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Rover 200 Series, Buying guide, MOT record and UK numbers

1,339 Rover 200 Series are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 65.4% of initial MOT tests, 6.9 points below the 72.3% UK average.

Looking at a specific 200 Series? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Rover 200 Series at the MOT

65.4% of 1,735 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the 200 Series 425th of 575 models.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Rover 200 Series65.4%
  • All Rover modelsThe 200 Series is 1.7 pts behind67.1%
  • All cars72.3%

Where 200 Series fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Rover 200 Series tests in 2025.

  • Brakes18.9%
  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment18.8%
  • Noise, emissions and leaks16.5%
  • Suspension13.2%
  • Body, chassis, structure11.9%

The items testers recorded most often were component mounting prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (6%), joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (3.6%) and wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively (3.4%).

The MOT page lists every common 200 Series MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Rover 200 Series MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The 200 Series's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.

  1. Brakes

    Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing.18.9% of 200 Series failure items

  2. Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment

    Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting.18.8% of 200 Series failure items

  3. Noise, emissions and leaks

    Listen for a blowing exhaust, watch for smoke on start-up and look under the car for oil or fluid leaks.16.5% of 200 Series failure items

Rover 200 Series in the UK

1,339 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has fallen 94% since the end of 2014.

Change since 2014
−94%from 21,042 licensed
Typical year of first use
1996half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 1996 or earlier
Declared off the road
8,18986% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Rover 200 Series since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 201421,042
End of 201514,529
End of 201610,037
End of 20177,090
End of 20185,116
End of 20193,925
End of 20203,036
End of 20212,417
End of 20222,027
End of 20231,668
End of 20241,380
End of 20251,233
End of June 20261,339

How old they are

Licensed Rover 200 Series by year of first use.

A further 8 were first used before 1987.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025
200018
1999183
1998200
1997115
199680
1995178
1994133
1993104
199267
199139
199024
198923
19883
19875

200 Series engines and fuel

1.6 litre engines made up 39% of Rover 200 Series MOT tests in 2025, followed by 1.4 litre at 30%. Petrol accounts for 96% of licensed 200 Series and diesel for 4%.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 1,735 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 1.6 litre39.4%
  • 1.4 litre29.9%
  • 2.0 litre12.6%
  • 1.8 litre11.6%
  • 1.1 litre3.5%

Fuel type, licensed 200 Series

DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.

FuelLicensedShare
Petrol1,28596%
Diesel544%

Other Rover models

The most-tested Rover models in 2025, against the 200 Series's 65.4% MOT pass rate.

All 5 Rover models

Rover 200 Series FAQs

How many Rover 200 Series are there in the UK?

1,339 Rover 200 Series were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 8,189 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Rover 200 Series reliable?

MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is a 65.4% first-time pass rate for the Rover 200 Series across 1,735 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

What should I check before buying a used Rover 200 Series?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: brakes, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and noise, emissions and leaks. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.

How do I check a Rover 200 Series's history?

Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.

Already found a 200 Series?

Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.

Across the 1,548 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Rover history check.

  • Outstanding finance
  • Write-off records
  • Stolen markers
  • Mileage history
  • Previous keepers

MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.