Great Wall Steed — MOT statistics 2024
The Great Wall Steed failed 41.72% of 1,165 first MOT attempts in 2024 ("first-time", excluding retests). Adjusted for the age of the fleet, its initial-failure ratio is 138.0 (100 = expected for its age profile). This car fails its MOT about 38% more often than expected for its age. Small sample — treat with care.
Age-adjusted peer: Fiat Fiorino (index 138.1) — the two published results are 0.1 index points apart.
Great Wall Steed common problems: what actually fails the MOT
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment stand out at 42.1 per 100 tests, against 10.2 per 100 tests across UK vehicles of the same ages.
higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests
family vs national — matched to UK vehicles of the same ages — top component groups, per 100 tests. Legend: This family · National avg. Combined labels: family / national average. A gap here reflects how these vehicles are driven, used and maintained as well as how they were built — an MOT defect is a test outcome, not a breakdown.
Component-group comparison table
Each ratio carries a 95% interval. With 6 groups compared here, roughly one apparent difference in twenty is chance alone.
| Group | This family | Cases behind it | UK, same ages | Family / national |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamps & electrical | 42.1 | 3,780 | 10.2 | 4.11×3.99–4.25 |
| Brakes | 39.5 | 3,539 | 7.7 | 5.14×4.97–5.31 |
| Suspension | 25.5 | 2,287 | 9.5 | 2.68×2.58–2.80 |
| Visibility | 14.8 | 1,331 | 6.4 | 2.31×2.20–2.45 |
| Body & structure | 14.7 | 1,316 | 2.5 | 5.95×5.62–6.27 |
| Tyres | 5.4 | 488 | 8.6 | 0.63×0.58–0.69 |
| What failed | per 100 tests (this family) | per 100 tests (UK average) | ratio family / UK | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension pin, bush or joint excessively wornA suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn | 18.41 | 4.87 | 3.78× | Listen for knocks over bumps — worn joints show up on the test |
| Brake pipe damaged or excessively corrodedBrake pipe damaged or excessively corroded | 13.48 | 1.41 | 9.59× | Look underneath for rust or cracks around subframe and suspension mountings |
| Aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down…The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements | 9.37 | 2.57 | 3.65× | Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure |
| Headlamp reflector or lens slightly defectiveHeadlamp reflector or lens slightly defective | 4.79 | 1.09 | 4.38× | Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure |
| Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirementParking brake efficiency below minimum requirement | 4.30 | 1.24 | 3.47× | Feel for brake judder and pulling on the test drive |
| Windscreen washers not working or not providing…Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen | 3.84 | 1.62 | 2.37× | Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view |
| Lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a…A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning | 3.66 | 2.09 | 1.75× | Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure |
| Windscreen or window damaged or seriously…Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view | 3.62 | 2.36 | 1.53× | Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view |
| Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the…Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen | 3.48 | 2.22 | 1.57× | Check wipers, washers and windscreen chips in the driver's view |
| Rear registration plate lamp or light source…A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources | 3.93 | 2.83 | 1.39× | Try every light and switch — lamps are a top failure |
Named defects ranked by how much more often they appear than the national average — not by raw rate.
Great Wall Steed MOT advisories: what gets flagged
Brakes are highest at 66.8 per 100 tests; Non-component advisories are lowest at 6.0 per 100 tests — the gap is 60.8 per 100 tests.
higher bar = flagged more oftenadvisory items per 100 initial tests
Advisory rates table
| Group | Advisories per 100 |
|---|---|
| Brakes | 66.8 |
| Suspension | 50 |
| Tyres | 27.9 |
| Body & structure | 16.4 |
| Emissions & leaks | 8.2 |
| Non-component advisories | 6 |
Advisories are wear the tester noted but didn't fail — what will need money soon.
Tyres, brakes and suspension: Great Wall Steed against cars of the same age
| Age | Part | Great Wall Steed | Same age, petrol and diesel | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 years | Tyres | 3.61 | 5.54 | -1.93 |
| 6 years | Brakes | 17.57 | 3.81 | 13.76 |
| 6 years | Suspension | 10.2 | 3.72 | 6.48 |
| 7 years | Tyres | 3.47 | 5.95 | -2.48 |
| 7 years | Brakes | 18.75 | 4.55 | 14.20 |
| 7 years | Suspension | 12.84 | 5.68 | 7.16 |
| 8 years | Tyres | 4.41 | 6.31 | -1.90 |
| 8 years | Brakes | 18.7 | 5.38 | 13.32 |
| 8 years | Suspension | 15.14 | 7.78 | 7.36 |
Failing items per 100 initial tests, 2019-2024. The comparison group is every petrol or diesel car tested at the same age, so weight and drivetrain show up rather than fleet age.
