Pass rate
85.1%
Above average — 6.1 pts behind the 91.2% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 442 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £43–£101
2021 Cupra Leon VZ3 MOT pass rate
- 2021
- typical 29,814 mi
Most common fault
Tyres
51.6% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
Part only £55–£85 for Tyre has a tear. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2022 90.5% pass
- Avoid 2021 85.1% pass · this year
Across the 2 years on record, a spread of 5.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 82.8%
- Typical mileage
- 30k mi
The 2021 Cupra Leon VZ3 MOT pass rate is 85.1% of its MOT tests — 6.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 51.6% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Cupra Leon VZ3 does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Tyres: 2.6× the national share
Tyres make up 51.6% of everything recorded on the 2021 Cupra Leon Vz3, against 19.8% nationally — 31.8 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.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 91.2%; this one manages 85.1% — 6.1 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 8% 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 Cupra Leon VZ3? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2021 Cupra Leon VZ3 compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 91.2%, so this figure is 6.1 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 82.8%. The median 2021 Cupra Leon VZ3 in this dataset had covered 29,814 mi.
The most common fuel recorded here is Petrol — 57% of tests, with a 89.3% pass rate. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 83.9% of the time, April–September 85.9%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords", noted on 3.62% of tests.
- 442 recorded tests behind this page.
- 85.1% overall pass rate, 82.8% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Cupra Leon VZ3, the average is 86.5% — best year 2022 (90.5%), worst 2021 (85.1%).
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
- 442
- Typical mileage (median)
- 29,814 mi
- Make and model
- Cupra Leon VZ3
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
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 Leon VZ3 MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 67% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Petrol is the most common here (57% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Leon VZ3
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 84 | 86.9% |
| East Midlands | 75 | 74.7% |
| North West | 65 | 89.2% |
| Yorkshire | 54 | 83.3% |
| Scotland | 48 | 87.5% |
| East of England | 42 | 83.3% |
| West Midlands | 30 | 93.3% |
| South West | 21 | 85.7% |
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 Leon VZ3
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 Leon VZ3
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 windscreen 1.8% of tests
“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.
-
Check the suspension joints 1.1% of tests
“pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
-
Check the shock absorbers 1.1% of tests
“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.
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 Leon VZ3 through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £43–£101 — and 8% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £43–£101
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 8%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 442 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 Leon VZ3, side by side
2 model years on record, from 2021 to 2022. Across them the pass rate runs from 85.1% to 90.5% — a spread of 5.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2021 85.1%has a cut in excess of the…
- 2022 90.5% has ply or cords exposed
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 Cupra Leon VZ3 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
- Mercedes-Benz Vito 85.2%
- Tesla Model 3 Performance 85.3%
- Citroen C4 Sense + 84.8%
- Toyota Hilux 85.6%
- Citroen E-C4 85.8%
- BMW X5 XDRIVE45E 85.9%
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 Cupra Leon VZ3 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 364 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 | 189 | 51.60% | 19.76% | +31.84 |
| Brakes | 59 | 16.10% | 20.89% | −4.79 |
| Suspension | 47 | 12.80% | 20.98% | −8.18 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 20 | 5.50% | 5.52% | −0.02 |
| Non-component advisories | 18 | 4.90% | 4.18% | +0.72 |
| Visibility | 15 | 4.10% | 4.97% | −0.87 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 7 | 1.90% | 12.21% | −10.31 |
| Road Wheels | 4 | 1.10% | 0.75% | +0.35 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 3 | 0.80% | 1.76% | −0.96 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 2 | 0.50% | 5.57% | −5.07 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 3.6% | £45–95 |
| Has ply or cords exposed Tyres | Major | 3.2% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Major | 2.3% | £45–95 |
| Has a bulge, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Major | 1.8% | £45–95 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.8% | £80–200 |
| Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn Suspension | Major | 1.1% | £40–150 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Major | 1.1% | £30–75 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 0.68% | £3–12 |
| Washers not working Visibility | Major | 0.68% | £5–15 |
| Brake pads worn down to wear indicator Brakes | Major | 0.45% | £18–45 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 12.7% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 9.3% | £45–95 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 7.5% | £30–75 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 6.3% | £45–110 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Advisory | 5.0% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 4.1% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 224 | 88.4% | 21,057 mi |
| 30-60k | 189 | 82.5% | 40,257 mi |
| 60-90k | 28 | 75.0% | 69,990 mi |
| 90-120k | 1 | 100.0% | 90,089 mi |
Source: 442 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 Leon VZ3 MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2021 Cupra Leon VZ3?
85.1% of the 442 2021 Cupra Leon VZ3 tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 91.2% for cars first used in 2021. First-attempt pass rate: 82.8%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2021 Cupra Leon VZ3?
The three most recorded items are has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (3.62%), has ply or cords exposed (3.17%), has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure (2.26%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2021 Cupra Leon VZ3 MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 88.4% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2021 Cupra Leon VZ3 in this dataset had covered 29,814 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2021 Cupra Leon VZ3?
Petrol: 89.3% pass rate across 253 tests. Hybrid: 79.4% pass rate across 189 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2021 Cupra Leon VZ3 MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 83.9% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 85.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.