Renault
46,655 MOT tests analysed. lands in the middle of the pack — here's where Twingos pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 6.6 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
71.0%
Pass-after-fix
3.9%
Fail
24.6%
Avg miles
62,300
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 · 46,651 tests
Pass rate climbs 14.6 points across the cohorts — newer Twingo examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.
Pass
70.6%
Fail
24.9%
PRS
3.9%
Avg mileage at test
63,069 mi
Pass
85.3%
Fail
11.4%
PRS
2.6%
Avg mileage at test
27,112 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
Generations on file · 3
Renault Twingo · UK market
1992–2007
2007–2014
2014–2024
Photos: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA / CC BY / public domain.
The picture
The Renault Twingo is a petrol-powered car sold in the UK market across multiple generations, covering a broad date range in the test population.
MOT data from 33,917 tests puts this car on a 71.5% first-time pass rate, below the UK fleet average. Average mileage at test is 58,401 miles. The most common fail item is fractured or weakened suspension spring, followed by failed number plate light.
This generation of Renault Twingo featured a completely different layout from its predecessor, with the engine at the rear and rear-wheel drive. The result was a spacious small car that now offers decent value on the used market.
The Twingo'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
A low-group car — among the cheapest to insure in the UK. 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 →
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A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
2,035 occurrences · 4.4% of tests
A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
1,861 occurrences · 4.0% of tests
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
1,534 occurrences · 3.3% of tests
A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play
1,293 occurrences · 2.8% of tests
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
1,239 occurrences · 2.7% of tests
Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded
938 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
Lambda coefficient outside the default limits or the range specified by the manufacturer
828 occurrences · 1.8% of tests
A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
787 occurrences · 1.7% of tests
Headlamp reflector or lens slightly defective
692 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
674 occurrences · 1.4% 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 5 failures
£308–£850
If every one of this Twingo'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 14.6-point gap between bands means the year you buy Renault Twingo has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.
Best band to buy
85.3%
2018–2020 registration
the 2018–2020 band climbs to 85.3% — a 14.6-point improvement. Tests in this band average 27,112 miles — roughly 36K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: ball joint excessively worn, tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm — 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
70.6%
Pre-2018 registration
On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 70.6% pass rate against a fleet average of 85.3% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: fractured or broken, inoperative in the case of multiple lamps…, and ball joint excessively worn. Average mileage on test for this band is 63,069 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2018-2020 (85.3% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (70.6% pass). That's a 14.6-point spread across 45,659 older tests and 992 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
Digital tyre-tread depth gauge
Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.
Search Amazon UK
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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.
Report of timing chain problems with 2016 Twingo. The car has covered 13,000 miles and the timing chain has become loose and needs replacing. [ for several days at a time, and they haven't attempted to fix - only "watched/listened" to see it happening. Faults are: 1. Lights get stuck in current mode (i.e. if you have sidelights on, you cannot switch on dipped beams, or switch off). Can only be reset by switching off car - very difficult if on motorway and it gets dark, foggy or rains heavily. Dealer says Renault needs to authorise software update, but haven't. 2. Loud knock from front left suspension, progressively getting worse. Happens going over drain-covers, road-joints, potholes and speed bumps and jolts the steering wheel. Mechanics can hear/replicate on test-drive, but because visual inspection looks OK, they will not investigate further. 3. Loud tapping and belt noise from cold start-up, only when aircon is on (and worse when other electrics on too). Engine hunts around the revs, and occasionally stalls. Again, whilst acknowledging the issue, as there are no engine fault codes, they will not investigate further.
TSB in-service recall to adjust the mechanism of the flimsy 'bonnet' that covers the screenwasher reservoir, etc. Reader reports that after the new bonnet guide bracket was fitted to his 2015 Twingo the fuel gauge stopped working. Digital readout still worked but not the gauge, suggesting that the cable from the fuel tank sender to the gasuge must have been disturbed.
Report of glass hatchback of 2015/65 Twingo exploding when owner got into the car. Probably a stress crack caused by shutting the hatchback from the side. You need to close a glass hatchback with two hands evenly spaced to avoid this.
Report of pre-reg 2015 Twingo, bought September 2015, having a radio that constantly switches itself off. Not resolved by the Renault dealer.
Source: honestjohn.co.uk · 5 reports indexed
Recall history
The Twingo has 11 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 Twingo 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.