If a car like this fails, does it fail again?
A failure rate does not say whether a failure is a one-off or the start of something. This follows the same vehicles into their next ordinary MOT a year later — retests after a repair are excluded, because they follow a failure by definition. 2019-2024.
| After this year's test | Fails next year | Vehicles followed |
|---|---|---|
| It failed | 32.9% | 1,023 |
| It passed | 35.2% | 3,955 |
A failed test does not clearly change next year's odds here (32.9% against 35.2%): the difference is within the margin of error. The failure most likely to come back is visibility — 30.1% of those vehicles fail again next year. Some of this is the vehicle and some is the owner: a car that was let go once tends to be let go again. One caveat: a car that fails may be sold or scrapped rather than tested again, so these figures describe the vehicles that came back.
Adjusted for how much these are actually driven
The headline index adjusts for the fleet's age. Wear, though, follows mileage: a three-year-old taxi and a three-year-old garage queen sit in the same age band. These two rows compare every car with vehicles of the same age, and then with vehicles of the same age and the same annual mileage, 2019-2024, on 8,951 tests. Both stand on the six-year corpus so they are measured on identical data — compare them with each other, not with the headline index above, which is measured on 2024 alone.
| Standardised for | Index | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Age only | 154.0 | fails more often than expected |
| Age and annual mileage | 149.5 | fails more often than vehicles driven as much |
| Share doing under 3,000 miles a year | 2.9% | a normal spread of use |
Mileage matters here: matching on how much these are driven moves the figure by 4.5 points — this fleet works harder than the vehicles it is measured against, so the age-only view penalises it — but it does not change which side of normal the car sits on. One limit to keep in mind: mileage is partly a result of how often a car breaks down — one that spends weeks in the workshop covers fewer miles — so the mileage-matched figure can understate a real weakness. Tests with no usable odometer reading are left out of it.
How the Great Wall Steed compares with cars of its own age and size
Not against the whole fleet — against cars of the same size class tested at the same age, 2019-2024.
| Age | Great Wall Steed | Same class, same age | Difference | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 years | 24% | 11.69% | +12.31 pp | 225 |
| 4 years | 26.31% | 13.29% | +13.02 pp | 536 |
| 5 years | 31.89% | 15.06% | +16.83 pp | 737 |
| 6 years | 37.88% | 17.33% | +20.55 pp | 1,275 |
| 7 years | 40.41% | 20.14% | +20.27 pp | 1,643 |
| 8 years | 41.15% | 23.2% | +17.94 pp | 1,519 |
| 9 years | 41.56% | 26.73% | +14.83 pp | 1,232 |
| 10 years | 45.7% | 30.03% | +15.67 pp | 930 |
| 11 years | 43.99% | 33.45% | +10.54 pp | 632 |
| 12 years | 41.63% | 36.46% | +5.17 pp | 233 |
Raw first-time failure rates within each age, so fleet age cannot flatter either side. A positive difference means this model fails more often than its own class at that age.
How does the Great Wall Steed perform as it gets older?
The Wall Steed at age 8 stands out at 40.9%, against 23.3% for all vehicles of the same age.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Chart axes: car age, years · failure-rate scale 0–49%.
Takeaway: solid line: this family; dashed: all cars.
Data table
| Age | Great Wall Steed | All vehicles | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 40.9% | 23.3% | +17.5 pp |
| 9 | 37.7% | 26.5% | +11.2 pp |
| 10 | 45.1% | 30.1% | +15.0 pp |
| 11 | 43.1% | 33.2% | +9.9 pp |
| 12 | 41.7% | 35.7% | +6.0 pp |
Is a Great Wall Steed ULEZ compliant?
The share of classifiable 2024 Great Wall Steed MOT tests likely ULEZ compliant by first-registration date is 23.8%.
