Used Citroën C4 Picasso buying guide

In 2025, Citroën C4 Picasso cars passed 71.2% of 6,886 initial MOT tests, 1.1 points below the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.

Looking at a specific C4 Picasso? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.

Citroën C4 Picasso MOT record in brief

Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.

71.2%

Citroën C4 Picasso pass rate

72.3%

UK average, all cars

−1.1

percentage points below average

Ranked on pass rate the C4 Picasso sits 330th of 575 models in the data. Citroën as a brand averaged 63.5%, so this model runs 7.7 points ahead of its own brand. Citroën C4 Picasso cars aged 6 to 10 years passed 72.3% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 55.5%.

A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full Citroën C4 Picasso MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the C4 Picasso compares with similar cars.

C4 Picasso fuel types

Diesel made up 80.4% of Citroën C4 Picasso MOT tests in 2025, against 39.3% across all models in this data. Almost every used example you look at will be a diesel.

Where the C4 Picasso fails its MOT

Where Citroën C4 Picasso cars that failed their 2025 MOT were marked down, as a share of all recorded failure items.

  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment24.8%
  • Suspension18.9%
  • Tyres14.7%
  • Brakes14.1%
  • Body, chassis, structure9.6%
  • Visibility7.5%

The specific items testers recorded most often were joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt (7.9%), brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick (5.9%) and tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (5.2%). See every common C4 Picasso MOT failure.

These are DVSA failure records across every Citroën C4 Picasso that failed, not a claim that every C4 Picasso has these problems.

What should you check when buying a used C4 Picasso?

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. 24.8% of C4 Picasso failure items.

2

Suspension

Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters. 18.9% of C4 Picasso 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. 14.7% of C4 Picasso failure items.

4

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. 14.1% of C4 Picasso failure items.

5

Body, chassis, structure

Look underneath and along the sills for corrosion, and check for damaged or poorly repaired panels. 9.6% of C4 Picasso 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 Picasso failures cluster around lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment and suspension 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 Picasso 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

Used Citroën C4 Picasso FAQs

Is the Citroën C4 Picasso 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 71.2% first-time pass rate for the Citroën C4 Picasso across 6,886 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

Do older Citroën C4 Picasso cars fail their MOT more often?

Citroën C4 Picasso cars aged 6 to 10 years passed 72.3% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 55.5%. 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 Picasso?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, suspension 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 Picasso'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.