Audi S3, Buying guide, MOT record and UK numbers
36,880 Audi S3s are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 85.2% of initial MOT tests, 12.9 points above the 72.3% UK average.
Looking at a specific S3? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Audi S3 at the MOT
85.2% of 7,338 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the S3 116th of 575 models. Audi S3s aged 3 to 5 years passed 90.2% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 77.2%.
First-time pass rate, 2025
Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.
Pass rate by age at test
Audi S3 tests in 2025.
Where S3s fail
Share of all failure items recorded on Audi S3 tests in 2025.
The items testers recorded most often were tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (7%), condition has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (6.1%) and condition has ply or cords exposed (5.2%).
The MOT page lists every common S3 MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.
What to look at on a viewing
The S3's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks in each.
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Tyres
Check tread depth across the full width of every tyre (the legal minimum is 1.6mm), and look for cuts, bulges and uneven wear.25% of S3 failure items
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Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment
Walk round with every light on: headlights, brake lights, indicators, fog lights and the number plate lamp. Check no warning lights stay on after starting.16.5% of S3 failure items
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Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.15.3% of S3 failure items
Audi S3s in the UK
36,880 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has grown 169% since the end of 2014.
- Change since 2014
- +169%from 13,703 licensed
- Typical year of first use
- 2017half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2017 or earlier
- First registered in 2025
- 1,574against 5,579 in 2017
- Declared off the road
- 3,3888.4% of those registered, under SORN
Licensed Audi S3s since 2014
Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.
Show the figures
| Date | Licensed |
|---|---|
| End of 2014 | 13,703 |
| End of 2015 | 17,182 |
| End of 2016 | 21,254 |
| End of 2017 | 25,739 |
| End of 2018 | 28,146 |
| End of 2019 | 30,039 |
| End of 2020 | 30,730 |
| End of 2021 | 31,585 |
| End of 2022 | 32,696 |
| End of 2023 | 34,582 |
| End of 2024 | 35,766 |
| End of 2025 | 36,558 |
| End of June 2026 | 36,880 |
How old they are
Licensed Audi S3s by year of first use.
- Licensed at the end of 2025
- First registered that year
A further 874 were first used before 2006.
Show the figures
| First used | Licensed, end 2025 | First registered that year |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,438 | 1,574 |
| 2024 | 1,889 | 2,046 |
| 2023 | 2,527 | 2,703 |
| 2022 | 1,545 | 1,670 |
| 2021 | 1,450 | 1,595 |
| 2020 | 1,318 | 1,466 |
| 2019 | 2,625 | 2,883 |
| 2018 | 2,923 | 3,286 |
| 2017 | 4,744 | 5,579 |
| 2016 | 3,941 | 4,666 |
| 2015 | 3,502 | 4,224 |
| 2014 | 2,536 | |
| 2013 | 406 | |
| 2012 | 621 | |
| 2011 | 831 | |
| 2010 | 942 | |
| 2009 | 655 | |
| 2008 | 684 | |
| 2007 | 795 | |
| 2006 | 57 |
3,502 S3s first used in 2015 were still licensed at the end of 2025, roughly 83% of the 4,224 first registered that year.
S3 engine sizes
2.0 litre engines made up 94% of Audi S3 MOT tests in 2025, followed by 1.8 litre at 5.9%. Petrol accounts for 100% of licensed S3s.
Engine size at MOT, 2025
Share of 7,338 initial MOT tests in 2025.
Audi S3 FAQs
How many Audi S3s are there in the UK?
36,880 Audi S3s were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 3,388 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.
Is the Audi S3 reliable?
MOT data does not measure reliability. It records whether a car met the roadworthiness standard on the day of its test. What it does show is an 85.2% first-time pass rate for the Audi S3 across 7,338 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.
What should I check before buying a used Audi S3?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: tyres, lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and suspension. Then check the individual car's own records. Outstanding finance, insurance write-offs and police stolen markers are not part of the MOT record, so they take a history check.
How do I check an Audi S3's history?
Enter the registration of the specific car. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen markers, mileage history, previous keepers, MOT and tax status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report.
Already found an S3?
Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
Across the 1,389 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Audi history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Audi VIN check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), which also gives the engine sizes. Licensed, SORN, fuel and registration figures are from the Department for Transport vehicle licensing statistics (VEH0120, VEH0124, VEH0160). Government data is used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability. History-check findings are anonymous counts from reports bought on Carpeep, each vehicle counted once, and are published only where at least 100 vehicles returned an answer.