Is the Mitsubishi Mirage reliable?

On MOT evidence the Mitsubishi Mirage is above average. It passes 77.3% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 71% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.

What is the most common MOT failure on a Mitsubishi Mirage?

The item recorded most often is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", which appears in 21.9% of failed Mitsubishi Mirage tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.

What do testers most often warn about on a Mitsubishi Mirage?

The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 21.7% of all Mitsubishi Mirage tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.

What mileage does a Mitsubishi Mirage usually have at its MOT?

The average odometer reading recorded at test is 46,848 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.

Which Mitsubishi Mirage years are the most reliable?

Going by MOT pass rate, Mitsubishi Mirage cars first registered 2020–2022 do best at 88.3%, and those registered 2011–2013 do worst at 72.0%. But that ordering is mostly age, not build year: almost every model passes less often as it wears, so the newest cars top this list whatever they are. A specific year looking strong here means little on its own; the failure items above, and the individual car's own MOT history, tell you far more.

Does a Mitsubishi Mirage get harder to pass as it ages?

Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 88.3% of Mitsubishi Mirage tests pass. By 12 to 14 years, that falls to 72.0%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

Model reliability file

Mitsubishi Mirage MOT pass rate & common failures

From 11,135 recorded MOT tests of the Mitsubishi Mirage, published by DVSA.

Data updated 29 July 2026

Quick answer

The Mitsubishi Mirage passes 77.3% of MOT tests once results are adjusted for the age and mileage of the cars tested, against a national average of 72.3%. That is above average. Based on 11,135 tests. Its most commonly recorded failure is tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements, which appears in 21.9% of failed tests. Cars of this model average 46,848 miles on the odometer when tested.

At a glance

Pass rate, adjusted for age and mileage

77.3%national average72.3%unadjusted80.5%range covered71%

The Mirage is 5.0 percentage points above the national pass rate once age and mileage are accounted for, which is above average. The unadjusted figure is 80.5%; the difference is what the age and mileage of this model’s fleet was hiding.

DVSA recorded wording

Most common failure items

Share of failed Mitsubishi Mirage tests in which each item was recorded. One failed test often lists several items, so these do not sum to 100%.

1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements21.9%
361 occurrencesTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
2.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm17.1%
282 occurrencesBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
3.Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen14.6%
240 occurrencesWiper or washer not working properly explained
4.A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc11.8%
195 occurrencesSuspension joint dust cover missing or split explained
5.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded8.7%
144 occurrencesBrake pipe corroded explained
6.A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning7.6%
125 occurrencesLamp not working explained
7.A tyre cords visible or damaged6.6%
108 occurrencesTyre ply or cord exposed, or the casing separating explained
8.A tyre seriously damaged5.5%
90 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
9.A tyre seriously damaged5.4%
89 occurrencesTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
10.A tyre pressure monitoring system malfunctioning or obviously inoperative5.0%
83 occurrencesTyre pressure monitoring system inoperative explained

Warnings without a failure

Most common advisories

Share of all Mitsubishi Mirage tests carrying each advisory. The denominator differs from the failure list above because an advisory can be issued on a car that passed.

1.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements21.7%
2,413 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained
2.A tyre seriously damaged16.4%
1,823 testsTyre damaged or deteriorated explained
3.Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured10.4%
1,159 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
4.A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm8.8%
975 testsBrake drum or shoe worn or contaminated explained
5.Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded7.7%
854 testsBrake pipe corroded explained
6.A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened4.1%
461 testsRoad spring broken or fractured explained
7.Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn3.2%
356 testsBrake disc worn, pitted or scored explained
8.Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements2.7%
304 testsTyre worn close to the legal limit explained

The rest of the record

Everything else recorded on the Mitsubishi Mirage

The 20 other defects testers recorded on this model, beyond the most common listed above. Each links to what it means and what it takes to put right.

Known faults

Mitsubishi Mirage common problems, by part and by year

The same failure record read the way a buyer asks the question: which parts wear out on a Mirage, when they start, and how each registration year compares — including the steps that mark a generation change.

Mirage common problems and results by year

How wear changes the picture

Mirage pass rate by age and registration year

How often the Mitsubishi Mirage passes at each age, with the years those cars were first registered. Tests are from 2025, so a car aged 3 to 5 was first used in 2020–2022.

