Mercedes-Benz CLS 2020: MOT failure rate for its age

22.0% of 572 MOT tests of the Mercedes-Benz CLS 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 153.9 (95% CI 127.0–180.7; 100 = normal for this model at that age): the 2020 Mercedes-Benz CLS fails more often than other build years of the same model at the same age. This is a rough estimate from a smaller sample.

Mercedes-Benz CLS built in 2020 at a glance
Measure	Value	Unit	Compared with	Years	Tests
Failed first time	22.0	%	all ages tested	2019–2024	572
Index against this model at the same age (95% CI 127.0–180.7)	153.9	index	100 = normal for this model at that age	2019–2024	572
Rank among this model's 16 build years	16	of 16	1 = fails least for its age	2019–2024	572
Tested in 2024	287	tests	median 31,395 miles	2024	287

Built 2020 against Mercedes-Benz CLS normal for the age: first-time MOT failure share at each age, age 3: 22.5% vs 13.4%; age 4: 21.6% vs 15.2%. Axis from 0% to 30%. DVSA MOT bulk data, 2019–2024.

Check a 2020 Mercedes-Benz CLS by registration · All Mercedes-Benz CLS 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 Mercedes-Benz CLS 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.

Mercedes-Benz CLS 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	285 (rough estimate)	22.5	18–27.6	13.4	167.8
4	287 (rough estimate)	21.6	17.2–26.7	15.2	141.7

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 572 (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 Mercedes-Benz CLS?

The most common failure group on cars built in 2020 is tyres: 19.4 items per 100 first tests, against 14.2 across all build years of the Mercedes-Benz CLS. These counts are not age-adjusted: cars built in 2020 were tested at ages 3 to 4.

Failure items per 100 first tests, Mercedes-Benz CLS built 2020 against the Mercedes-Benz CLS in all build years (2019–2024, not age-adjusted)
Failure group	Built 2020, per 100	All build years, per 100	Items
Tyres	19.4	14.2	114
Road Wheels	11.9	1.5	70

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 589 (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 16 published build years of the Mercedes-Benz CLS, 2020 ranks 16 (1 = fails least for its age). 2019: index 107.0.

Mercedes-Benz CLS build years: index against the model at the same age (2019–2024)
Build year	Index (100 = normal)	95% interval	Verdict	Tests
2005	91.6	87.4–95.7	better	6,373
2006	100.1	96.8–103.4	no different	10,469
2007	103.4	100.3–106.6	worse	12,036
2008	106.5	102.7–110.2	worse	9,097
2009	111.6	107.0–116.1	worse	6,672
2010	109.2	103.9–114.5	worse	4,751
2011	85.5	80.8–90.2	better	5,120
2012	96.0	91.2–100.8	no different	6,303
2013	105.0	101.9–108.0	worse	19,319
2014	102.8	98.7–106.9	no different	11,141
2015	97.4	94.1–100.6	no different	17,798
2016	94.1	90.1–98.0	better	12,884
2017	92.9	87.8–98.0	better	8,102
2018	94.8	87.4–102.3	no different	4,088
2019	107.0	98.1–116.0	no different (rough estimate)	3,376
2020	153.9	127.0–180.7	worse (rough estimate)	572

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 138,101 (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). Mercedes-Benz CLS 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/mercedes-cls/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.

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