Pass rate
84.3%
Around average — 6.4 pts behind the 90.7% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 458 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £30–£104
2020 MG Zs Excite T-Gdi MOT pass rate
- 2020
- typical 26,587 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
37.1% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Part only £25–£40 for Brake pads under 1.5 mm. What fitting it takes →
Which year to buy
- Best 2022 91.5% pass
- Avoid 2020 84.3% pass · this year
Across the 3 years on record, a spread of 7.2 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 82.2%
- Typical mileage
- 27k mi
The 2020 MG Zs Excite T-Gdi MOT pass rate is 84.3% of its MOT tests — 6.4 points behind what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 37.1% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how MG Zs Excite T-Gdi does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Brakes: 1.8× the national share
Brakes make up 37.1% of everything recorded on the 2020 MG Zs Excite T-Gdi, against 20.9% nationally — 16.2 points above. Have the discs and pads measured rather than glanced at, and ask whether the handbrake holds on a slope.
- Falls short of its own age and mileage. Like-for-like, cars this age and mileage expect about 90.7%; this one manages 84.3% — 6.4 points below. Age is a fair excuse; this is not age.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a MG Zs Excite T-Gdi? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2020 MG Zs Excite T-Gdi compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 90.7%, so this figure is 6.4 points behind what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 82.2%. The median 2020 MG Zs Excite T-Gdi in this dataset had covered 26,587 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 84.0% of the time, April–September 84.5%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction", noted on 3.28% of tests.
- 458 recorded tests behind this page.
- 84.3% overall pass rate, 82.2% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the MG Zs Excite T-Gdi, the average is 90.0% — best year 2022 (91.5%), worst 2020 (84.3%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 458
- Typical mileage (median)
- 26,587 mi
- Make and model
- MG Zs Excite T-Gdi
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Indicator Bulb
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Zs Excite T-Gdi MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 64% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Zs Excite T-Gdi
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 79 | 86.1% |
| Wales | 68 | 85.3% |
| East of England | 55 | 87.3% |
| Scotland | 54 | 75.9% |
| North West | 45 | 84.4% |
| South West | 39 | 84.6% |
| West Midlands | 36 | 77.8% |
| East Midlands | 31 | 87.1% |
| Yorkshire | 18 | 94.4% |
| North East | 18 | 88.9% |
| London | 15 | 80.0% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2020 Zs Excite T-Gdi
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2020 Zs Excite T-Gdi
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the lights 3.3% of tests
“malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check the exhaust and emissions 2.4% of tests
“catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits”
Listen for a blow at idle and have someone rev it gently. Then look at the tailpipe smoke: blue is oil, white when warm is coolant, black is over-fuelling. Any of those and the emissions test is the least of it.
-
Check the tyre tread 2.2% of tests
“tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm”
Check all four tyres cold, including the inner shoulder where wear hides — 1.6mm across the central three-quarters is the legal limit, and most testers fail at 1.6mm without argument.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2020 Zs Excite T-Gdi through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £30–£104 — and 36% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £30–£104
- Cheapest common item: malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 70%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 36%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 458 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the Zs Excite T-Gdi, side by side
3 model years on record, from 2020 to 2022. Across them the pass rate runs from 84.3% to 91.5% — a spread of 7.2 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2020 84.3%malfunction indicator lamp…
- 2021 91.1% tread depth below requirements of…
- 2022 91.5% brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2020 MG Zs Excite T-Gdi with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2020 cars with a similar record
- Tesla Model X 84.6%
- Mercedes-Benz Vito 83.3%
- Tesla Model 3 Performance 83.2%
- Vauxhall Corsa E 85.4%
- Isuzu D-Max 85.4%
- Vauxhall Combo 83.1%
Closest pass rates among 2020 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2020 MG Zs Excite T-Gdi 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 485 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 180 | 37.10% | 20.89% | +16.21 |
| Tyres | 143 | 29.50% | 19.76% | +9.74 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 59 | 12.20% | 5.52% | +6.68 |
| Non-component advisories | 43 | 8.90% | 4.18% | +4.72 |
| Suspension | 28 | 5.80% | 20.98% | −15.18 |
| Visibility | 15 | 3.10% | 4.97% | −1.87 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 11 | 2.30% | 12.21% | −9.91 |
| Steering | 2 | 0.40% | 2.57% | −2.17 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 2 | 0.40% | 1.76% | −1.36 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 2 | 0.40% | 0.82% | −0.42 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.3% | £3–12 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 2.4% | £60–250 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Major | 2.2% | £45–95 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 1.3% | £18–45 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.1% | £60–250 |
| Malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction Noise, emissions and leaks | Rectified | 1.1% | £3–12 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.1% | £5–20 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 0.87% | £60–250 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 0.87% | £45–95 |
| Wheel bearings rough when rotated Suspension | Major | 0.87% | £20–55 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 20.7% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 15.5% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 14.0% | £18–45 |
| Non-component advisories Child Seat fitted not allowing full inspection of adult belt Non-component advisories | Advisory | 3.9% | £20–80 |
| Non-component advisories Nail in tyre Non-component advisories | Advisory | 3.7% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs significantly and obviously worn Brakes | Advisory | 3.3% | £45–110 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 283 | 89.0% | 20,177 mi |
| 30-60k | 155 | 76.8% | 39,560 mi |
| 60-90k | 18 | 72.2% | 71,349 mi |
| 90-120k | 1 | 100.0% | 91,399 mi |
| 120k+ | 1 | 100.0% | 156,215 mi |
Source: 458 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2020 Zs Excite T-Gdi MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2020 MG Zs Excite T-Gdi?
84.3% of the 458 2020 MG Zs Excite T-Gdi tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 90.7% for cars first used in 2020. First-attempt pass rate: 82.2%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2020 MG Zs Excite T-Gdi?
The three most recorded items are malfunction indicator lamp inoperative or indicates a malfunction (3.28%), catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits (2.40%), tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm (2.18%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2020 MG Zs Excite T-Gdi MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 89.0% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2020 MG Zs Excite T-Gdi in this dataset had covered 26,587 mi.
Does the season affect the 2020 MG Zs Excite T-Gdi MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 84.0% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 84.5%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.