MOT comparison

Mercedes-Benz A-Class W176 vs BMW 1 Series F20/F21

How the Mercedes-Benz A-Class W176 (3rd Gen) (2012–2018) and the BMW 1 Series F20/F21 (2nd Gen) (2011–2019) do at their MOTs, compared at the same mileage so a high-mileage car is never measured against a low-mileage one.

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

BMW 1 Series F20/F21 (2nd Gen)

2,165,544

MOT tests compared · built 2011–2019

Passes more often in 6 of 14 mileage bands

MOT pass rate by mileage

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

Mercedes-Benz A-Class W176 BMW 1 Series F20/F21

Under 10,000 miles 93.3% vs 95.2%

16,560 and 22,895 MOTs

10,000–20,000 miles 90.8% vs 92.0%

97,026 and 130,010 MOTs

20,000–30,000 miles 88.0% vs 88.8%

185,313 and 242,100 MOTs

30,000–40,000 miles 85.6% vs 86.2%

213,366 and 281,226 MOTs

40,000–50,000 miles 83.2% vs 83.4%

206,129 and 277,824 MOTs

50,000–60,000 miles 80.3% vs 81.0%

182,157 and 254,710 MOTs

60,000–70,000 miles 77.5% vs 78.7%

152,929 and 222,485 MOTs

70,000–80,000 miles 75.3% vs 76.3%

120,586 and 187,646 MOTs

80,000–90,000 miles 73.2% vs 74.3%

90,986 and 151,579 MOTs

90,000–100,000 miles 71.2% vs 72.6%

66,098 and 118,499 MOTs

100,000–125,000 miles 68.9% vs 69.8%

87,225 and 175,483 MOTs

125,000–150,000 miles 67.0% vs 67.4%

29,900 and 70,714 MOTs

150,000–175,000 miles 66.1% vs 65.7%

9,119 and 23,657 MOTs

175,000–200,000 miles 65.2% vs 65.5%

2,557 and 6,716 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

Mercedes-Benz A-Class W176 fails more often on

Supplementary restraint system (SRS)

Fails about 16 times as often as the BMW 1 Series F20/F21: 2.4% of MOTs against 0.14%.

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

Fails about 3 times as often as the BMW 1 Series F20/F21: 3.4% of MOTs against 1.0%.

In 11 of 14 mileage bands · Dashboard Warning Lights
Rear coil spring

Fails about 13 times as often as the BMW 1 Series F20/F21: 3.2% of MOTs against 0.32%.

In 10 of 14 mileage bands · Springs & Shocks

BMW 1 Series F20/F21 fails more often on

Front position lamp

Fails about 8 times as often as the Mercedes-Benz A-Class W176: 3.7% of MOTs against 0.50%.

In 11 of 14 mileage bands · Lights & Signals
Side repeater

Fails about 1.5 times as often as the Mercedes-Benz A-Class W176: 0.99% of MOTs against 0.61%.

In 9 of 14 mileage bands

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Check a car's MOT Compare the Mercedes-Benz A-Class W176 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.