75.8%
SEAT Leon pass rate
Used SEAT Leon buying guide
In 2025, SEAT Leon cars passed 75.8% of 183,714 initial MOT tests, 3.5 points above the 72.3% UK average. Here is where it fails and what to check before you buy.
Looking at a specific Leon? Check its finance, write-off, stolen, mileage and keeper history. £15, no account needed.
SEAT Leon MOT record in brief
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded.
72.3%
UK average, all cars
+3.5
percentage points above average
Ranked on pass rate the Leon sits 257th of 575 models in the data. SEAT as a brand averaged 74%, so this model runs 1.8 points ahead of its own brand. SEAT Leon cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 83.3% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 65.8%.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. The full SEAT Leon MOT record has the pass rate by age, every common failure and how the Leon compares with similar cars.
Leon fuel types
Petrol was the most common fuel among SEAT Leon cars tested in 2025. Diesel still made up 38.3% of tests.
Where the Leon fails its MOT
Where SEAT Leon 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 coil spring fractured or broken (9.3%), tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (6.7%) and shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (6.1%). See every common Leon MOT failure.
These are DVSA failure records across every SEAT Leon that failed, not a claim that every Leon has these problems.
What should you check when buying a used Leon?
The areas above, most common first, and what an MOT tester looks at in each.
1
Suspension
Listen for knocks over bumps, check the car sits level, and look for leaking shock absorbers and split rubber gaiters. 25.2% of Leon failure items.
2
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. 17.7% of Leon failure items.
3
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. 17.4% of Leon 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. 15.6% of Leon failure items.
5
Visibility
Check the windscreen for chips or cracks in the driver's view, and that the wipers and washers clear it properly. 8.6% of Leon 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.
Leon vs similar cars
Head-to-head comparisons on the same 2025 DVSA data.
What the MOT record doesn't tell you
Knowing SEAT Leon failures cluster around suspension and tyres 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 Leon you are looking at. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee. More on the SEAT history check.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Other used SEAT models
The most-tested SEAT models in 2025, with how their MOT pass rate compares with the Leon.
Used SEAT Leon FAQs
Is the SEAT Leon 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 75.8% first-time pass rate for the SEAT Leon across 183,714 tests in 2025, above the 72.3% average for all cars.
Do older SEAT Leon cars fail their MOT more often?
SEAT Leon cars aged 3 to 5 years passed 83.3% of MOT tests in 2025; for examples aged 11 years and over that fell to 65.8%. 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 SEAT Leon?
On the car itself, start with the areas it most often fails on: suspension, tyres and lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment. 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 SEAT Leon'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.