Pass rate
88.1%
Above average — 15.6 pts ahead of the 72.5% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 84 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £48–£153
2006 Lotus Europa MOT pass rate
- 2006
- typical 38,721 mi
Only 84 tests of this exact model and year are in the DVSA data, below the 100 we ask for before a page goes in the index. The figures are still shown, because they are the only ones there are.
Check your postcode
Most common fault
Lamps & electrics
22.2% of faults · 12.2% nationally
Which year to buy
- Best 2007 89.9% pass
- Avoid 2006 88.1% pass · this year
Across the 2 years on record, a spread of 1.8 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 87.3%
- Typical mileage
- 39k mi
The 2006 Lotus Europa MOT pass rate is 88.1% of its MOT tests — 15.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Lamps & electrics is the biggest single reason it fails, at 22.2% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 3.0× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 16.7% of everything recorded on the 2006 Lotus Europa, against 5.5% nationally — 11.2 points above. Lamps & electrics are still the single largest share at 22.2%, but at 12.2% nationally that one is ordinary. A smoky diesel or a leaking joint fails on emissions more often than on wear, so ask for a recent emissions printout.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 72.5% and this one manages 88.1% — 15.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 24% of this model’s typical repairs come in under £30 in parts — the failures here tend to be the kind that need a garage rather than a bulb.
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 Lotus Europa? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2006 Lotus Europa compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.5%, so this figure is 15.6 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 87.3%. The median 2006 Lotus Europa in this dataset had covered 38,721 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 91.7% of the time, April–September 85.4%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view", noted on 4.76% of tests.
- 84 recorded tests behind this page.
- 88.1% overall pass rate, 87.3% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Lotus Europa, the average is 89.1% — best year 2007 (89.9%), worst 2006 (88.1%).
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
- 84
- Typical mileage (median)
- 38,721 mi
- Make and model
- Lotus Europa
- Updated
- 2026-11-07
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Windscreen
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Europa MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 42% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Europa
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 19 | 68.4% |
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 2006 Europa
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 2006 Europa
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 windscreen 4.8% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
-
Check the exhaust and emissions 3.6% of tests
“catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified 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 lights 3.6% of tests
“position lamp not working”
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.
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 2006 Europa through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £48–£153 — and 24% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £48–£153
- Cheapest common item: position lamp not working
- £5–£25
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 30%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 24%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 84 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 Europa, side by side
2 model years on record, from 2006 to 2007. Across them the pass rate runs from 88.1% to 89.9% — a spread of 1.8 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2006 88.1%windscreen damaged but not…
- 2007 89.9% catalyst emissions carbon…
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 2006 Lotus Europa 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 2006 cars with a similar record
- Porsche 911 88.6%
- Bentley Continental 90.1%
- Porsche Boxster 85.8%
- Mercedes-Benz Sl 85.4%
- Aston Martin V8 Vantage 91.8%
- Porsche Cayman 83.8%
Closest pass rates among 2006 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 2006 Lotus Europa 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 9 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 54 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 12 | 22.20% | 12.21% | +9.99 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 9 | 16.70% | 5.52% | +11.18 |
| Brakes | 8 | 14.80% | 20.89% | −6.09 |
| Suspension | 7 | 13.00% | 20.98% | −7.98 |
| Visibility | 6 | 11.10% | 4.97% | +6.13 |
| Tyres | 4 | 7.40% | 19.76% | −12.36 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 4 | 7.40% | 1.76% | +5.64 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 2 | 3.70% | 5.57% | −1.87 |
| Road Wheels | 2 | 3.70% | 0.75% | +2.95 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 4.8% | £80–200 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 3.6% | £60–250 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 3.6% | £5–25 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Major | 1.2% | £18–45 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.2% | £60–250 |
| Door condition cannot be opened from outside the vehicle Body, chassis, structure | Major | 1.2% | £80–250 |
| Driver's seat fore and aft adjustment mechanism not functioning as intended. Body, chassis, structure | Major | 1.2% | £80–250 |
| Headlamp aim projected beam image is obviously incorrect Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.2% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.2% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.2% | £5–25 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anti-roll bar corroded and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 4.8% | £12–30 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 4.8% | £20–80 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 3.6% | £45–95 |
| Badly distorted Road Wheels | Advisory | 2.4% | £20–55 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 2.4% | £45–110 |
| Catalyst emissions emits excessive dense blue smoke during acceleration Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 2.4% | £60–250 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 28 | 92.9% | 20,330 mi |
| 30-60k | 40 | 82.5% | 44,855 mi |
| 60-90k | 10 | 100.0% | 79,007 mi |
| 90-120k | 2 | 50.0% | 90,908 mi |
| 120k+ | 4 | 100.0% | 134,666 mi |
Source: 84 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.
2006 Europa MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2006 Lotus Europa?
88.1% of the 84 2006 Lotus Europa tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.5% for cars first used in 2006. First-attempt pass rate: 87.3%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2006 Lotus Europa?
The three most recorded items are windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (4.76%), catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits (3.57%), position lamp not working (3.57%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2006 Lotus Europa MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 92.9% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2006 Lotus Europa in this dataset had covered 38,721 mi.
Does the season affect the 2006 Lotus Europa MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 91.7% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 85.4%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.