MOT comparison

Audi A3 8Y vs Mercedes-Benz A-Class W177

How the Audi A3 8Y (4th Gen) (2020–2026) and the Mercedes-Benz A-Class W177 (4th Gen) (2018–2026) do at their MOTs, compared at the same mileage so a high-mileage car is never measured against a low-mileage one.

Audi A3 8Y (4th Gen)

113,140

MOT tests compared · built 2020–2026

Passes more often in 5 of 9 mileage bands

Mercedes-Benz A-Class W177 (4th Gen)

417,169

MOT tests compared · built 2018–2026

Passes more often in 0 of 9 mileage bands

MOT pass rate by mileage

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

Audi A3 8Y Mercedes-Benz A-Class W177

Under 10,000 miles 95.4% vs 94.5%

3,766 and 14,548 MOTs

10,000–20,000 miles 92.1% vs 92.3%

21,184 and 66,185 MOTs

20,000–30,000 miles 89.2% vs 89.6%

31,668 and 96,298 MOTs

30,000–40,000 miles 88.5% vs 86.7%

25,096 and 87,539 MOTs

40,000–50,000 miles 87.2% vs 84.8%

15,032 and 64,501 MOTs

50,000–60,000 miles 85.4% vs 83.8%

8,237 and 42,073 MOTs

60,000–70,000 miles 84.2% vs 82.8%

4,433 and 24,825 MOTs

70,000–80,000 miles 82.2% vs 83.0%

2,384 and 13,726 MOTs

80,000–90,000 miles 82.2% vs 80.7%

1,340 and 7,474 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 8Y fails more often on

Shock absorbers

Fails over 20 times as often as the Mercedes-Benz A-Class W177: 2.0% of MOTs against 0.04%.

In 5 of 9 mileage bands · Springs & Shocks

Mercedes-Benz A-Class W177 fails more often on

Supplementary restraint system (SRS)

Fails about 6 times as often as the Audi A3 8Y: 1.3% of MOTs against 0.20%.

In 8 of 9 mileage bands · Dashboard Warning Lights
Windscreen wiper

Fails about 3 times as often as the Audi A3 8Y: 0.81% of MOTs against 0.34%.

In 5 of 9 mileage bands · Driver's View

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Check a car's MOT Compare the Audi A3 8Y 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.