Lotus Exige common problems and MOT failures
What goes wrong on a used Lotus Exige, year by year: known faults from UK buying guides, the parts flagged at MOT more than on other cars (from 3,806 MOTs done during 2023–2025), and what to check before you buy one.
Pick the year
Most years have their own guide. The year is when the car was first registered (it’s on the logbook, or check the reg below).
20222021202020192018201720162015201420132011201020092008200720062005200420012000
What usually goes wrong with a Lotus Exige?
We haven’t found widely reported faults for the Lotus Exige in the UK buying guides we use yet. That doesn’t mean it has none, so check the car carefully and look at the MOT weak spots below.
Lotus Exige MOT pass rate by year
Older cars fail more, so compare each year with all cars registered the same year.
| Year | Pass first time | All cars that year | MOT tests |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 94% | 87% +7 | 164 (small sample) |
| 2020 | 92% | 87% +5 | 208 (small sample) |
| 2019 | 92% | 85% +7 | 252 (small sample) |
| 2018 | 93% | 83% +10 | 258 (small sample) |
| 2017 | 90% | 80% +10 | 252 (small sample) |
| 2016 | 93% | 77% +16 | 267 (small sample) |
| 2015 | 92% | 74% +18 | 262 (small sample) |
| 2014 | 93% | 70% +23 | 257 (small sample) |
| 2013 | 93% | 67% +26 | 186 (small sample) |
| 2010 | 91% | 60% +31 | 183 (small sample) |
| 2009 | 93% | 59% +34 | 108 (small sample) |
| 2008 | 87% | 57% +30 | 248 (small sample) |
| 2007 | 90% | 57% +33 | 261 (small sample) |
| 2006 | 85% | 56% +29 | 285 (small sample) |
| 2005 | 87% | 57% +30 | 225 (small sample) |
| 2004 | 84% | 57% +27 | 128 (small sample) |
| 2001 | 94% | 60% +34 | 105 (small sample) |
| 2000 | 86% | 61% +25 | 157 (small sample) |
Looking at a Lotus Exige?
Check the actual car: its own MOT history and what to ask the seller. Free, no sign-up.
Where this comes from: MOT figures are the DVSA’s anonymised results for every MOT test done in Great Britain during 2023–2025, grouped by the year each car was first registered. How many are on the road is from the Department for Transport’s vehicle licensing statistics. Known faults are from UK buying guides, in our own words, with links. How we score