All generations and engines together · 4,474 MOT tests in the 2025 data
Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.
Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.
The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 4,441 tests in this band.
Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
Early 0.9 TwinAir cars suffered coilpack failures that caused misfiring, usually worse in cold or wet weather; this was serious enough that a TSB recall saw dealers retrofit improved coilpacks. On higher-mileage cars, a second wave of complaints from around 2018-2019 points to the air valve actuator instead, causing rough starting and the engine management light coming on. Repairs are cheap if you know what you're looking at, mostly under £150 for parts shared with the Fiat 500 and Panda, but a dealer chasing the wrong fault can run the bill up.
The 1.3 Multijet is the same basic diesel unit sold across the Fiat/GM/Suzuki group of that era (badged 1.3 CDTi in Vauxhall/Opel), and owners of sister cars report the DPF failing to regenerate on short runs, with unburnt fuel washing down into the sump and diluting the oil. Left unchecked this can wreck the engine; the fix is regular motorway-speed runs, and a full DPF replacement if it's already blocked can run to four figures. No Ypsilon-specific reports were found, only the identical engine in badge-mates, so treat this as a risk to check for rather than a proven Ypsilon pattern.
A recurring complaint on the smaller Fiat-based cars of this era, including the Ypsilon: persistent condensation on cold or wet nights and wet patches on the carpet. Owners argue about the cause, some blame the air-con being left on recirculate, others suspect a blocked scuttle or pollen-filter drain letting water in under the carpet. It's mostly a nuisance, but left long enough a wet footwell can start corroding wiring connectors under the dash, which is a much pricier fix.
Owners report the oil-change or service light staying on after a service even when the system shows thousands of miles left, and separately, dash lights that stay lit and can only be cleared by cycling the ignition. Neither seems to be a safety issue and no recall covers it, but it points to the same dealer-network unfamiliarity that shows up elsewhere on this car: independent garages not stocking the right diagnostic reset procedure for a low-volume badge-engineered model.
Built from the two sections above.
Same segment (Superminis), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.