Pass rate
Above average — 14.3 pts ahead of the 75.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 306 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £16–£46
Pass rate
Above average — 14.3 pts ahead of the 75.9% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 306 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £16–£46
Most common fault
Brakes
24.7% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
Across the 12 years on record, a spread of 9.9 points. See every year →
The 2011 Lotus Evora MOT pass rate is 90.2% of its MOT tests — 14.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 24.7% of what testers record.
Expert verdict
Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 75.9% and this one manages 90.2% — 14.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
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 Evora? Get an email when these numbers change .
Every Lotus Evora first registered in 2011 is combined here — 3 trim and body variants in total — so the sample is as large as the DVSA data allows.
Cars of this age and mileage average 75.9%, so this figure is 14.3 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 89.5%. The median 2011 Lotus Evora in this dataset had covered 44,170 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 90.8% of the time, April–September 89.6%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning", noted on 1.63% of tests.
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Headlight Bulb
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 67% so small gaps stay visible.
Across all Evora model years on record (2009–2020): 1,258 Lotus Evora cars tested in a recordable postcode area, across 2,402 tests. Guildford (GU) has the most, with 90 cars tested there. Cars are counted by the postcode area of the MOT station, so this is where they were tested, not necessarily where their owners live.
| # | Postcode area | Cars | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Guildford (GU) | 90 | 91.2% |
| 2 | Northampton (NN) | 84 | 90.4% |
| 3 | Norwich (NR) | 41 | 90.1% |
| 4 | Crewe (CW) | 40 | 94.4% |
| 5 | Edinburgh (EH) | 38 | 87.2% |
| 6 | Chelmsford (CM) | 38 | 95.4% |
| 7 | Ashford (TN) | 37 | 89.6% |
| 8 | Southampton (SO) | 34 | 89.5% |
| 9 | Nottingham (NG) | 33 | 88.7% |
| 10 | Derby (DE) | 31 | 98.4% |
| 11 | Milton Keynes (MK) | 28 | 82.8% |
| 12 | Reading (RG) | 27 | 86.0% |
| 13 | Bristol (BS) | 26 | 91.3% |
| 14 | Ipswich (IP) | 25 | 87.2% |
| 15 | Birmingham (B) | 25 | 95.7% |
| 16 | Leicester (LE) | 24 | 84.6% |
| 17 | Peterborough (PE) | 22 | 90.7% |
| 18 | Poole (BH) | 20 | 88.9% |
| 19 | Gloucester (GL) | 18 | 90.3% |
| 20 | Oxford (OX) | 17 | 89.5% |
The twenty areas with the most Lotus Evora cars in the record, sorted by car count — sort the columns for a different question. Cars tested at a station whose postcode area could not be resolved are counted in the model's total but in no area, so the shares add up to slightly under 100% even across every area, and an area's cars are a subset of the model's. Pass rate is blank below 30 tests in an area, where a percentage is noise rather than a finding. How this model's pass rate varies by postcode →
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 95 | 88.4% |
| East Midlands | 34 | 94.1% |
| Yorkshire | 29 | 93.1% |
| East of England | 28 | 92.9% |
| North West | 26 | 92.3% |
| South West | 22 | 81.8% |
| Scotland | 22 | 77.3% |
| West Midlands | 21 | 100.0% |
| London | 15 | 93.3% |
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.
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
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 1.6% of tests
“position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning”
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 suspension joints 1.3% of tests
“linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
Check the wipers and washers 1.0% of tests
“washers not working”
Run the wipers with the screen wet: they should clear it in one sweep without smearing or juddering. Top the washer bottle up and check both jets hit the screen.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £16–£46 — and 68% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 306 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 →
12 model years on record, from 2009 to 2020. Across them the pass rate runs from 88.4% to 98.3% — a spread of 9.9 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
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.
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Closest pass rates among 2011 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.
Shares of the 248 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 | 62 | 24.70% | 20.89% | +3.81 |
| Suspension | 58 | 23.10% | 20.98% | +2.12 |
| Tyres | 58 | 23.10% | 19.76% | +3.34 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 39 | 15.50% | 12.21% | +3.29 |
| Visibility | 12 | 4.80% | 4.97% | −0.17 |
| Non-component advisories | 5 | 2.00% | 4.18% | −2.18 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 4 | 1.60% | 5.52% | −3.92 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 4 | 1.60% | 1.76% | −0.16 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 4 | 1.60% | 0.82% | +0.78 |
| Steering | 2 | 0.80% | 2.57% | −1.77 |
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.6% | £5–25 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 1.3% | £30–80 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.3% | £5–25 |
| Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 1.3% | £18–45 |
| Individual direction indicators not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.98% | £3–12 |
| Side repeaters not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.98% | £5–25 |
| Srs malfunction indicator lamp warning lamp indicates a fault Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | Major | 0.98% | £3–12 |
| Washers not working Visibility | Major | 0.98% | £5–15 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 0.98% | £80–200 |
| Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault Brakes | Major | 0.65% | £3–15 |
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 7.5% | £45–110 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 7.2% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 6.9% | £45–95 |
| Coil spring corroded so that its cross sectional area is reduced and seriously weakened Suspension | Advisory | 5.9% | £25–65 |
| Linkage ball joints ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 4.3% | £18–45 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 3.3% | £18–45 |
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 63 | 90.5% | 23,003 mi |
| 30-60k | 153 | 91.5% | 43,100 mi |
| 60-90k | 78 | 89.7% | 70,740 mi |
| 90-120k | 12 | 75.0% | 97,701 mi |
Source: 306 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.
90.2% of the 306 2011 Lotus Evora tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 75.9% for cars first used in 2011. First-attempt pass rate: 89.5%.
The three most recorded items are position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning (1.63%), headlamp aim too low (1.31%), headlamp lens slightly defective (1.31%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 90.5% of the time, falling to 75.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2011 Lotus Evora in this dataset had covered 44,170 mi.
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 90.8% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 89.6%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.