Citroen
25,479 MOT tests analysed. lands in the middle of the pack — here's where C4 Grand Picassos pass, fail, and end up on the retest sheet.
That's 3.3 points below the UK fleet average across our 1,984 tracked models — buyers should expect more first-time fails than the typical UK car.
Pass
74.2%
Pass-after-fix
4.9%
Fail
20.3%
Avg miles
66,049
Pass + Pass-after-fix + Fail = 100%
Some examples of this model are borderline — a small number of diesels were certified Euro 6 before September 2015. Check your registration on the government's ULEZ checker to be certain. Daily charges if driven in the zone: London £12.50 · Birmingham £8.00 · Bristol £9.00 .
Performance by cohort
2 year bands · 25,472 tests
Pass rate climbs 3.0 points across the cohorts — newer C4 Grand Picasso examples clear the test more reliably than the early cars.
Pass
74.0%
Fail
20.6%
PRS
4.9%
Avg mileage at test
66,898 mi
Pass
77.0%
Fail
17.0%
PRS
5.5%
Avg mileage at test
55,201 mi
Cohort = vehicle's first-registration year band. Same model, different generations of build.
The picture
The Citroen C4 Grand Picasso is a diesel-powered car sold in the UK market across multiple generations, covering a broad date range in the test population.
MOT data from 17,910 tests puts this car on a 75.8% first-time pass rate, roughly in line with the UK fleet average. Average mileage at test is 56,645 miles. The most common fail item is failed number plate light, followed by brake pads worn below 1.5mm.
Buyers weighing up a used C4 Grand Picasso should treat the failure breakdown as a pre-purchase checklist. The pass rate is reasonable, but the gap between first attempt and a clean sheet narrows with age and mileage.
ABI Insurance Group
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 →
14–24
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A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources
1,397 occurrences · 5.5% of tests
a brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
891 occurrences · 3.5% of tests
A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc
760 occurrences · 3.0% of tests
A transmission shaft constant velocity joint boot severely deteriorated
596 occurrences · 2.3% of tests
Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
585 occurrences · 2.3% of tests
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
499 occurrences · 2.0% of tests
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
393 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
A tyre cords visible or damaged
376 occurrences · 1.5% of tests
A steering ball joint with excessive wear or free play
358 occurrences · 1.4% of tests
A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED
350 occurrences · 1.4% 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 3 failures
£148–£290
If every one of this C4 Grand Picasso'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 →
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Build your own retest budget.
Year-band analysis
First-time MOT pass rate split by registration band. A 3.0-point gap between bands means the year you buy Citroen C4 Grand Picasso has a real effect on what turns up at the garage.
Best band to buy
77.0%
2018–2020 registration
the 2018–2020 band climbs to 77.0% — a 3.0-point improvement. Tests in this band average 55,201 miles — roughly 12K miles fewer on the clock than the older band. Failures here are mostly wear items: less than 1.5 mm thick, inoperative in the case of multiple lamps… — the structural issues that drag down older examples don't appear in the top-10 for this band. The stricter post-2018 MOT test rules meant manufacturers had to tighten up emissions and electrical checks, but this band still shows far fewer major failures on suspension and bodywork than the older fleet.
Band to be cautious about
74.0%
Pre-2018 registration
On the older band (pre-2018), the data shows a 74.0% pass rate against a fleet average of 77.0% on the newer band. The main culprits logged at test: inoperative in the case of multiple lamps…, less than 1.5 mm thick, and constant velocity boot split or insecure, no…. Average mileage on test for this band is 66,898 miles — high-mileage wear items are a recurring theme.
Best band to buy: 2018-2020 (77.0% first-time pass). Worst band to avoid: pre-2018 (74.0% pass). That's a 3.0-point spread across 23,646 older tests and 1,826 newer ones — year of build makes a material difference on this model.
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
H7 / W21W bulb pack
A spare-bulb kit lives in the boot. Test morning is not the time to find your stop-lamp's gone.
Search Amazon UK
Item 02 · 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 03 · 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
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Summit ADRG-49 Citroen Replacement Stick-On Tinted Mirror Glass LHS
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Click Mechanic · affiliate
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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 C4 Grand Picasso 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.
