Pass rate
90.3%
Above average — 17.8 pts ahead of the 72.5% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 318 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £32–£115
2006 Lotus Exige MOT pass rate
- 2006
- typical 42,494 mi
Most common fault
Brakes
22.1% of faults · 20.9% nationally
mostly worn pads and discs, corroded pipes and a handbrake that will not hold.
Which year to buy
- Best 2021 97.7% pass
- Avoid 2004 87.3% pass
Across the 18 years on record, a spread of 10.4 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 89.4%
- Typical mileage
- 42k mi
The 2006 Lotus Exige MOT pass rate is 90.3% of its MOT tests — 17.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Brakes is the biggest single reason it fails, at 22.1% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Lotus Exige does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Lamps & electrics: 1.8× the national share
Lamps & electrics make up 21.6% of everything recorded on the 2006 Lotus Exige, against 12.2% nationally — 9.4 points above. Brakes are still the single largest share at 22.1%, but at 20.9% nationally that one is ordinary. Walk round the car with the lights on before the test: bulbs, indicators and number-plate lamps are the cheapest failures to prevent and among the most common.
- 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 90.3% — 17.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- Based on a small sample. 318 tests back this page. That is enough to publish and to index, not enough to treat the decimal places as precise — read the pattern, not the second digit.
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 Exige? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2006 Lotus Exige compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.5%, so this figure is 17.8 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 89.4%. The median 2006 Lotus Exige in this dataset had covered 42,494 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 89.3% of the time, April–September 90.9%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated", noted on 1.89% of tests.
- 318 recorded tests behind this page.
- 90.3% overall pass rate, 89.4% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Lotus Exige, the average is 92.9% — best year 2021 (97.7%), worst 2004 (87.3%).
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
- 318
- Typical mileage (median)
- 42,494 mi
- Make and model
- Lotus Exige
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Ball Joint
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Exige MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 70% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Exige
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 77 | 84.4% |
| East of England | 52 | 92.3% |
| Yorkshire | 37 | 94.6% |
| West Midlands | 34 | 85.3% |
| South West | 27 | 92.6% |
| East Midlands | 24 | 91.7% |
| North West | 22 | 95.5% |
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 Exige
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 Exige
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 suspension joints 1.9% of tests
“ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated”
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 lights 1.9% 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 windscreen 1.6% 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.
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 Exige through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £32–£115 — and 44% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £32–£115
- Cheapest common item: stop lamp with a multiple light source up to…
- £3–£12
- Dearest common item: catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content…
- £60–£250
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 50%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 44%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 318 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 Exige, side by side
18 model years on record, from 2000 to 2021. Across them the pass rate runs from 87.3% to 97.7% — a spread of 10.4 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 89.2% position lamp not working
- 2001 95.5% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2004 87.3% catalyst emissions lambda reading…
- 2005 89.6% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 90.3%ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2007 91.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2008 91.6% registration plates does not…
- 2009 95.5% anti-lock braking system warning…
- 2010 93.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2013 93.8% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2014 94.3% wipers blade defective
- 2015 93.2% individual direction indicators…
- 2016 94.2% headlamp aim too low
- 2017 93.3% headlamp aim too low
- 2018 94.7% registration plates does not…
- 2019 93.8% headlamp aim too low
- 2020 93.9% headlamp aim too high
- 2021 97.7% has a cut in excess of the…
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 Exige 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
- Bentley Continental 90.1%
- Aston Martin V8 Vantage 91.8%
- Porsche 911 88.6%
- Porsche Boxster 85.8%
- Mercedes-Benz Sl 85.4%
- 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 Exige 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 207 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 | 46 | 22.10% | 20.89% | +1.21 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 45 | 21.60% | 12.21% | +9.39 |
| Suspension | 35 | 16.80% | 20.98% | −4.18 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 26 | 12.50% | 5.52% | +6.98 |
| Tyres | 20 | 9.60% | 19.76% | −10.16 |
| Visibility | 15 | 7.20% | 4.97% | +2.23 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 11 | 5.30% | 1.76% | +3.54 |
| Non-component advisories | 6 | 2.90% | 4.18% | −1.28 |
| Steering | 2 | 1.00% | 2.57% | −1.57 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 1 | 0.50% | 5.57% | −5.07 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 1.9% | £18–45 |
| Position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.9% | £5–25 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.6% | £5–20 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 1.6% | £80–200 |
| Wipers blade defective Visibility | Minor | 1.6% | £8–22 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.3% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content at idle exceeds default limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 1.3% | £60–250 |
| Stop lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 1.3% | £3–12 |
| Catalyst emissions Lambda reading after 2nd fast idle outside specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 0.94% | £60–250 |
| Catalyst emissions carbon monoxide content after 2nd fast idle exceeds manufacturer's specified limits Noise, emissions and leaks | Major | 0.94% | £60–250 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 6.3% | £45–110 |
| Brake pads less than 1.5 mm thick Brakes | Advisory | 3.5% | £18–45 |
| Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak Suspension | Advisory | 3.1% | £30–75 |
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 3.1% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 2.5% | £45–95 |
| Registration plates inscription illegible Identification of the vehicle | Advisory | 1.9% | £20–80 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 93 | 90.3% | 18,708 mi |
| 30-60k | 176 | 93.2% | 45,941 mi |
| 60-90k | 47 | 78.7% | 69,358 mi |
| 90-120k | 2 | 100.0% | 90,441 mi |
Source: 318 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 Exige MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2006 Lotus Exige?
90.3% of the 318 2006 Lotus Exige tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.5% for cars first used in 2006. First-attempt pass rate: 89.4%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2006 Lotus Exige?
The three most recorded items are ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (1.89%), position lamp with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning (1.89%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (1.57%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2006 Lotus Exige MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 90.3% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2006 Lotus Exige in this dataset had covered 42,494 mi.
Does the season affect the 2006 Lotus Exige MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 89.3% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 90.9%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.