Based on 1,164 classifiable initial MOT tests. This describes the tested fleet, not a specific car. MOT data do not record Euro class, so likely compliance is inferred from fuel and first-registration date. For the only authoritative answer, check the registration with TfL's official ULEZ checker.
higher = larger share likely compliantinferred from fuel and first-registration date; not a recorded Euro class
| Vehicle age at test | Likely ULEZ-compliant share | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| Under 3 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 0 |
| 3–5 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 0 |
| 6–7 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 28 |
| 8 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 159 |
| 9 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 244 |
| 10–14 years | 0.0% Check a registration with TfL | n = 733 |
| 15–17 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 0 |
| 18 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 0 |
| 19 years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 0 |
| 20+ years | Suppressed — sample below publication threshold Check a registration with TfL | n = 0 |
How dangerous are Great Wall Steed MOT failures?
Major defects stand out at 114.4 per 100 tests, against 52.8 per 100 tests nationally.
higher bar = fails more oftenrate per 100 tests
Severity table
| Severity | This family /100 | National /100 | Family / national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minor | 22.81 | 14.22 | 1.60× |
| Major | 114.40 | 52.75 | 2.17× |
| Dangerous | 14.40 | 11.15 | 1.29× |
Chart values: Minor 22.8 · Major 114.4 · Dangerous 14.4.
Per 100 tests on this family. National average: Minor 14.2 · Major 52.8 · Dangerous 11.2 per 100.
Does the month of a Great Wall Steed MOT matter?
Feb is highest at 42.3%; Sep is lowest at 36.1% — the gap is 6.2 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Chart scale: 27%–44%.
bars: Great Wall Steed · dashed: all class-4 cars
Month-by-month table
| Month | Great Wall Steed | All vehicles | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 37.07% | 31.12% | +5.9 pp |
| Feb | 42.33% | 29.99% | +12.3 pp |
| Mar | 38.45% | 28.26% | +10.2 pp |
| Apr | 40.32% | 29.78% | +10.5 pp |
| May | 38.9% | 28.79% | +10.1 pp |
| Jun | 38.16% | 28.15% | +10.0 pp |
| Jul | 38.39% | 29.33% | +9.1 pp |
| Aug | 42.05% | 29.2% | +12.8 pp |
| Sep | 36.12% | 28.19% | +7.9 pp |
| Oct | 40.13% | 30.34% | +9.8 pp |
| Nov | 38.56% | 30.58% | +8.0 pp |
| Dec | 40.06% | 29.33% | +10.7 pp |
Takeaway: the spread between best and worst month is 6.2 percentage points — noticeable seasonality. Seasonality partly reflects registration-date clustering, not weather.
Before reading the shape: most of it is not about cars. Britain changes its registration plates twice a year, and 18.9% of these cars were first registered in March with another17.1% in September — 36% in two months against the 17% an even spread would give. An MOT falls due three years after first registration, so the buying calendar becomes the testing calendar. That shapes how many cars are tested each month — not how often they fail: the busiest months here are not the worst ones, so read the failure line on its own and the volume behind it separately.
Great Wall Steed average mileage by age
At age 8, the middle half of Wall Steeds runs from 49,229 miles to 80,475 miles, against 67,631 miles as the median.
further right = more milesmedian is the typical car; band is p25–p75
Chart axes: car age, years · odometer scale 0–109k mi.
Does high mileage mean more Great Wall Steed MOT failures at the same age?
Within the same age group, split by odometer (2024 MOTs), so this separates wear from age: at ages 10–14, 41.5% of those with 40,000–70,000 miles failed first time versus 45.1% of those with 100,000–140,000 miles.No clear mileage gap inside this age group, among cars still being tested.
| Age | Odometer | % failing | 95% interval | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6–9 | <40k miles | 31.7% | 21.6–44% | 63 (rough estimate) |
| 6–9 | 40-70k miles | 40.2% | 33.3–47.5% | 179 (rough estimate) |
| 6–9 | 70-100k miles | 40% | 32.3–48.3% | 140 (rough estimate) |
| 10–14 | 40-70k miles | 41.5% | 34.9–48.4% | 200 (rough estimate) |
| 10–14 | 70-100k miles | 46.3% | 40.7–52.1% | 287 (rough estimate) |
| 10–14 | 100-140k miles | 45.1% | 37.9–52.5% | 173 (rough estimate) |
line: median · band: middle half of the fleet (p25–p75)
Mileage by age (p25 / median / p75)
| Age | p25 | Median | p75 | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 49,229 | 67,631 | 80,475 | 159 |
| 9 | 52,730 | 68,074 | 84,333 | 244 |
| 10 | 50,720 | 70,355 | 95,233 | 153 |
| 11 | 66,004 | 82,251 | 101,492 | 348 |
| 12 | 65,533 | 84,835 | 104,028 | 228 |
A typical 8-year-old Wall Steed has ~67,631 miles on the clock. Much more — ask why; much less — check for gaps in the MOT history.
