All generations and engines together · 17,624 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 48k
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. 1,832 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.
The 2.2 CDTi diesel, the engine in most Antaras sold new in the UK, is repeatedly reported to develop a rattly timing chain and premature turbo failure, typically somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 miles. The giveaway is a loud rattle on a cold start, a noticeable drop in power, and dashboard warning lights; a turbo swap runs roughly £500-£1,500, more if the chain and guides need doing at the same time. No manufacturer recall or TSB has turned up for this, it is described as a wear pattern rather than an acknowledged defect.
Early cars (2007-2011) came with a five-speed manual that road testers marked down as poor, before Vauxhall improved it at the 2011 facelift. On both manual and automatic cars, owners and repair guides describe rough gear changes, slipping under acceleration, or warning lights tied to low fluid or worn internals; AWD models can also pick up leaks and stiffness in the transfer box. A gearbox rebuild is a four-figure repair.
Partial or full failure of the instrument cluster, meaning gauges or warning lights drop out, is a repeated complaint, alongside power window motors, central locking, and batteries draining from an alternator fault or a short somewhere in the loom. None of this shows up on an MOT until it happens to fail a specific test, but a duff cluster is not a cheap fix. Costs range from an auto-electrician sorting a connector to a full instrument panel swap.
Owners report the alarm triggering randomly, including when the car is locked normally rather than with the fob, in forum threads more than a decade apart. The usual explanation is the standalone backup battery inside the siren unit going flat or faulty, and some owners simply disconnect the siren rather than chase wiring; one owner instead blamed a spider setting off the sensor. It is an annoyance rather than something that strands you, but it points to a wider pattern of niggly electrics on this model.
Owner reports point to a blocked EGR valve as a common cause of engine management lights and a loss of power, especially on cars used mostly for short trips where the diesel never gets properly hot. This lines up with the measured MOT data for this segment, where 'emissions/leaks' is the standout failure category, though the measured fault covers exhaust and fuel leaks too, not just a dirty EGR valve. Clearing or replacing the valve is a few hundred pounds; if it's been ignored, an emissions-related MOT fail is often the first sign anyone notices.
Built from the two sections above.
Same segment (Small SUVs), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.