All generations and engines together · 155,671 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 49k
Middling for its age among small SUVs, though worse than most per mile driven. Watch suspension and corrosion. A fair used buy, provided its MOT history has no repeating suspension advisories.
Split by first-registration year. Cars registered in a changeover year can belong to either generation.
Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press, with how well each report stands up. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.
Cars with the EDC (efficient dual clutch) automatic can develop low-speed shudder, hunting between gears, or the engine flaring up in revs without the car actually accelerating. Owners on the Captur Facebook owners club report it recurring every year or so rather than being a one-off; specialist gearbox repairers describe it as a known weak point of this transmission. A clutch pack or mechatronic repair typically runs into four figures out of warranty. Does not affect manual cars.
Manual cars, especially the 1.5 dCi diesel, have a history of clutch judder, most noticeable pulling away from a stop or once the engine has warmed up. Some owners report it appearing within weeks of buying a used car, which points to a wearing pressure plate or contamination rather than just driving style. A clutch replacement is a few hundred pounds; no manufacturer campaign covers it.
A long-running owner complaint: clonks and creaks from the front end over speed bumps and on full steering lock, usually traced to worn strut top mounts and bearings. Honest John flags strut top bearing failure as apparently common on this model. The measured MOT data for this segment shows suspension as the standout fault category, so the folklore and the numbers point the same way, though the data can't confirm the top mount specifically is the culprit rather than bushes or drop links.
The drain channels under the windscreen scuttle panel clog with leaves and debris, and instead of draining away, water backs up and drips into the front footwells, sometimes an inch deep after heavy rain. It's a cheap fix once you know the cause, clearing the drains or removing the footwell plug, but it catches owners out because it looks like a bigger leak. No recall or TSB covers it, this is a design trait owners have worked around themselves.
The 1.5 dCi diesel, shared across several Renault-Nissan models, is prone to the DPF failing to regenerate and the EGR valve furring up with soot if the car is mostly used for short, low-speed trips. Symptoms are a persistent DPF warning light, a flat spot under acceleration, or smoke on hard throttle. A forced regen or garage clean can sort it early; left too long, DPF replacement is well into four figures. This is a trait of the engine rather than something specific to the Captur, so it hits any dCi model bought for mostly town driving.
The R-Link touchscreen can freeze, drop into an "unconfigured radio" state, or lose Bluetooth and CarPlay connections, on both older and newer Captur generations. Owners on Honest John's forum call it a known fault; a five-press reset on the home button often clears it without a trip to the dealer. Whether it's a real electrical fault or just clunky software splits opinion among owners, some cars never show it at all.
Ranked from this model’s own MOT record, then from what owners report.
Saveable checklistThe physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.
These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.
Drawn from the reports above rather than the MOT data. These are the model-specific ones.
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. 83,938 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.
Same segment (Small SUVs), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.