Where in Britain the Great Wall Steed fails its MOT most
Perth area is highest at 61.3%; Sheffield area is lowest at 26.0% — the gap is 35.3 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
| Toughest areas | % failing | vs model overall |
|---|---|---|
| Perth (PH) | 61.26% | +22.0 pp |
| Exeter (EX) | 51.48% | +12.3 pp |
| Cardiff (CF) | 47.87% | +8.7 pp |
| York (YO) | 46.67% | +7.5 pp |
| Easiest areas | % failing | vs model overall |
|---|---|---|
| Sheffield (S) | 25.95% | -13.3 pp |
| Nottingham (NG) | 28.87% | -10.3 pp |
| Kilmarnock (KA) | 30.07% | -9.1 pp |
| Shrewsbury (SY) | 30.4% | -8.8 pp |
| Llandudno (LL) | 33.16% | -6.1 pp |
Every dot is a postcode area — size = how many were tested there, colour = share failing. These figures are not age-adjusted: coastal and rural areas often run older fleets and salted roads, so higher raw fail rates do not automatically mean a worse local stock of this model.
Map labels: Scotland · N. England · Wales · London · S. West. Colour scale: 33%–41% failing.
Great Wall Steed survival: which cars are still on the road
By age 12 is well below the reference at 27.4%, against 100.0% at the ages 4–6 reference level.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Chart axes: car age, years · survival vs ages 4–6 · scale 0–105%.
Survival vs fail rate by age
| Age | Tests | Survival vs ages 4–6 | Fail % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 225 | 26.5% | 24% |
| 4 | 536 | 63.1% | 26.31% |
| 5 | 737 | 86.8% | 31.89% |
| 6 | 1,275 | 100% | 37.88% |
| 7 | 1,643 | 100% | 40.41% |
| 8 | 1,519 | 100% | 41.15% |
| 9 | 1,232 | 100% | 41.56% |
| 10 | 930 | 100% | 45.7% |
| 11 | 632 | 74.4% | 43.99% |
| 12 | 233 | 27.4% | 41.63% |
By age 11, only about 74% as many cars of this family present for MOT as at ages 4–6 (reference n≈849); survivors still fail at 44.0% vs 26.3% at age 4. Older cars that still appear are a selected subset — weaker ones have already left.
How many miles does a Great Wall Steed last?
100,000+ miles stands out at 11.8%.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
| Odometer | Tests ≥ threshold | Share of sample |
|---|---|---|
| 100,000+ miles | 1,052 | 11.75% |
Of 8,952 tests of this family with a usable odometer in 2024, 11.8% had reached 100k miles. This is a cross-section of cars still presenting for MOT, not a full birth cohort.
How many years is a Great Wall Steed likely to last?
Bought at age 5 is highest at 7.1 years; Bought at age 10 is lowest at 1.2 years — the gap is 5.9 years.
bigger number = longer remaining lifeyears on the observed survival curve
| Age now | Typical mileage (p50) | Expected years left |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | — | at least 7.1 |
| 8 | — | at least 3.2 |
| 10 | — | at least 1.2 |
estimateEstimate only — not a warranty: a typical 10-year-old example of this family has at least 1.2 expected years of further MOT-present life. The curve is observed only until age 11, so the true figure is likely higher.
