69.9%
Citroën C4 Cactus pass rate
Used Citroën C4 Cactus buying guide
In 2025, Citroën C4 Cactus cars passed 69.9% of 21,184 initial MOT tests, 2.4 points below the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific C4 Cactus? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
Citroën C4 Cactus MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
−2.4
percentage points below average
Ranked on pass rate the C4 Cactus sits 350th of 575 models in the data. Citroën as a brand averaged 63.5%, so this model runs 6.3 points ahead of its own brand. Citroën C4 Cactus cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 79.6% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 6 to 10 years that fell to 67.2%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Citroën C4 Cactus MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the C4 Cactus compares with similar cars.
C4 Cactus fuel types
Petrol was the most common fuel among Citroën C4 Cactus cars tested in 2025. Diesel still made up 25.8% of tests.
Where the C4 Cactus fails its MOT
Where Citroën C4 Cactus cars that failed their 2025 MOT were marked down, as a share of all recorded failure items.
The specific items testers recorded most often were wipers does not clear the windscreen effectively (9.5%), joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (7.3%) and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (6.1%). See every common C4 Cactus MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every Citroën C4 Cactus that failed, not a claim that every C4 Cactus has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used C4 Cactus?
The areas above, most common first, and what an MOT tester looks at in each.
1
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. 29% of C4 Cactus failure items.
2
Visibility
Check the windscreen for chips or cracks in the driver's view, and that the wipers and washers clear it properly. 15.3% of C4 Cactus failure items.
3
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. 14.3% of C4 Cactus failure items.
4
Body, chassis, structure
Look underneath and along the sills for corrosion, and check for damaged or poorly repaired panels. 11.9% of C4 Cactus failure items.
5
Brakes
Make sure the pedal feels firm, the car stops in a straight line, the handbrake holds on a slope and no brake warning light is showing. 11.9% of C4 Cactus failure items.
None of this replaces the car's own record. Run a free MOT history check on the registration to see every test, advisory and recorded mileage for that car.
What the MOT record doesn't tell you
Knowing Citroën C4 Cactus failures cluster around lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and visibility tells you what to inspect. It tells you nothing about whether the car is safe to buy. An MOT does not show money still owed on the car, a write-off, a theft record or a clocked odometer.
Check the exact C4 Cactus you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the Citroën history check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Other used Citroën models
The most-tested Citroën models in 2025, with how their MOT pass rate compares with the C4 Cactus.
Used Citroën C4 Cactus FAQs
Is the Citroën C4 Cactus 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 a 69.9% first-time pass rate for the Citroën C4 Cactus across 21,184 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older Citroën C4 Cactus cars fail their MOT more often?
Citroën C4 Cactus cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 79.6% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 6 to 10 years that fell to 67.2%. On an older example, the car's own MOT history tells you more than the model average.
What should I check before buying a used Citroën C4 Cactus?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, visibility and tyres. Then check the individual car's history: outstanding finance, insurance write-off records, stolen markers, mileage and previous keepers. None of these appear in the MOT record or on the V5C.
How do I check a Citroën C4 Cactus'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.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.