Pass rate
93.9%
Above average — 2.7 pts ahead of the 91.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 6,987 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £31–£72
2021 Citroen C1 MOT pass rate
- 2021
- typical 15,833 mi
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Tyres
37.2% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Part only £55–£85 for Tread depth below 1.6 mm. What fitting it takes →
3.3 pts down across model years — 6.4% in 2005, 3.1% in 2021.
Which year to buy
- Best 2021 93.9% pass · this year
- Avoid 2006 70.1% pass
Across the 18 years on record, a spread of 23.8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 93.5%
- Typical mileage
- 16k mi
The 2021 Citroen C1 MOT pass rate is 93.9% of its MOT tests — 2.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 37.2% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 1.9× the national share
Tyres make up 37.2% of everything recorded on the 2021 Citroen C1, against 19.8% nationally — 17.4 points above. Check all four tyres yourself, including the inner shoulders, and look at the date stamp — a tyre can pass on tread and still be six years old.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 30% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Citroen C1? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2021 Citroen C1 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 91.2%, so this figure is 2.7 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 93.5%. The median 2021 Citroen C1 in this dataset had covered 15,833 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 94.1% of the time, April–September 93.7%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure", noted on 1.17% of tests.
- 6,987 recorded tests behind this page.
- 93.9% overall pass rate, 93.5% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Citroen C1, the average is 80.3% — best year 2021 (93.9%), worst 2006 (70.1%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 6,987
- Typical mileage (median)
- 15,833 mi
- Make and model
- Citroen C1
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Tyres
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the C1 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 75% so small gaps stay visible.
Where the Citroen C1 is most common
Across all C1 model years on record (2005–2022): 230,687 Citroen C1 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 585,806 tests. Birmingham (B) has the most, with 6,885 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham (B) | 6,885 | 84.3% |
| 2 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 6,362 | 80.4% |
| 3 | Sheffield (S) | 6,032 | 82.7% |
| 4 | Cardiff (CF) | 5,715 | 77.2% |
| 5 | Bristol (BS) | 5,468 | 77.2% |
| 6 | Nottingham (NG) | 4,768 | 78.7% |
| 7 | Manchester (M) | 4,534 | 82.0% |
| 8 | Coventry (CV) | 4,033 | 83.1% |
| 9 | Swansea (SA) | 3,985 | 79.0% |
| 10 | Leicester (LE) | 3,954 | 82.2% |
| 11 | Brighton (BN) | 3,911 | 79.6% |
| 12 | Portsmouth (PO) | 3,792 | 79.9% |
| 13 | Derby (DE) | 3,665 | 82.0% |
| 14 | Ashford (TN) | 3,432 | 80.9% |
| 15 | Preston (PR) | 3,256 | 82.5% |
| 16 | Gloucester (GL) | 3,195 | 79.7% |
| 17 | Peterborough (PE) | 3,111 | 82.2% |
| 18 | Leeds (LS) | 3,081 | 77.5% |
| 19 | Norwich (NR) | 3,045 | 79.7% |
| 20 | Doncaster (DN) | 3,044 | 81.0% |
The twenty areas with the most Citroen C1 cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
Regional pass rates for the C1
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 1,048 | 90.4% |
| South East | 908 | 93.0% |
| South West | 857 | 94.4% |
| North West | 804 | 96.0% |
| Yorkshire | 694 | 94.8% |
| Wales | 579 | 94.5% |
| West Midlands | 556 | 93.5% |
| East of England | 527 | 94.1% |
| East Midlands | 472 | 94.9% |
| North East | 464 | 96.3% |
| London | 78 | 89.7% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2021 C1
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2021 C1
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the wipers and washers 1.1% of tests
“wipers blade defective”
Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.
-
Check the brakes 1.0% of tests
“brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick”
Look through the spokes of each wheel at the pad — less than 3mm of friction material, or a lip on the disc edge, is the usual failure. Check the handbrake holds on a slope with a few clicks, not at the top of its travel.
-
Check the tyre tread 0.9% of tests
“tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm”
Check all four tyres cold, including the inner shoulder where wear hides — 1.6mm across the central three-quarters is the legal limit, and most testers fail at 1.6mm without argument.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2021 C1 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £31–£72 — and 30% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £31–£72
- Cheapest common item: wipers blade defective
- £8–£22
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 30%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 6,987 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the C1, side by side
18 model years on record, from 2005 to 2022. Across them the pass rate runs from 70.1% to 93.9% — a spread of 23.8 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2005 70.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 70.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 71.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 70.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2009 73.1% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2010 75.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2011 76.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 79.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 80.9% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 83.4% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 84.7% wipers does not clear the…
- 2016 85.5% wipers does not clear the…
- 2017 87.4% wipers does not clear the…
- 2018 89.9% wipers does not clear the…
- 2019 91.6% wipers blade defective
- 2020 92.4% wipers blade defective
- 2021 93.9%has a bulge, caused by separation…
- 2022 93.9% wipers blade defective
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2021 Citroen C1 with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2021 cars with a similar record
- Land Rover Defender 93.9%
- Hyundai Tucson N 93.9%
- Toyota Aygo 94.0%
- Jaguar I-Pace 94.0%
- Toyota Corolla Gr 94.0%
- Volvo XC40 R-Design T4 94.0%
Closest pass rates among 2021 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2021 Citroen C1 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 4,147 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 1,548 | 37.20% | 19.76% | +17.44 |
| Brakes | 1,353 | 32.50% | 20.89% | +11.61 |
| Suspension | 395 | 9.50% | 20.98% | −11.48 |
| Non-component advisories | 282 | 6.80% | 4.18% | +2.62 |
| Visibility | 251 | 6.00% | 4.97% | +1.03 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 190 | 4.60% | 12.21% | −7.61 |
| Road Wheels | 75 | 1.80% | 0.75% | +1.05 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 27 | 0.60% | 5.52% | −4.92 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 15 | 0.40% | 1.76% | −1.36 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 11 | 0.30% | 5.57% | −5.27 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Major | 1.2% | £45–95 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 1.1% | £8–22 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 0.99% | £18–45 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 0.89% | £45–95 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Major | 0.63% | £8–22 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Major | 0.62% | £45–110 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.47% | £30–80 |
| Wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively Visibility | Rectified | 0.44% | £8–22 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 0.40% | £45–95 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 0.39% | £80–200 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 8.5% | £45–110 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 8.4% | £45–95 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 8.3% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 4.5% | £18–45 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Advisory | 2.9% | £45–110 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 2.2% | £30–75 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 6,015 | 94.5% | 14,647 mi |
| 30-60k | 914 | 89.9% | 38,132 mi |
| 60-90k | 53 | 83.0% | 69,737 mi |
| 90-120k | 2 | 100.0% | 90,216 mi |
| 120k+ | 2 | 100.0% | 182,568 mi |
Source: 6,987 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2021 C1 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2021 Citroen C1?
93.9% of the 6,987 2021 Citroen C1 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 91.2% for cars first used in 2021. First-attempt pass rate: 93.5%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2021 Citroen C1?
The three most recorded items are has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure (1.17%), wipers blade defective (1.07%), brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (0.99%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2021 Citroen C1 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 94.5% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2021 Citroen C1 in this dataset had covered 15,833 mi.
Does the season affect the 2021 Citroen C1 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 94.1% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 93.7%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.