Great Wall Steed faults that come together
Steering + Suspension stand out at 3.78×, against 1.00× if the faults were independent.
above 1.0× = more than expectedbelow 1.0× = less
| Group A | Group B | Together | Lift |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steering | Suspension | 67 | 3.78× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 58 | 3.69× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 93 | 3.55× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Noise, emissions and leaks | 95 | 3.33× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Road Wheels | 56 | 3.24× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Suspension | 395 | 3.14× (rough estimate) |
| Road Wheels | Suspension | 40 | 3.14× (rough estimate) |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Suspension | 59 | 3.06× (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Tyres | 31 | 3.06× (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Suspension | 105 | 2.99× (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 97 | 2.96× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Steering | 71 | 2.95× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Suspension | 601 | 2.86× |
| Body, chassis, structure | Brakes | 487 | 2.85× (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 34 | 2.83× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Identification of the vehicle | 27 | 2.81× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Noise, emissions and leaks | 133 | 2.8× (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Road Wheels | 60 | 2.78× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Steering | 40 | 2.77× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Tyres | 100 | 2.75× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Road Wheels | 28 | 2.7× (rough estimate) |
| Steering | Visibility | 43 | 2.65× (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Tyres | 200 | 2.64× (rough estimate) |
| Brakes | Tyres | 157 | 2.59× (rough estimate) |
| Tyres | Visibility | 105 | 2.57× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 547 | 2.56× |
| Brakes | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 873 | 2.46× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Noise, emissions and leaks | 146 | 2.46× (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Suspension | 641 | 2.44× |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Steering | 73 | 2.43× (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Visibility | 75 | 2.34× (rough estimate) |
| Suspension | Tyres | 104 | 2.33× (rough estimate) |
| Road Wheels | Visibility | 27 | 2.32× (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Visibility | 266 | 2.31× (rough estimate) |
| Suspension | Visibility | 315 | 2.23× (rough estimate) |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Visibility | 39 | 2.21× (rough estimate) |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Visibility | 525 | 2.19× |
| Brakes | Visibility | 399 | 2.08× (rough estimate) |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Tyres | 19 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Road Wheels | Tyres | 18 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Steering | 16 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Body, chassis, structure | Identification of the vehicle | 16 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Visibility | 15 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Suspension | 15 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 13 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Steering | Tyres | 11 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Tyres | 8 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Steering | 7 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | Road Wheels | 7 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Road Wheels | Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 6 | too few (rough estimate) |
| Identification of the vehicle | Noise, emissions and leaks | 5 | too few (rough estimate) |
Defects in «Brakes» and «Suspension» appear together 2.86× more often than chance (601 co-occurrences in the same test; lift≥1.3, n≥500).
Lift = how many times more often both groups appear on the same test than if independent. A pair is listed from 5 tests with both faults; the lift is shown from 20, and called above chance only when its 95% interval excludes 1 (see rough estimates).
Is low mileage better for a Great Wall Steed?
Cars driven under 5,000 miles a year is well below the reference at 28.1%, against 43.7% for cars driven 8,000–12,000 miles a year.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
| Band | Fail % | Tests |
|---|---|---|
| <5k miles/year | 28.13% | 1,077 |
| 8–12k miles/year | 43.68% | 3,120 |
| Gap (low − normal) | -15.55 pp | — |
By fuel and age
Diesel
| Age | Low-use fail % | n | Normal fail % | n | Gap pp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 17.89 | 95 | 33.71 | 267 | -15.81 pp |
| 6 | 23.27 | 159 | 42.09 | 468 | -18.82 pp |
| 7 | 27.27 | 198 | 44.24 | 642 | -16.96 pp |
| 8 | 31.84 | 179 | 43.53 | 618 | -11.68 pp |
| 9 | 25.75 | 167 | 45.38 | 465 | -19.63 pp |
| 10 | 38.41 | 138 | 48.78 | 369 | -10.37 pp |
| 11 | 30 | 100 | 45 | 220 | -15 pp |
| 12 | 29.27 | 41 | 43.66 | 71 | -14.39 pp |
At matched ages 5–14, cars averaging under 5k miles/year fail at 28.1% vs 43.7% for 8–12k miles/year — 15.6 pp lower (n_low=1,077, n_normal=3,120). In this family low annual use is associated with fewer MOT fails, not more — the ‘garage queen’ penalty is not visible in overall fail rates. Diesel alone: 28.1% low-use vs 43.7% normal (-15.6 pp).
