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Citroën Saxo, Buying guide, MOT record, UK numbers and recalls

2,166 Citroën Saxos are licensed in the UK. In 2025 they passed 56.2% of initial MOT tests, 16.1 points below the 72.3% UK average.

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

Citroën Saxo at the MOT

56.2% of 2,906 initial tests passed in 2025, ranking the Saxo 523rd of 575 models.

First-time pass rate, 2025

Share of initial tests passed, retests excluded.

  • Citroën Saxo56.2%
  • All Citroën modelsThe Saxo is 7.3 pts behind63.5%
  • All cars72.3%

Where Saxos fail

Share of all failure items recorded on Citroën Saxo tests in 2025.

  • Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment24.2%
  • Brakes19.3%
  • Suspension13.5%
  • Noise, emissions and leaks12.7%
  • Body, chassis, structure12.1%

The items testers recorded most often were component mounting prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength (5.5%), service brake imbalance across an axle (3.8%) and position lamp not working (3.7%).

The MOT page lists every common Saxo MOT failure. For one car's own results and advisories, run a free MOT history check.

Full Citroën Saxo MOT record

What to look at on a viewing

The Saxo's most common failure areas, and what a tester checks 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.24.2% of Saxo failure items

  2. 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.19.3% of Saxo failure items

  3. Suspension

    Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters.13.5% of Saxo failure items

Citroën Saxos in the UK

2,166 were licensed at the end of June 2026. The number licensed has fallen 96% since the end of 2014.

Change since 2014
−96%from 58,509 licensed
Typical year of first use
2002half of those licensed at the end of 2025 were first used in 2002 or earlier
Declared off the road
11,97685% of those registered, under SORN

Licensed Citroën Saxos since 2014

Licensed at each year end and in the latest quarter.

Show the figures
DateLicensed
End of 201458,509
End of 201542,694
End of 201630,218
End of 201720,784
End of 201814,496
End of 201910,326
End of 20207,568
End of 20215,691
End of 20224,499
End of 20233,601
End of 20242,835
End of 20252,306
End of June 20262,166

How old they are

Licensed Citroën Saxos by year of first use.

A further 8 were first used before 1997.

Show the figures
First usedLicensed, end 2025
200441
2003530
2002595
2001595
2000302
199988
199868
199774

Saxo engines and fuel

1.1 litre engines made up 60% of Citroën Saxo MOT tests in 2025, followed by 1.6 litre at 26%. Petrol accounts for 98% of licensed Saxos and diesel for 2.3%.

Engine size at MOT, 2025

Share of 2,906 initial MOT tests in 2025.

  • 1.1 litre60.2%
  • 1.6 litre26.3%
  • 1.4 litre10.2%
  • 1.5 litre2.3%
  • 1.0 litre1%

Fuel type, licensed Saxos

DfT licensing statistics, June 2026.

FuelLicensedShare
Petrol2,11698%
Diesel502%

Citroën Saxo recalls

3 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Citroën Saxo. Each covers vehicles built in a set period, so a recall does not mean every Saxo is affected.

  1. Aug 2001 R/2001/096

    Parking brake efficiency may be reduced

    Saxos built Jan 2001 to Feb 2001 · 484 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    A potential defect in the rear brake caliper may cause the parking brake efficiency to be reduced.
    Remedy
    Recall affected vehicles to check the operation of each brake caliper and replacement of the caliper if necessary.

  2. Feb 2000 R/2000/005

    Possibility of loss of brake servo assistance

    Saxos built Sep 1999 to Oct 1999 · 9,088 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    There is a possibility that the brake servo valve may not function correctly resulting in loss of servo assistance to the braking system.
    Remedy
    Recall affected vehicles for the inspection and possible replacement of the brake servo valve.

  3. Apr 1997 R/1997/011

    Possible disengagement of driving seat catch

    7,309 vehicles across the whole recall

    Defect and remedy
    Defect
    There is a risk of disengagement of the drivers seat catch allowing the seat to move on its runners.
    Remedy
    The recall operation will check the security of the seat runner which will be replaced if necessary. In some cases replacement of the seat frame will be required.
How to check a specific Saxo for recalls

Other Citroën models

The most-tested Citroën models in 2025, against the Saxo's 56.2% MOT pass rate.

All 21 Citroën models

Citroën Saxo FAQs

How many Citroën Saxos are there in the UK?

2,166 Citroën Saxos were licensed in the UK at the end of June 2026, with a further 11,976 declared off the road (SORN), according to DfT vehicle licensing statistics.

Is the Citroën Saxo 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 56.2% first-time pass rate for the Citroën Saxo across 2,906 tests in 2025, below the 72.3% average for all cars.

Has the Citroën Saxo had any recalls?

3 DVSA safety recalls launched from 1992 to October 2026 name the Citroën Saxo. The most recent was published in August 2001. A recall applies to vehicles built in a set period, so check a specific car on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker.

What should I check before buying a used Citroën Saxo?

On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment, brakes 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 a Citroën Saxo'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 a Saxo?

Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.

Across the 1,548 vehicles of every make Carpeep has checked since November 2025, 19% had outstanding finance recorded and 13% an insurance write-off. More on the Citroën history check. To confirm a car's identity, see the Citroen 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). Recalls are from the DVSA vehicle recalls data, with recalls launched up to October 2026. 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.