3–5 yrsreg. 2020–202288%

6–8 yrsreg. 2017–201985%

9–11 yrsreg. 2014–201680%

12–14 yrsreg. 2011–201372%

Read this as an age curve rather than a verdict on particular model years. Nearly every car passes less often as it gets older, so a newer Mirage outscoring an older one says more about wear than about how that year’s cars were built. Bands holding too few tests to be meaningful are omitted rather than shown as a rate.

What gets tested

The Mirage fleet

Average mileage recorded at test: 46,848
Fuel mix of tested cars: Petrol100.0%

Trim names grouped into this model (7)

Recorded exactly as DVSA holds them. Trim-level names are rolled up so one model is not split across a dozen thin pages.

MIRAGE DESIGN
MIRAGE DESIGN CVT
MIRAGE DESIGN PRO
MIRAGE DESIGN PRO CVT
MIRAGE FIRST EDITION
MIRAGE FIRST EDITION CVT
MIRAGE VERVE

Check a specific Mitsubishi Mirage

A model average tells you the pattern. Its own MOT record tells you the car.

Compare within the range

Other Mitsubishi models

Mitsubishi L200 — 72.0% adjusted
Mitsubishi Outlander — 73.8% adjusted
Mitsubishi Asx — 75.0% adjusted
Mitsubishi Shogun — 75.4% adjusted
Mitsubishi Colt — 54.1% unadjusted
Mitsubishi Eclipse — 85.7% unadjusted
All Mitsubishi models

Similar test volumes

Compare against other makes

Audi A8 — 88.6% adjusted, ranked 6
Toyota Alphard — 75.4% adjusted, ranked 102
Volkswagen Jetta — 69.3% adjusted, ranked 177
Tesla Model S — 81.5% adjusted, ranked 43

Common questions

Is the Mitsubishi Mirage reliable?: On MOT evidence the Mitsubishi Mirage is above average. It passes 77.3% of tests once age and mileage are accounted for, against a national average of 72.3%. That figure covers 71% of the national age and mileage range, which is enough to quote but not to rank. This measures how often the car meets the MOT standard, not how often it breaks down or what a repair costs.
What is the most common MOT failure on a Mitsubishi Mirage?: The item recorded most often is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", which appears in 21.9% of failed Mitsubishi Mirage tests. Because one failed test can list several items, these shares do not add up to 100%.
What do testers most often warn about on a Mitsubishi Mirage?: The most common advisory is "Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements", noted on 21.7% of all Mitsubishi Mirage tests. An advisory is not a failure: it flags something that will likely need attention before the next test.
What mileage does a Mitsubishi Mirage usually have at its MOT?: The average odometer reading recorded at test is 46,848 miles. This is the mileage across all tested examples of every age, not an annual figure, so treat it as a description of the fleet rather than a target for one car.
Which Mitsubishi Mirage years are the most reliable?: Going by MOT pass rate, Mitsubishi Mirage cars first registered 2020–2022 do best at 88.3%, and those registered 2011–2013 do worst at 72.0%. But that ordering is mostly age, not build year: almost every model passes less often as it wears, so the newest cars top this list whatever they are. A specific year looking strong here means little on its own; the failure items above, and the individual car's own MOT history, tell you far more.
Does a Mitsubishi Mirage get harder to pass as it ages?: Yes. At 3 to 5 years old, 88.3% of Mitsubishi Mirage tests pass. By 12 to 14 years, that falls to 72.0%. Nearly every model follows this pattern, which is why comparing raw pass rates between models is misleading unless age is accounted for.

How this was worked out

Method and limits

Figures come from the DVSA anonymised MOT testing dataset, published under the Open Government Licence. Only class 4 initial tests are counted: retests are excluded so a car appears once, and abandoned tests are excluded entirely. The adjusted rate is directly standardised across twenty-five age and mileage bands and reweighted onto the national distribution, so this model is compared against cars that have lived a similar life rather than against a younger or lighter-used fleet.

An MOT measures whether a car met a legal standard on the day. It is not a breakdown record, a service history or a running-cost estimate, and a pass rate is a property of a fleet rather than a prediction about one car.