Best year for a Great Wall Steed, and the years to avoid
Build year 2013 is highest at 98.2; Build year 2015 is lowest at 83.3 — the gap is 14.9 points.
below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age
build year vs the same model at the same age · 100 = as expected
Every build year with its confidence interval
| Build year | vs own age norm | 95% CI | Raw fail % | Tests | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 90 | 77.2–102.8 | 37.85% | 502 | no different |
| 2015 | 83.3 | 75.1–91.5 | 35.17% | 1,126 | better |
| 2014 | 90.5 | 81.1–99.9 | 38.86% | 911 | better |
| 2013 | 98.2 | 92.4–103.9 | 43.24% | 2,565 | no different |
| 2012 | 97.7 | 90.1–105.3 | 44.08% | 1,427 | no different |
The best build year here is 2015 and the weakest is 2014. Comparing build years sounds simple and is not: within a single year of testing, a car's build year and its age are the same number, so a naive comparison of years is a comparison of ages wearing a disguise. Each year below is measured against the same model at the same age in other cohorts, across six years of testing — 2 of 5 years come out distinguishable from their own model's age norm.
Two limits worth knowing before you act on this. Age, test year and build year are locked together by arithmetic, so the test-year effect is taken from the observed national failure level of each year rather than estimated — it is an adjustment, not a solution.
Great Wall Steed MOT repair costs
The MOT-failure repair budget per test runs from £168.95 to £321.00, against £54.85 for the test itself.
bigger number = costs morepounds per test, MOT-failing faults only
| Component | Fails per 100 tests | Typical repair | Its price | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 39.5 (nat. 11.25) | Front brake pads (parts + labour, typical hatchback) | £150 | £59.25 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 42.1 (nat. 18.09) | Battery replacement (standard 12V lead-acid) | £140 | £58.94 |
| Suspension | 25.5 (nat. 15.36) | Suspension coil spring (single corner) | £180 | £45.90 |
| Tyres | 5.4 (nat. 8.7) | Tyre (single mid-range 16" fitted) | £90 | £4.86 |
Multiply how often each component fails on this model by what that repair usually costs, and you get the amount an owner should expect to budget per test for MOT-failing faults only — roughly £169 to £321, on top of the test fee itself. It is a budgeting figure, not a quote: the spread between a set of pads and a set of discs is most of the range.
Prices are modal quotes from a hand-kept catalogue of published UK garage guides — we do not scrape the booking sites, their terms forbid it, so this list is short and updated by hand with a source and date against each line. Each line prices one typical repair in that group, not a full remedy, and only groups our catalogue actually covers are counted. The contrast worth noticing is the second card: the legal maximum for the test has been £54.85 since 2010, while the repairs it uncovers have followed inflation the whole time.
For scale from a different direction: Warrantywise, which sees used-car warranty claims rather than test failures, puts the average claim at £2,052 across the ten highest-claim models it ranks and £539 for Honda, the lowest-claim make in its index (Warrantywise index 2026, 1.6 million claims, cars aged 3–15). Those sit an order of magnitude above the figures in this table, and the gap is the point: a warranty claim is a gearbox or an engine, which almost never fails an MOT, while the faults that do fail one are corrosion, lamps and tyres, which no warranty pays for. The two numbers answer different questions and neither replaces the other.
Great Wall Steed running costs for a fleet
Vehicles failing at age 10 stand out at 45.0%, against 41.0% at age 8, tested in the same year.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Failure rate and typical odometer by age
| Age | Fails | Median odometer | Tests | Gap vs age 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 40.88% | 67,631 | 159 | — |
| 9 | 37.7% | 68,074 | 244 | — |
| 10 | 45.1% | 70,355 | 153 | — |
| 11 | 43.1% | 82,251 | 348 | — |
| 12 | 41.67% | 84,835 | 228 | — |
No single year stands out as the point where this model starts costing more: the year-to-year steps in its failure rate are too small or rest on too few tests to name one (D1 rule: a step is named only with at least 2,000 tests on both sides and a jump above 3 percentage points).
Repair spend uses the same modal prices as the section above, so it inherits the same limits: one typical repair per component group, not a full remedy. Downtime is the gap between the failed test and the passed re-test, which is the window a vehicle is legally off the road.
Great Wall Steed rust problems: where they corrode
Age-standardised corrosion susceptibility stands out at 8.11×, against 1.00× for the national age-standardised rate.
above 1.0× = rusts more than averagebelow 1.0× = rusts less
This Great Wall Steed fails on corrosion far more often than average once age is held constant, and its owners live in areas that are saltier than most for the models we publish.
