MOT comparison

Audi A3 8V vs Mercedes-Benz A-Class W176

How the Audi A3 8V (3rd Gen) (2012–2020) and the Mercedes-Benz A-Class W176 (3rd Gen) (2012–2018) do at their MOTs, compared at the same mileage so a high-mileage car is never measured against a low-mileage one.

Audi A3 8V (3rd Gen)

1,999,492

MOT tests compared · built 2012–2020

Passes more often in 14 of 14 mileage bands

Mercedes-Benz A-Class W176 (3rd Gen)

1,459,951

MOT tests compared · built 2012–2018

Passes more often in 0 of 14 mileage bands

MOT pass rate by mileage

Share of MOTs passed first time, at the mileage recorded at the test.

Audi A3 8V Mercedes-Benz A-Class W176

Under 10,000 miles 94.9% vs 93.3%

20,621 and 16,560 MOTs

10,000–20,000 miles 92.1% vs 90.8%

125,005 and 97,026 MOTs

20,000–30,000 miles 90.1% vs 88.0%

232,769 and 185,313 MOTs

30,000–40,000 miles 88.6% vs 85.6%

269,278 and 213,366 MOTs

40,000–50,000 miles 86.8% vs 83.2%

261,674 and 206,129 MOTs

50,000–60,000 miles 84.6% vs 80.3%

235,178 and 182,157 MOTs

60,000–70,000 miles 82.6% vs 77.5%

201,244 and 152,929 MOTs

70,000–80,000 miles 80.9% vs 75.3%

166,698 and 120,586 MOTs

80,000–90,000 miles 79.3% vs 73.2%

132,954 and 90,986 MOTs

90,000–100,000 miles 77.9% vs 71.2%

103,553 and 66,098 MOTs

100,000–125,000 miles 76.1% vs 68.9%

154,492 and 87,225 MOTs

125,000–150,000 miles 74.4% vs 67.0%

65,631 and 29,900 MOTs

150,000–175,000 miles 73.5% vs 66.1%

23,194 and 9,119 MOTs

175,000–200,000 miles 71.1% vs 65.2%

7,201 and 2,557 MOTs

Parts that fail more often

Only differences that hold across at least half of the mileage bands we could compare, and that are far too large to be chance, are listed. How we decide

Audi A3 8V fails more often on

Shock absorbers

Fails about 19 times as often as the Mercedes-Benz A-Class W176: 1.6% of MOTs against 0.12%.

In 9 of 14 mileage bands · Springs & Shocks

Mercedes-Benz A-Class W176 fails more often on

Supplementary restraint system (SRS)

Fails about 5 times as often as the Audi A3 8V: 2.4% of MOTs against 0.52%.

In 12 of 14 mileage bands · Dashboard Warning Lights
Engine management light

Fails about twice as often as the Audi A3 8V: 3.4% of MOTs against 1.8%.

In 11 of 14 mileage bands · Dashboard Warning Lights

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Check a car's MOT Compare the Audi A3 8V with another model

These are differences in real MOT results, not engineering verdicts. Owner mix differs between models (some are more often taxis, first cars or rural cars), which is why every figure compares cars at the same mileage. How we compare cars.

MOT records: DVSA MOT history, which contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. See this the other way round.