Reliability Report · European Market

Caterham Seven (s3) Reliability

The Caterham Seven (s3) (current generation) scores 98/100 on our composite reliability index — excellent territory — drawn from DVSA data.

Composite Score
98
/ 100
Excellent
Sources: DVSA · latest 2023
European Market Snapshot
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Reliability by Source

Each independent organization measures reliability differently. TÜV reports inspection defect rates by age band. ADAC reports pan-European breakdowns per 1,000 vehicles. NHTSA aggregates US consumer complaints. DVSA MOT data is the UK fleet's annual safety inspection — every car 3+ years old. Lower variance across sources = higher confidence in the composite.

DVSA MOT (UK Inspections)
Model years 2003–2013 · 2023 report · n=444
444 UK MOT tests · overall 11.5% fail rate vs UK fleet baseline
View source ↗
98
/ 100

UK MOT Reliability Detail

Based on 444 MOT tests in the UK during the 2023reporting period. Score for each age band reflects this model's fail rate vs the UK-fleet baseline fail rate at the same age — a generation-aware metric.

Age 1014 yrs
94
12.9% fail vs 32.1% fleet
124 tests
Age 1520 yrs
99
10.9% fail vs 38.8% fleet
320 tests

Most Common MOT Failure Categories

#1
Catalyst emissions
43
36.1%
#2
Steering rack
27
22.7%
#3
Ball joint dust cover
20
16.8%
#4
Wipers
16
13.4%
#5
Windscreen
13
10.9%

Categories ranked across all MOT tests of this model in the UK during the 2023period. "Condition" covers cosmetic / wear issues; suspension and braking dominate the rest.

Compare Against Alternatives

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