Mitsubishi
19,130 MOT tests analysed. lands in the middle of the pack — here's where Lancers pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 3.5 points below the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — buyers should expect more first-time fails than the typical UK car.
Pass
74.0%
Pass-after-fix
4.1%
Fail
21.1%
Avg miles
93,746
Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%
This model's production run straddles the January 2006 Euro 4 cutoff. Individual cars vary — check your registration plate on the government's ULEZ checker. Daily charges if driven in the zone: London £12.50 · Birmingham £8.00 .
Performance by cohort
2 year bands · 19,101 tests
Pass rate climbs 15.6 points across the cohorts — newer Lancer examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.
Pass
73.8%
Fail
21.3%
PRS
4.1%
Avg mileage at test
93,813 mi
Pass
89.4%
Fail
7.3%
PRS
2.6%
Avg mileage at test
88,239 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
The picture
The Mitsubishi Lancer is an automobile that was produced by the Japanese manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors from 1973 until 2024.
MOT data from 13,751 tests puts this car on a 71.5% first-time pass rate, below the UK fleet average. Average mileage at test is 92,841 miles. The most common fail item is failed number plate light, followed by steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play.
New Lancer saloon with dramatic front. Looks exactly like Evo X. High spec 2.0 litre version with alloy wheels to sell from around £15,000. Commodious beetlebacked hatchback version from mid 2008.
The Lancer's pass rate warrants caution in the used market. Factor in likely first-test remedial work on the common failure items and get a pre-purchase inspection that covers the specific items this car trips on most.
ABI Insurance Group
Below the fleet average — generally reasonable to insure. Lower groups cost less to insure; UK fleet average is around Group 22.
Source: ABI Group Rating Panel · administered by Thatcham Research · groups cover standard variants; performance trims may sit higher. Browse all insurance groups →
14–26
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A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
882 occurrences · 4.6% of tests
A suspension joint dust cover severely deteriorated
698 occurrences · 3.6% of tests
Headlamp reflector or lens slightly defective
694 occurrences · 3.6% of tests
A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play
677 occurrences · 3.5% of tests
A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
523 occurrences · 2.7% of tests
Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded
486 occurrences · 2.5% of tests
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
402 occurrences · 2.1% of tests
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
350 occurrences · 1.8% of tests
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
306 occurrences · 1.6% of tests
Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
286 occurrences · 1.5% 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 4 failures
£178–£595
If every one of this Lancer'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
First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 15.6-point gap between bands means the year you buy Mitsubishi Lancer has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.
Best band to buy
89.4%
2018–2020 registration
the 2018–2020 band climbs to 89.4% — a 15.6-point improvement. Tests in this band average 88,239 miles — roughly 6K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated, leaking on a hydraulic braking system — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. The stricter post-2018 MOT test rules meant manufacturers had to tighten up emissions and electrical checks, but this band still shows far fewer major failures on suspension and bodywork than the older fleet.
Band to be cautious about
73.8%
Pre-2018 registration
On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 73.8% pass rate against a fleet average of 89.4% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: inoperative in the case of multiple lamps…, ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated, and lens slightly defective. Average mileage on test for this band is 93,813 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2018-2020 (89.4% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (73.8% pass). That's a 15.6-point spread across 18,950 older tests and 151 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.
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
Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.
Motor World
Motor World Mitsubishi Colt 2004- Car Floor Mat Set
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Motor World Mitsubishi L200 Double Cab 88-2005- Car Floor Mat Set
£32.99
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Motor World Mitsubishi L200 4 Work Club Cab 2006- Car Floor Mat Set
£32.99
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Motor World Mitsubishi L200 Double Cab 2006-2015 L/Rears Warrior Car Floor Mat Set
£32.99
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Click Mechanic · affiliate
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.
Owner reports · Honest John
Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.
What's good
The GS1 variant benefits from a superb specification for safety, style and convenience, especially for an entry level model in the C-D segment. Pricing starts at just £12,499 for the 1.5 litre petrol engine with an additional £750 for the 4-speed automatic transmission:
Where it falls short
New Lancer saloon with dramatic front. Looks exactly like Evo X. High spec 2.0 litre version with alloy wheels to sell from around £15,000. Commodious beetlebacked hatchback version from mid 2008.
Recall history
The Lancer has 12 official UK vehicle recalls covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.
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 Lancer 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.
