DS DS3: every year fails more than average

Based on 32,918 real MOT tests from DVSA records. Each year is compared against every other car first registered the same year — otherwise the numbers would only tell you that older cars fail more, which you knew.

The short answer

Avoid 2015 to 2018 and 2020. The worst is the 2015, which fails its MOT 59% more often than other cars of the same age.

Found a DS DS3 you like?

Averages tell you what to expect. Its registration tells you what actually happened — every MOT, every advisory, and whether the mileage adds up.

Every DS3 model year

Shaded rows are the years that differ most from other cars of the same age — worse, better.

MOT failure rate by registration year for the DS DS3
Registered	MOT tests	Fail rate	vs same-age cars
2015 Worst	6,615	31.1%	59% worse
2016	11,844	25.0%	48% worse
2017	7,268	19.4%	36% worse
2018	3,457	16.4%	37% worse
2019	2,513	11.6%	about average
2020	1,221	11.5%	25% worse

How this is worked out

Every MOT test recorded by DVSA in 2023 on a DS DS3, grouped by the year the car was first registered. Retests are excluded, so a car that failed and was fixed still counts as a failure. Each year's rate is then divided by the rate for all cars first registered that year — so 120 means 20% more failures than its contemporaries, not 20% more than a brand new car.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.