Ford S-MAX 2020: MOT failure rate for its age

18.1% of 2,364 MOT tests of the Ford S-MAX first registered in 2020 failed at the first attempt (2019–2024; retests excluded). Against this model's own normal rate at the same ages the index is 118.1 (95% CI 106.9–129.2; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2020 Ford S-MAX fails more often than other build years of the same model at the same age. This is a rough estimate from a smaller sample.

Ford S-MAX built in 2020 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	18.1	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	2364
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 106.9–129.2)	118.1	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	2364
Rank among this model's 15 build years	14	of 15	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	2364
Tested in 2024	1166	tests	median 33,092 miles	2024	1166

Built 2020 against Ford S-MAX normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 3: 18.6% vs 14.6%; age 4: 17.7% vs 16.2%. Axis from 0% to 20%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2020 Ford S-MAX by registration · All Ford S-MAX MOT statistics · Download the build-year table (CSV)

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · full dataset (v5).

How does the 2020 Ford S-MAX fail at each age?

Cars built in 2020 were tested at ages 3 to 4 between 2019 and 2024. Each row compares their first-time failure share with what this model normally shows at that age, after allowing for the overall failure level of each test year.

Ford S-MAX built 2020: first-time MOT failure by age, against the model's normal rate at that age (2019–2024)
Age	Tests	Failed, %	95% interval	Normal for this model at that age, %	Index (100 = normal)
3	1,198	18.6	16.5–20.9	14.6	127.4
4	1,166	17.7	15.6–20	16.2	109.3

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 2,364 (initial tests) · Method: normal rate = this model's first-time failure share at that age across its build years (cells of 400+ tests), adjusted for each test year's overall level; cells of 30+ tests, under 500 marked rough · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

What fails most on the 2020 Ford S-MAX?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2020 is tyres: 7.8 items per 100 first tests, against 13.2 across all build years of the Ford S-MAX. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2020 were tested at ages 3 to 4.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Ford S-MAX built 2020 against the Ford S-MAX in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2020, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Tyres	7.8	13.2	190
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment	6.7	24.3	163
Brakes	5.6	11	136
Visibility	5.4	8.8	132
Noise, emissions and leaks	1.7	3.5	41

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 2,432 (initial tests of this build year) · Method: failure items grouped by DVSA's top-level defect groups, per 100 initial tests; groups with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How does 2020 compare with the years around it?

Among the 15 published build years of the Ford S-MAX, 2020 ranks 14 (1 = fails least for its age). 2019: index 127.5.

Ford S-MAX build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
2006	106.4	104.1–108.6	worse	17,502
2007	103.6	102.2–105.1	worse	43,483
2008	101.5	100.0–103.1	no different	37,828
2009	105.5	104.0–107.0	worse	43,284
2010	97.7	96.5–99.0	better	59,409
2011	95.3	93.7–96.8	better	41,248
2012	101.0	99.5–102.6	no different	44,162
2013	105.4	103.5–107.2	worse	38,877
2014	107.4	105.5–109.3	worse	40,020
2015	92.6	90.0–95.3	better	19,927
2016	82.9	81.1–84.8	better	41,949
2017	83.7	81.3–86.1	better	28,169
2018	94.2	89.7–98.7	better	9,810
2019	127.5	121.0–133.9	worse	7,029
2020	118.1	106.9–129.2	worse (rough estimate)	2,364

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 475,061 (initial tests) · Method: observed failures against those expected for the same model at the same ages, test-year level adjusted; verdict follows the printed one-decimal bound · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

How to cite this page

MOT Risk Index (2026). Ford S-MAX 2020 MOT statistics (data release dvsa-2024-v2; full dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22975051), updated 30 September 2026. motriskindex.co.uk/cars/ford-s-max/2020/

How every figure is calculated: methodology. Age, test year and build year are tied together (age = test year − build year), so the test-year level is taken as observed, not estimated.

Other pages for this model