83.3%
Mercedes-Benz GLA
Mercedes-Benz GLA vs BMW X1
Buying a used Mercedes-Benz GLA or BMW X1? Compare their MOT pass rates, common problems, mileage and how they hold up as they get older.
Already found one of them? Check its finance, write-off, theft, mileage and keeper history with a £15 vehicle history report.
MOT pass rate head to head
Initial MOT tests in 2025, retests excluded. The UK average across all cars is 72.3%.
82.4%
BMW X1
1
percentage point gap in the Mercedes-Benz GLA's favour
That gap is close enough that the specific car matters far more than the badge. The figures come from 92,002 tests of the Mercedes-Benz GLA and 112,492 of the BMW X1. The BMW X1 also arrives at test with roughly 12,479 more miles on average, which usually says more about who buys it and what they use it for than about how long it lasts.
A pass rate is not a reliability score. It records whether cars met the roadworthiness standard on test day.
Which one holds up better with age?
A headline pass rate mixes three-year-old cars with fifteen-year-old ones. Split by age, you can see what each model does over time.
The Mercedes-Benz GLA gives up less as it gets older. Between cars aged 3 to 5 years and those aged 11 years and over it loses 12.1 percentage points against 20.1 for the BMW X1, a difference of 8 points.
| Age at test | GLA | X1 |
|---|---|---|
| 3 to 5 years | 89.4% | 90.5% |
| 6 to 10 years | 79.8% | 83.3% |
| 11 years and over | 77.3% | 70.4% |
On a ten-year-old example that is the figure to weigh, not the headline number.
What each one fails on
The areas testers recorded most often across every failed 2025 test for each model, as a share of recorded failure items.
Mercedes-Benz GLA
BMW X1
Both models fail most often on tyres, which tells you what to look at on either. The difference between them is in what comes next on each list. These are recorded failure categories, not faults every car has.
The specific items testers wrote down
One level deeper than the category: the individual defects recorded most often on each model.
Mercedes-Benz GLA
- Tread depth tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm
- Coil spring fractured or broken
- Joints constant velocity boot split or insecure, no longer prevents the ingress of dirt
BMW X1
- Pins and bushes pin or bush excessively worn
- Condition has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords
- Tread depth tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm
What this comparison can't tell you
Everything above describes two models across the whole UK fleet. It says nothing about the one car in the advert. Two GLAs of the same year and mileage can be worth thousands apart because of finance, a write-off, a theft record or a clocked odometer, none of which appear in MOT data.
Check the car you are about to buy. One £15 report, instant results, backed by a £30,000 data guarantee.
- Outstanding finance
- Write-off records
- Stolen markers
- Mileage history
- Previous keepers
Read more on each car
Other comparisons with these cars
Mercedes-Benz GLA vs BMW X1 FAQs
Is the Mercedes-Benz GLA or the BMW X1 more likely to pass its MOT?
The Mercedes-Benz GLA passed 83.3% of its initial MOT tests in the DVSA 2025 data against 82.4% for the BMW X1, a gap of 1 percentage points. That is a fleet-wide average, not a prediction about the specific car you are looking at.
Does a higher MOT pass rate mean a more reliable car?
No. An MOT records whether a vehicle met the roadworthiness standard on the day it was tested. It does not test the engine, clutch or gearbox, and it does not measure how often a car breaks down. Pass rates are useful for comparing how two models are holding up across the whole UK fleet, and nothing more than that.
Which holds up better with age, the Mercedes-Benz GLA or the BMW X1?
The Mercedes-Benz GLA. Between cars aged 3 to 5 years and those aged 11 years and over, it loses 12.1 percentage points of MOT pass rate against 20.1 for the BMW X1 in the 2025 data.
Which is cheaper to keep on the road, the Mercedes-Benz GLA or the BMW X1?
This data does not price servicing or repairs, so it cannot answer that directly. What it does show is what each model most often fails on, which is a fair guide to where the money goes. The Mercedes-Benz GLA fails most often on tyres. The BMW X1 fails most often on tyres.
Which one has covered more miles by MOT time?
The average BMW X1 arrived at its 2025 MOT on 65,434 miles, against 52,955 for the Mercedes-Benz GLA. That usually reflects who buys each car and what they use it for rather than how long it will last.
How do I check the actual Mercedes-Benz GLA I have found?
Enter its registration. A Carpeep car history check reports outstanding finance, insurance write-off markers, stolen markers, the mileage recorded at every MOT, previous keepers, tax and MOT status, import and export markers and scrapped status in one £15 report. None of that appears in model-level MOT statistics.
MOT figures are aggregated from the DVSA MOT Anonymised data set for 2025 (class 4 initial tests, retests excluded), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. MOT results describe roadworthiness at test, not mechanical reliability.