MOT comparison

Mazda 3 Mk1 vs Ford Focus Mk2

How the Mazda 3 Mk1 (BK) (2003–2008) and the Ford Focus Mk2 (2004–2011) do at their MOTs, compared at the same mileage so a high-mileage car is never measured against a low-mileage one.

Mazda 3 Mk1 (BK)

753,850

MOT tests compared · built 2003–2008

Passes more often in 6 of 15 mileage bands

Ford Focus Mk2

8,998,774

MOT tests compared · built 2004–2011

Passes more often in 8 of 15 mileage bands

MOT pass rate by mileage

Share of MOTs passed first time, at the mileage recorded at the test.

Mazda 3 Mk1 Ford Focus Mk2

Under 10,000 miles 94.0% vs 90.9%

5,663 and 66,723 MOTs

10,000–20,000 miles 92.6% vs 89.9%

32,949 and 322,871 MOTs

20,000–30,000 miles 89.3% vs 86.8%

63,497 and 645,338 MOTs

30,000–40,000 miles 84.9% vs 82.5%

76,807 and 817,774 MOTs

40,000–50,000 miles 79.6% vs 77.9%

78,902 and 871,984 MOTs

50,000–60,000 miles 74.2% vs 73.1%

78,072 and 883,929 MOTs

60,000–70,000 miles 68.0% vs 68.6%

75,218 and 869,408 MOTs

70,000–80,000 miles 62.4% vs 64.4%

70,843 and 837,313 MOTs

80,000–90,000 miles 57.3% vs 60.8%

64,215 and 778,187 MOTs

90,000–100,000 miles 53.1% vs 58.0%

55,718 and 695,066 MOTs

100,000–125,000 miles 49.1% vs 54.8%

93,962 and 1,251,550 MOTs

125,000–150,000 miles 45.0% vs 51.8%

40,319 and 615,907 MOTs

150,000–175,000 miles 44.2% vs 50.3%

13,124 and 235,817 MOTs

175,000–200,000 miles 42.9% vs 49.6%

3,422 and 76,351 MOTs

200,000–250,000 miles 42.4% vs 49.9%

1,139 and 30,556 MOTs

Parts that fail more often

Only differences that hold across at least half of the mileage bands we could compare, and that are far too large to be chance, are listed. How we decide

Mazda 3 Mk1 fails more often on

Rear brake pad

Fails about 3 times as often as the Ford Focus Mk2: 2.9% of MOTs against 0.89%.

In 12 of 15 mileage bands · Braking System
Front ball joint

Fails about 3 times as often as the Ford Focus Mk2: 3.7% of MOTs against 1.4%.

In 11 of 15 mileage bands · Suspension & Joints
Front suspension arm

Fails about twice as often as the Ford Focus Mk2: 4.5% of MOTs against 2.3%.

In 11 of 15 mileage bands · Suspension & Joints

Ford Focus Mk2 fails more often on

Front coil spring

Fails about 3 times as often as the Mazda 3 Mk1: 2.5% of MOTs against 0.75%.

In 13 of 15 mileage bands · Springs & Shocks
Rear direction indicator

Fails over 20 times as often as the Mazda 3 Mk1: 1.5% of MOTs against 0.03%.

In 13 of 15 mileage bands · Lights & Signals

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Check a car's MOT Compare the Mazda 3 Mk1 with another model

These are differences in real MOT results, not engineering verdicts. Owner mix differs between models (some are more often taxis, first cars or rural cars), which is why every figure compares cars at the same mileage. How we compare cars.

MOT records: DVSA MOT history, which contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. See this the other way round.