Top three failure systems, annotated from 21 failed first-time tests. Arrows point to where the defect is found on the car.
Tyres fail the Skoda Citigo 2.2× as often as they fail a petrol or diesel car
329 inspections in a single year make the CITIGO a modestly documented electric car in the data. Tyres cause 51.7% of its failures; tyres take 2.2× the share they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
The four-year picture
CITIGO failure rate. Petrol cars of the same age fail 8.9%.
All electric cars in the data.
The Skoda Citigo fails 6.4% of first-time inspections. Tyres cause 51.7% of its failures.
The tyre that wears from the inside
Tyres take 51.7% of the defects that fail this car, 2.2× the share seen on petrol and diesel cars of the same age. The most common item in that group is "A tyre seriously damaged", recorded 13 times in 2024.
Where it concentrates
The CITIGO stays under the petrol fleet at every age we can measure. What it does fail on is unusually concentrated.
What to check
Check tyre age and tread across the full width, inner edge included. Electric cars wear tyres faster; a cheap mismatched set on a used car tells you how it was run. Ask when the brakes were last stripped and cleaned. Regenerative braking barely wears the pads, so discs and calipers corrode and seize instead. Check headlamp aim and every lamp before the test. It is the cheapest failure on the list and the easiest to avoid. Ask for the full MOT history by registration on the free DVSA service: advisories are next year's failures.
Points hidden where fewer than 50 cars of that age were tested. Dashed lines are the same-age petrol and diesel fleets.
- Inspections
- 329
- Passed
- 296
- Failed
- 21
- Passed after repair
- 12
- Failure rate
- 6.4% (all EV 12.0%)
- Average age
- 3.9 years
- Best year
- 4 yrs · 7.0%
- Worst year
- 4 yrs · 7.0%
- Top cause
- Tyres 51.7%
| System | This car (mark = petrol/diesel) | Share | vs petrol/diesel |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 51.7% | 2.2× more | |
| Suspension | 0.0% | in line | |
| Brakes | 17.2% | in line | |
| Visibility | 13.8% | in line | |
| Lighting | 17.2% | in line | |
| Steering | 0.0% | in line | |
| Body | 0.0% | in line |
- A tyre seriously damaged13
- Obligatory mirror or device inoperative, excessively damaged or insecure2
- Parking brake lever has excessive movement indicating incorrect adjustment2
- Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view2
- Significant brake effort recorded with no brake applied indicating a binding brake2
- The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements2
Wording as printed by the tester, from the DVSA inspection manual.
- Suspension fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (0.0% of defects vs 13.6%)
- Steering fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (0.0% of defects vs 3.1%)
- Body fail less often than on petrol and diesel cars (0.0% of defects vs 4.1%)
- Tyres take a bigger share of failures than on petrol and diesel cars of the same age (51.7% vs 23.7%)
- CITIGO E SE L IV225
- CITIGO E SE IV104
Summaries written by us, never quotes; every entry links to its source. Owner reports have no denominator and never feed the failure rate.
- 329 inspections in 2024 make this one of the adequately-documented electric cars in the data.
- Tyres take 2.2× the share of failures they take on petrol and diesel cars of the same age.
- It ranks 13 of 81 electric cars by first-time failure rate.
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.