All makes

Lotus reliability and common MOT problems by model

Lotus shows a 12.0% combined MOT failure rate across 8,444 tests in Motintel data. Elise has one of the lower high-confidence rates at 11.3%. Exige deserves extra checking at 7.0%.

Data sources: DVSA MOT records, official recall records, and MOT fault wording snapshots (2026-04-27, 2026-04-29, rfr_codes_2025-05-12, failure items 2023). Search-indexed model pages must clear 20,000 MOT tests and 10,000 vehicles.

Most reliable Lotus models in MOT data

#	Model	MOT failure rate	Tests	Vehicles
Not enough high-confidence model reports are available yet.

Lotus models with the highest MOT failure rates

#	Model	MOT failure rate	Tests	Vehicles
Not enough high-confidence model reports are available yet.

Common Lotus MOT problem areas

#	Problem area	MOT notes	Models affected	What to check	High-rate examples
Not enough high-confidence problem-area data is available yet.

All Lotus model reports

Model	MOT tests	Vehicles	Failure rate
Elise limited data	5,576	4,865	11.3%
Elan limited data	1,510	1,231	19.2%
Exige limited data	1,358	1,225	7.0%

Models with limited data (fewer than 20,000 tests or 10,000 vehicles) have full reports but are not indexed in search engines until the evidence threshold is met.