Corrosion is the one failure mode that is as much about geography as about the car. We keep the two apart on purpose: a model can look rusty simply because it is popular in Scotland, and a model can look clean simply because it is bought in Surrey. Blending them into a single score would hide which of the two is doing the work.
Exposure is this model's tests weighted by an area corrosion index built from frost days, salt load and distance to the coast — the composite validated at r = 0.42 against corrosion defects we actually record. It is published as a rank, not a raw score, because every mainstream model skews towards low-corrosion areas for the simple reason that most of Britain's cars are in the south. Susceptibility is standardised to the national age profile, so an old fleet does not get labelled a rusty model.
Does a Great Wall Steed advisory become a failure?
Brakes are highest at 22.1%; Noise, emissions and leaks are lowest at 3.3% — the gap is 18.8 percentage points.
higher = more likelypercentage is the observed transition probability
chance the same component fails at the next MOT, given an advisory now
| Component | Fails next time | Typical lead time | Miles of warning | Advisories tracked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 22.1% | 12.1 months | 5,683 | 2,442 |
| Suspension | 20.6% | 12.1 months | 6,711 | 1,805 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 18.6% | 12 months | 5,766 | 784 |
| Tyres | 8.2% | 12.2 months | 5,297 | 1,163 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 3.3% | 12 months | 5,429 | 518 |
This is the question an advisory note actually raises, and it needs six years of test history to answer. We followed the same vehicles from one MOT to the next across 2019–2024 and measured how often a component that was merely advised came back as a genuine failure at the next test.
Read it as a budgeting horizon, not a prophecy: the most likely component above turns into a failure for about 22 in 100 cars, and the median gap is 12.1 months and roughly 5,683 miles. The rest were repaired, sold, scrapped, or simply held. Rows with fewer than 500 tracked advisories are not shown.
What will fail next on a Great Wall Steed?
Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment after a failure at age 9-11 are highest at 35.0%; Suspension after a passed at age 3-5 is lowest at 7.2% — the gap is 27.8 percentage points.
higher = more likelypercentage is the observed transition probability
| Age | Last test | Most likely next failures | Cars tracked |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-5 | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 12.3% · Brakes 10.1% · Suspension 7.2% | 763 |
| 3-5 | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 15.8% · Brakes 12.2% · Visibility 9.4% | 533 |
| 3-5 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 21.6% · Brakes 16.8% · Suspension 13.1% | 633 |
| 6-8 | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 18.7% · Brakes 14.6% · Suspension 12.1% | 1,070 |
| 6-8 | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 25.4% · Brakes 20.6% · Suspension 14.8% | 1,219 |
| 6-8 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 27.9% · Brakes 22.1% · Suspension 18.0% | 1,575 |
| 9-11 | passed | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 21.3% · Brakes 13.9% · Visibility 11.7% | 281 (rough estimate) |
| 9-11 | advisory | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 33.3% · Brakes 24.4% · Suspension 21.1% | 427 (rough estimate) |
| 9-11 | failure | Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment 35.0% · Brakes 21.1% · Suspension 17.3% | 626 |
The same chains, cut differently: given a car's age and how its last test went, which component most often causes trouble at the following one.
The pattern that repeats across every family: a failure at one test roughly doubles the chance of a failure on the same component at the next one, and an advisory sits about half-way between a clean pass and a failure. Age bands in years; probabilities are per car, not per defect item.
Great Wall Steed ownership: what six years of MOTs show
The ten-day re-test pass rate is highest at 66.9%; The later re-test pass rate is lowest at 11.0% — the gap is 55.8 percentage points.
higher = larger sharecompare shares in percentage points
Failing is usually a same-week event, not a disaster. Of 2,224 failures followed through to their re-test, 22.12% were repaired and passed the same day and 66.86% within ten days; the median gap is 3 days. 7,796 defect items were cleared in the process.
Per mile driven, not per year. Dividing failures by the miles that actually went onto the odometers between consecutive tests gives 0.618 failures per 10,000 miles, on a median of 5,355 miles a year across 1,686 chains. This is the number to compare between models — an annual rate quietly rewards cars that barely leave the drive.
Two populations hide inside one model. 24.88% of these cars strung together three or more tests with nothing recorded at all, while 46.51% carried the same advisory three times or more — the same fault, noted, ignored, noted again. When you buy used you are buying one of those two histories, and the MOT record shows which.
