Does the Smart Forfour fail the MOT on visibility more than it should?

The Smart Forfour records 8.88 visibility failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 6.67 expected for a car of the same age mix: more than expected for its class and age (+2.21, 95% interval +2.05 to +2.37). It ranks 120 of 746 models on visibility (1 = most failures above expected).

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on visibility · check a Smart Forfour by registration

What exactly fails on visibility?

The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Smart Forfour is “Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen”, recorded 5,265 times in 2019–2024.

Smart Forfour: most frequent visibility defect wordings, 2019–2024 (30+ items each)
DVSA defect wording	Items	Per 100 tests
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen	5,265	3.87
Wiper blade defective	2,277	1.67
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view	1,900	1.40
Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen	1,530	1.12
Obligatory mirror or device slightly damaged or loose	563	0.41

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 136,129 (initial tests) · Method: failure items (major and minor) grouped by DVSA's defect tree; wordings with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

Does the Smart Forfour fail the MOT on visibility more than it should?

What exactly fails on visibility?

Related pages

Other pages for this model