Reliability Report · European Market

Mazda MX-5 Reliability

The Mazda MX-5 (current generation) scores 84/100 on our composite reliability index — good territory — drawn from DVSA, NHTSA data.

Composite Score
84
/ 100
Good
Sources: DVSA · NHTSA · latest 2026
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.

NHTSA (US Complaints)
Model years 2003–2020 · 2026 report · n=40
40 complaints across 3 sampled year(s); resolved model="MX-5"
View source ↗
83
/ 100
DVSA MOT (UK Inspections)
Model years 2003–2020 · 2023 report · n=70632
70,632 UK MOT tests · overall 20.6% fail rate vs UK fleet baseline
View source ↗
84
/ 100

UK MOT Reliability Detail

Based on 70,632 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 35 yrs
92
5.0% fail vs 10.9% fleet
8,277 tests
Age 69 yrs
91
9.2% fail vs 19.2% fleet
14,014 tests
Age 1014 yrs
85
19.7% fail vs 32.1% fleet
17,729 tests
Age 1520 yrs
78
30.6% fail vs 38.8% fleet
30,612 tests

Most Common MOT Failure Categories

#1
Ball joint dust cover
4,909
24.7%
#2
Catalyst emissions
4,398
22.1%
#3
Component mounting prescribed areas
3,660
18.4%
#4
Service brake performance
3,542
17.8%
#5
Coil spring
3,366
16.9%

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

See how the Mazda MX-5 stacks up against direct rivals — same segment, similar price band, side-by-side risk + reliability.

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