All generations and engines together · 69,398 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 39k
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. 69,394 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.
Water gets into the passenger-side fusebox and wiring loom, usually because the scuttle drains under the windscreen wipers clog with leaves and get left. Owners describe intermittent electrics, warning lights and cars that won't start, and once corrosion sets into the connectors a dry-out won't fix it, only a new loom will. Reported repair bills range from a few hundred pounds for an early catch to several thousand once the damage has spread, and it isn't tied to a particular mileage, it's down to whether the drains were ever cleared.
The turbo 1.6 THP petrol (shared with Mini and Citroen of the same era) can develop a stretched, rattly timing chain, which some owners link to weak oil pressure reaching the chain and tensioner on a cold start. A rattle from the front of the engine at start-up is the giveaway, and if it's ignored the chain can jump and bend valves, turning a chain replacement into an engine rebuild. Reported from around 40,000 miles up, with a straightforward chain job in the hundreds of pounds and a repair after damage running well into four figures.
On the older 1.4 belt-cam petrol engines, a cracked thermostat housing or a failed head gasket shows up as coolant loss, a sweet smell, or a car that runs hot. Reports span a wide mileage band, from under 40,000 miles to around 100,000, which makes it a genuine argument among owners whether this is a design weak point or cars that simply missed a coolant change. A thermostat housing is a cheap fix at under £150 fitted, but a head gasket job on this engine is a four-figure repair once labour is in.
Diesel 207s carry an Eolys additive tank that helps the diesel particulate filter regenerate, and the fluid container is known to crack or leak, sometimes staining the driveway and triggering a dash warning light. This lines up with the measured MOT signature fault for this class of car, emissions and leaks: the forum version is a leaking Eolys tank or a clogging DPF, the measured version is emissions faults and fluid leaks more broadly, and both point at the same corner of the car. A tank or sensor fix sits in the low hundreds; a blocked DPF itself costs a lot more.
On the 1.6 HDi diesel, worn turbo bearings are reported, with owners pointing at oil starvation from tired oil feed pipes and pick-ups rather than the turbo itself being a bad part. The symptoms are a whine under load, blue-grey smoke, and a gradual loss of boost. A proper repair means the turbo plus the oil pipe and pick-up, not just a turbo swap, which pushes the bill toward four figures. Doesn't affect the petrol range.
The 4-speed automatic fitted to some 207s can default into 3rd gear and stay there, which points to a software or sensor glitch rather than the gearbox itself giving up mechanically. Owners report it clearing after switching the engine off and back on, which is reassuring but still unnerving if it happens on the move. Only affects automatic cars, manual gearboxes aren't affected.
Built from the two sections above.
Same segment (Superminis), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.