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.
- 01
Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
88 occurrences · 5.0% of tests
- 02
A headlamp missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED
62 occurrences · 3.5% of tests
- 03
A stop lamp(s) does not illuminate by the operation of both brake controls or remains on when the brakes are released
51 occurrences · 2.9% of tests
- 04
A shock absorber not functioning or leaking severely
47 occurrences · 2.7% of tests
- 05
A direction indicator lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning
39 occurrences · 2.2% of tests
- 06
A headlamp missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED
31 occurrences · 1.8% of tests
- 07
A lamp missing or inoperative
28 occurrences · 1.6% of tests
- 08
A lamp not securely attached
27 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
- 09
Headlamp aim unable to be tested
27 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
- 10
Brake efficiency below minimum requirement
26 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 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 →
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Build your own retest budget.
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
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.