working on main beam. Average mileage on test for this band is 6,142 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.

Best band to buy: 2018-2020 (71.4% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: 2021+ (66.2% pass). That's a 5.3-point spread across 192 older tests and 1,210 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.

Year-spread leaderboard →

Tools that pre-empt a retest.

Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.

Item 01 · Amazon UK

H7 / W21W bulb pack

A spare-bulb kit lives in the boot. Test morning is not the time to find your stop-lamp's gone.

Search Amazon UK

Item 02 · Amazon UK

Headlight restoration kit

Yellowed lenses fail the light-output test. A restoration kit lifts the haze in an afternoon for £20.

Search Amazon UK

My Motor World · affiliate

Parts & supplies for this fix

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Denso

Denso W14E Spark Plug (Single)

£1.09

View at My Motor World →

Denso

Denso W16EX-U Spark Plug (Single)

£1.09

View at My Motor World →

Denso

Denso W16FSR Spark Plug (Single)

£1.09

View at My Motor World →

Denso

Denso W9LM-US Spark Plug (Single)

£1.09

View at My Motor World →

Click Mechanic · affiliate

Book a mobile mechanic

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Mobile mechanic · UK-wide

Book a mechanic at your door.

Fixed-price quotes upfront. No garage needed. Click Mechanic sends a vetted local mechanic to you — home, work, or roadside.

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Buying or keeping a Superlight?

Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.

If you own a Superlight and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.