FIGURE 1 // WHERE IT WEARSPeugeot Partner
Top three failure systems, annotated from 63 failed first-time tests. Arrows point to where the defect is found on the car.
Lighting faults fail the Peugeot Partner 2.4× as often as they fail a petrol or diesel car
778 inspections in a single year make the PARTNER a modestly documented electric car in the data. Lighting cause 39.2% of its failures; lighting take 2.4× the share they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
First-time test findings
The five-year vs seven-year picture
AT FIVE YEARS OLD5.2%
PARTNER failure rate. Petrol cars of the same age fail 10.7%.
AT SEVEN YEARS OLD6.6%
PARTNER failure rate, against 14.9% for petrol.
The Peugeot Partner fails 8.1% of first-time inspections. By 6 years that reaches 18.4%. Lighting cause 39.2% of its failures.
FIGURE 2 // HEADLAMP UNIT13 certificates in 2024
The lamp that fails the test
Lighting take 39.2% of the defects that fail this car, 2.4× the share seen on petrol and diesel cars of the same age. The most common item in that group is "Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning", recorded 13 times in 2024.
SECTION // LIGHTING CONCENTRATIONYear 6 crossover
Where the curve bends
The crossover with petrol happens around year 6. From there the PARTNER's failure rate climbs faster than the petrol fleet, and the defect list explains why.
Source: DVSA MOT defect items, 2024 test year.
What to check
Check the washers reach the screen. It fails the test and it is a thirty-second check. Check headlamp aim and every lamp before the test. It is the cheapest failure on the list and the easiest to avoid. Ask when the brakes were last stripped and cleaned. Regenerative braking barely wears the pads, so discs and calipers corrode and seize instead. Ask for the full MOT history by registration on the free DVSA service: advisories are next year's failures.
3 inspection points:
✓ Washer reach
✓ Headlamp aim and every lamp
✓ Rear caliper drag and disc lip
FIGURE 3 // FAILURE RATE BY AGEvs petrol, diesel and all electric cars
Points hidden where fewer than 50 cars of that age were tested. Dashed lines are the same-age petrol and diesel fleets.
Data sheet
- Inspections
- 778
- Passed
- 680
- Failed
- 63
- Passed after repair
- 35
- Failure rate
- 8.1% (all EV 12.0%)
- Average age
- 6.2 years
- Best year
- 5 yrs · 5.2%
- Worst year
- 6 yrs · 18.4%
- Top cause
- Lighting 39.2%
TABLE 1 // WHAT FAILS, BY SYSTEMshare of failing defects
| System | This car (mark = petrol/diesel) | Share | vs petrol/diesel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 10.5% | 2.3× less | |
| Suspension | 10.5% | 1.3× less | |
| Brakes | 8.4% | 2.2× less | |
| Visibility | 18.9% | 1.6× more | |
| Lighting | 39.2% | 2.4× more | |
| Steering | 4.9% | 1.6× more | |
| Body | 4.9% | in line |
TABLE 2 // TOP DEFECTS ON THE CERTIFICATE
- Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen15
- Stop lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning13
- A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED10
- Audible warning inoperative10
- A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened8
- Brake pedal anti-slip provision missing, loose or worn smooth6
Wording as printed by the tester, from the DVSA inspection manual.
Advertisement
ad slot: in-article
Where it holds up
- Tyres fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (10.5% of defects vs 23.7%)
- Brakes fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (8.4% of defects vs 18.7%)
Where it fails
- Visibility take a bigger share of failures than on petrol and diesel cars of the same age (18.9% vs 11.9%)
- Lighting take a bigger share of failures than on petrol and diesel cars of the same age (39.2% vs 16.5%)
- Steering take a bigger share of failures than on petrol and diesel cars of the same age (4.9% vs 3.1%)
VERSIONS SEEN IN THE TESTSas recorded
- PARTNER538
- PARTNER S L2 EV207
- PARTNER PROFESSIONL PREM L1 EV21
- PARTNER PROFESSIONL PREM L2 EV7
- PARTNER ASPHALT PREMIUM L1 EV4
- PARTNER PROFESSIONAL PREM + EV1
OWNER REPORTS // MATCHED TO RECORDED DEFECTS0 read · 0 matched
No owner discussion has been matched to this car's recorded defects yet. Reports are re-collected every quarter; the figures on this page do not depend on them.
Summaries written by us, never quotes; every entry links to its source. Owner reports have no denominator and never feed the failure rate.
SIMILAR CARS IN THE DATAclosest rate and age, other brands
Smart Fortwo9.7% fail · 921 testsBMW i38.8% fail · 15,271 testsVolkswagen Golf12.1% fail · 808 testsKia Soul9.9% fail · 2,957 tests
OTHER PEUGEOT ELECTRIC CARS
Three things the data shows
- 778 inspections in 2024 make this one of the adequately-documented electric cars in the data.
- Lighting take 2.4× the share of failures they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
- Failure rate rises from 5.2% at 5 years to 18.4% at 6: a steep ageing curve.
LIMITS // WHAT THE INSPECTION DOES NOT TELL YOU
No battery health, no motor, no charging performance. The test covers brakes, suspension, steering, tyres, lights, visibility and structure. A car with a badly degraded battery passes as long as it stops and steers. Read this page as evidence about the chassis, not the powertrain. Cars are tested from their third year, so the newest model years are missing; every figure carries its sample size for that reason. Full methodology.
Advertisement
ad slot: end of article