Odometer anomalies: 1.184% of 1,689 chains show a reading lower than the previous test, with a median drop of 5,495 miles. We call this an anomaly and not fraud on purpose — instrument swaps, imports, unit mix-ups and keying errors all land in the same bucket. Obvious typos (drops under 100 miles or over 90% of the reading) are already excluded.
Great Wall Steed safety recalls and how to check yours
DVSA recall campaigns stand out at 3.
bigger number = more recorded casescompare like-for-like scope, not sample size alone
| Reference | Launched | Vehicles | Concern |
|---|---|---|---|
R/2015/151 | 29/07/2015 | 1,706 | SHORT CIRCUIT MAY OCCUR |
R/2015/106 | 01/06/2015 | 1,706 | FUEL MAY LEAK |
R/2013/125 | 10/01/2014 | 1,403 | ELECTRICAL LOOM MAY OVERHEAT |
DVSA lists 3 safety recall campaigns for the Great Wall Steed, covering roughly 4,815 vehicles in total. A recall is the manufacturer fixing a fault for free, so an open recall on your car costs nothing to clear.
Counter-intuitive, and measured on our own data: across the 25 families published here, more recalls go with a lower MOT Risk Index (r = −0.52). Heavily recalled models are not worse cars in the test bay — an active manufacturer removes the fault before it becomes an MOT failure.
Check whether a specific car has an outstanding recall — free, by registration — at DVSA's recall service. Source: DVSA vehicle safety recalls (check-vehicle-recalls.service.gov.uk), OGL.
Great Wall Steed MOT: quick answers
Great Wall Steed MOT Risk Index stands out at 138.0, against 100 for a car with the same age profile.
below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age
- What is the Great Wall Steed first-time MOT pass rate?
- 58.28% of first attempts passed in 2024 (1,165 tests). This is the first-time figure: retests after repair are excluded. Basis: first-time, excluding retests.
- Why does this number differ from other sites?
- Other sites often report a pass rate that includes retests or counts all attempts. Our 41.72% figure is the first-time initial failure rate, using 1,165 primary tests as the denominator (first-time, excluding retests). The age-adjusted MOT initial-failure ratio 138.0 is shown separately because raw rates compare fleet age as well as cars.
Compare the Great Wall Steed with other cars
Fiat Fiorino is highest at 138.1; MG GS is lowest at 137.6 — the gap is 0.5 points.
below 100 is betterabove 100 is worse100 = normal for this model at that age
Similar risk
Fiat Fiorino (index 138.1)Peugeot Traveller (index 137.7)MG GS (index 137.6)
Same size class
how Fiat Sedici compareshow Peugeot E7 compareshow Vauxhall Signum compares
By build year
Great Wall Steed 2012Great Wall Steed 2013Great Wall Steed 2014Great Wall Steed 2015Great Wall Steed 2016
By area
Great Wall Steed MOT failure rate by postcode area
By failure group
Great Wall Steed body, chassis and structure failuresGreat Wall Steed brakes failuresGreat Wall Steed vehicle identification failuresGreat Wall Steed lamps, reflectors and electrics failuresGreat Wall Steed noise, emissions and leaks failuresGreat Wall Steed road wheels failuresGreat Wall Steed seat belts and airbags failuresGreat Wall Steed steering failuresGreat Wall Steed suspension failuresGreat Wall Steed tyres failuresGreat Wall Steed visibility failures
Data details & how to cite
Scope: class-4 vehicles (cars), initial tests only, outcomes pass / fail / fixed-on-the-spot at the station (PRS counts towards the failure rate — the defect was present at arrival). Index = observed initial failures ÷ failures expected for this fleet's exact age profile, ×100; margin of error is a 95% confidence interval. Covers ALL generations together — a 3-year-old and a 15-year-old are very different cars; a generation split is on the roadmap. Dataset release dataset_release_id=dvsa-2024-v2, frozen baseline; headline claim_id=family-stats:great-wall-steed:dvsa-2024-v2. Full method: methodology.
Cite: MOT Risk Index (2026). Great Wall Steed MOT statistics 2024 (data release dvsa-2024-v2; downloadable dataset motriskindex-families-2024-v5, doi:10.5281/zenodo.22975051). https://motriskindex.co.uk/cars/great-wall-steed/ · Published 2026-07-30.