Pass rate, every year
6,743 tests across 3 model years, 2021–2023.
+10.2 pts vs the national average
Pass rate, every year
6,743 tests across 3 model years, 2021–2023.
+10.2 pts vs the national average
Best year to buy
2023 94.0%
The strongest of the 3 years on record. See the 2023 page →
Worst year to buy
2021 91.0%
3.0 points below the 2023 peak. See the 2021 page →
The Cupra Formentor V1 MOT pass rate is 91.2%, +10.2 percentage points above the UK average. That is 6,743 DVSA MOT tests recorded between 2021 and 2023. This page lists the most common Cupra Formentor V1 MOT failures by category, names the best and worst model years, and finishes with a pre-MOT checklist you can run at home.
The Cupra Formentor V1 passed on its first attempt in 90.4%, and its overall record sits +10.2 percentage points above the national average for all cars. These figures come from every recorded DVSA MOT test for the Cupra Formentor V1 in the 2023–2025 data: 6,743 tests across 3 model years (2021–2023). A test still carries exactly one pass or fail verdict.
| Measure | This model |
|---|---|
| Tests analysed | 6,743 |
| Overall pass rate | 91.2% |
| Passed on first attempt | 90.4% |
| Average mileage at test | 29,738 mi |
| Model years covered | 2021–2023 (3 years) |
| Versus UK national average | +10.2 pts above |
Figures are computed from every recorded DVSA test for this model in the 2023–2025 data.
Every MOT failure a tester records belongs to one inspection section of the DVSA manual. For the Cupra Formentor V1, the Tyres section leads the record — the breakdown below shows where the recorded failures cluster, then the exact strings behind the three biggest sections.
| Inspection section | Share of failures |
|---|---|
| Tyres | 35% |
| Visibility | 32% |
| Suspension | 21% |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 6% |
| Brakes | 6% |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 0% |
Shares are over the Cupra Formentor V1's recorded defect strings, merged across its year pages.
Around 35% of the recorded Cupra Formentor V1 failures fall in the Tyres section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords" (1.8%), "Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm" (1.6%), "Has ply or cords exposed" (0.3%) among the Cupra Formentor V1's tyres faults.
Around 32% of the recorded Cupra Formentor V1 failures fall in the Visibility section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view" (1.5%), "Wipers blade defective" (0.8%), "Washers provides insufficient washer liquid" (0.7%) among the Cupra Formentor V1's visibility faults.
Around 21% of the recorded Cupra Formentor V1 failures fall in the Suspension section of the MOT inspection manual. Testers recorded "Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak" (2.0%), "Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn" (0.3%) among the Cupra Formentor V1's suspension faults.
The descriptions below are the exact DVSA failure strings testers recorded most often for the Cupra Formentor V1, each with how many of the model's 6,743 tests it was noted on.
The strongest Cupra Formentor V1 model year on record is 2023 (94.0% across 83 tests), and the weakest is 2021 (91.0%). The gap between them is 3.0 points. Years with fewer than 50 recorded tests are excluded, so these are the years with enough MOT history to mean something.
Cupra Formentor V1 reliability is improving in the DVSA data — the pass rate moves about 1.5 points a year across the most recent model years shown above.
| Year | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 Formentor V1 | 83 | 94.0% |
| 2022 Formentor V1 | 2,719 | 91.4% |
| 2021 Formentor V1 | 3,941 | 91.0% |
Newest model year first. Only years with at least 50 recorded tests are listed.
These checks follow this Cupra Formentor V1's own most-recorded failure strings, starting with what a tester is most likely to flag on a Cupra Formentor V1.
the shock absorbers — “shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak”
Press down hard on each corner of the car and let go. It should settle in one bounce; if it keeps rocking, or you can see oil weeping down a shock absorber, that is the fault a tester will find.
the tyre tread — “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.
the windscreen — “windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
Derived from the DVSA failure strings testers recorded for the Cupra Formentor V1. A check that finds nothing means the item is likely fine, not that the test is guaranteed.
Across every Formentor V1 model year on record (2021–2023): 5,336 Cupra Formentor V1 cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 6,743 tests. Leicester (LE) has the most, with 397 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 | Leicester (LE) | 397 | 73.4% |
| 2 | Derby (DE) | 194 | 90.8% |
| 3 | Sheffield (S) | 146 | 93.8% |
| 4 | Glasgow (G) | 138 | 90.1% |
| 5 | Liverpool (L) | 124 | 96.2% |
| 6 | Birmingham (B) | 116 | 90.9% |
| 7 | Coventry (CV) | 108 | 89.7% |
| 8 | Leeds (LS) | 107 | 93.1% |
| 9 | Peterborough (PE) | 107 | 96.1% |
| 10 | Doncaster (DN) | 101 | 92.9% |
| 11 | Stockport (SK) | 91 | 97.1% |
| 12 | Newcastle upon Tyne (NE) | 90 | 97.5% |
| 13 | Bolton (BL) | 90 | 94.5% |
| 14 | Edinburgh (EH) | 89 | 89.2% |
| 15 | Carlisle (CA) | 81 | 92.1% |
| 16 | Preston (PR) | 81 | 94.0% |
| 17 | Northampton (NN) | 76 | 93.8% |
| 18 | Warrington (WA) | 72 | 94.3% |
| 19 | Nottingham (NG) | 70 | 93.3% |
| 20 | Manchester (M) | 68 | 86.7% |
The twenty areas with the most Cupra Formentor V1 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 →
91.2% of the 6,743 recorded Cupra Formentor V1 MOT tests ended in a pass, +10.2 percentage points above the national average. 90.4% of those passed on the first attempt.
2023 is the strongest Cupra Formentor V1 year on record at 94.0%, while 2021 is the weakest at 91.0%. The year-by-year table below lists every model year with at least 50 recorded tests.
The most recorded Cupra Formentor V1 failures are "Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak" and "Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords" — together around 4% of tests, mostly in the Suspension section.