Performance by cohort

3 year bands · 40,450 tests

Pass rate climbs 8.6 points across the cohorts — newer C3 Aircross examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.

Pre-2018 cohort 7,130

Pass

82.1%

Fail

14.2%

PRS

3.4%

Avg mileage at test

40,906 mi

2018–2020 cohort 32,451

Pass

86.7%

Fail

10.5%

PRS

2.4%

Avg mileage at test

33,359 mi

2021+ cohort 869

Pass

90.7%

Fail

7.4%

PRS

1.8%

Avg mileage at test

21,240 mi

Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.

Generations on file · 2

Citroen C3 Aircross · UK market

Citroen C3 Aircross 2017-2024 — 2017–2024

Photos: Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA / CC BY / public domain.

The picture

Citroen C3 Aircross: solid MOT record across 27,274 tests

The Citroën C3 Aircross is a nameplate designated to several vehicles produced under the Citroën marque, by the French automaker PSA Group, and later Stellantis.

MOT data from 27,274 tests puts this car on an 87.5% first-time pass rate, well above the UK fleet average. Average mileage at test is 27,953 miles. The most common fail item is brake pads worn below 1.5mm, followed by excessively worn brake disc.

The Citroen C3 Aircross has a drastically different look for its second generation but the bigger talking point is its third-row option, making it nearly the cheapest seven-seater around. Its low price means some compromises have been made but this is nonetheless an impressive co.

For used buyers, the C3 Aircross's pass rate suggests it clears the MOT with fewer surprises than most — but the top failure items above are still worth a pre-purchase inspection, particularly on higher-mileage examples.

ABI Insurance Group

Group 10–19

Below the fleet average — generally reasonable to insure. Lower groups cost less to insure; UK fleet average is around Group 22.

Source: ABI Group Rating Panel · administered by Thatcham Research · groups cover standard variants; performance trims may sit higher. Browse all insurance groups →

10–19

out of 50

Compare quotes →

Top ten reasons for rejection.

Filter failures:

Hide wear items to see the model's real defects.

01

A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc

765 occurrences · 1.9% of tests
02

a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm

709 occurrences · 1.8% of tests
03

Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn

637 occurrences · 1.6% of tests
04

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements

542 occurrences · 1.3% of tests
05

A tyre seriously damaged

385 occurrences · 1.0% of tests
06

A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated

361 occurrences · 0.9% of tests
07

Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view

303 occurrences · 0.7% of tests
08

A tyre cords visible or damaged

243 occurrences · 0.6% of tests
09

Exhaust system leaking or insecure

242 occurrences · 0.6% of tests
10

Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured

214 occurrences · 0.5% of tests

Counts cover Major and Dangerous defects logged at test. Advisory items excluded so this shows why a car was rejected, not just what the tester flagged in passing.

Worst-case fix budget · top 2 failures

£140–£255

If every one of this C3 Aircross's most-logged Major fails hit at the same MOT, that's the real-world UK garage range. Reality is usually one or two items, not all of them. Open the estimator →

Try the calculator

Build your own retest budget.

Year-band analysis

Best year to buy. Worst to avoid.

First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 8.6-point gap between bands means the year you buy Citroen C3 Aircross has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.

Best band to buy

90.7%

2021+ registration

the 2021-on band climbs to 90.7% — a 8.6-point improvement. Tests in this band average 21,240 miles — roughly 20K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: significantly and obviously worn, has ply or cords exposed — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. Post-2020 examples are early in their MOT life and generally show the cleanest records.

Band to be cautious about

82.1%

Pre-2018 registration

On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 82.1% pass rate against a fleet average of 90.7% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: constant velocity boot split or insecure, no…, significantly and obviously worn, and less than 1.5 mm thick. Average mileage on test for this band is 40,906 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.

Best band to buy: 2021+ (90.7% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (82.1% pass). That's a 8.6-point spread across 7,130 older tests and 869 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.

Year-spread leaderboard →

Tools that pre-empt a retest.

Picked against this car's top failure patterns. Affiliate links to Amazon UK — we earn a small cut at no cost to you. Disclosed up-front, doesn't shape the data.

Item 01 · Amazon UK

Brake pad measurement gauge

Testers fail pads under 1.5mm. A wear gauge tells you if you've got two months left or two weeks.

Search Amazon UK

Item 02 · Amazon UK

Digital tyre-tread depth gauge

Five quid for a gauge beats £150 for a retest. UK MOT minimum is 1.6mm — most testers fail anything below 2mm to be safe.

Search Amazon UK

My Motor World · affiliate

Parts & supplies for this fix

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Summit

Summit ADRG-169 Citroen Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass RHS

£9.89

View at My Motor World →

Summit

Summit ADRG-170 Citroen Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass LHS

£9.89

View at My Motor World →

Summit

Summit ADRG-48 Citroen Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass RHS

£9.89

View at My Motor World →

Summit

Summit ADRG-49 Citroen Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass LHS

£9.89

View at My Motor World →

Click Mechanic · affiliate

Book a mobile mechanic

Affiliate links — small commission, no extra cost to you.

Mobile mechanic · UK-wide

Book a mechanic at your door.

Fixed-price quotes upfront. No garage needed. Click Mechanic sends a vetted local mechanic to you — home, work, or roadside.

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Owner reports · Honest John

What owners actually report.

Verbatim faults logged by owners on honestjohn.co.uk over recent years. We didn't summarise — these are the words people typed in.

What's good

A bit noisy at cruising speeds. Some other Citroens are more comfortable. Cheap-feeling interior trim.

Where it falls short

One of the least expensive seven-seaters out there. Looks more grown up than before. Large boot as a five-seater.

Recall history

15 UK recalls on record.

The C3 Aircross has 15 official UK vehicle recalls covering defect details, remedies, and affected build dates.

See all recalls

Buying or keeping a C3 Aircross?

Use the failure ranking as a pre-test checklist or a haggling lever. Treat the headline pass rate as a fleet-wide trend, not a guarantee on any individual car.

If you own a C3 Aircross and your last MOT looked nothing like the ranked failures above, that's normal — individual cars vary widely. The ranking shows the patterns testers flag most often across the country.