Pass rate
93.9%
Above average — 3.2 pts ahead of the 90.7% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 214 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £32–£82
2020 Lotus Exige MOT pass rate
- 2020
- typical 9,057 mi
Most common fault
Tyres
47.8% of faults · 19.8% nationally
mostly tread below the limit, cuts and sidewall bulges.
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
- 93.6%
- Typical mileage
- 9k mi
The 2020 Lotus Exige MOT pass rate is 93.9% of its MOT tests — 3.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Tyres is the biggest single reason it fails, at 47.8% 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
Tyres: 2.4× the national share
Tyres make up 47.8% of everything recorded on the 2020 Lotus Exige, against 19.8% nationally — 28.0 points above. Check all four tyres yourself, including the inner shoulders, and look at the date stamp — a tyre can pass on tread and still be six years old.
- 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 90.7% and this one manages 93.9% — 3.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
- When it fails, it costs. Only 17% 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 Exige? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2020 Lotus Exige compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 90.7%, so this figure is 3.2 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 93.6%. The median 2020 Lotus Exige in this dataset had covered 9,057 mi.
Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 95.6% of the time, April–September 92.7%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Headlamp aim too high", noted on 2.34% of tests.
- 214 recorded tests behind this page.
- 93.9% overall pass rate, 93.6% 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
- 214
- Typical mileage (median)
- 9,057 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
Headlight Alignment
Typically a garage job — get quotes before committing.
Does mileage affect the Exige MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 85% so small gaps stay visible.
Regional pass rates for the Exige
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South East | 66 | 90.9% |
| East of England | 39 | 100.0% |
| Yorkshire | 21 | 95.2% |
| North West | 21 | 95.2% |
| East Midlands | 18 | 94.4% |
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 2020 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 2020 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 lights 2.3% of tests
“headlamp aim too high”
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 0.9% of tests
“linkage ball joint dust cover 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 windscreen 0.9% 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 2020 Exige through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £32–£82 — and 17% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £32–£82
- Cheapest common item: rear fog lamp not working
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: windscreen damaged
- £80–£200
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 60%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 17%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 214 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 2020 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 2020 cars with a similar record
- Mitsubishi Asx Exceed 93.9%
- Porsche Cayenne 94.0%
- Volvo XC40 Inscript Pro 94.0%
- Volvo XC60 Momentum B5 93.8%
- Toyota YARIS 94.1%
- Jaguar I-Pace 94.1%
Closest pass rates among 2020 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 2020 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 69 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyres | 33 | 47.80% | 19.76% | +28.04 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 11 | 15.90% | 12.21% | +3.69 |
| Visibility | 7 | 10.10% | 4.97% | +5.13 |
| Suspension | 5 | 7.20% | 20.98% | −13.78 |
| Brakes | 5 | 7.20% | 20.89% | −13.69 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 2 | 2.90% | 5.57% | −2.67 |
| Non-component advisories | 2 | 2.90% | 4.18% | −1.28 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 2 | 2.90% | 0.82% | +2.08 |
| Steering | 1 | 1.40% | 2.57% | −1.17 |
| Identification of the vehicle | 1 | 1.40% | 1.76% | −0.36 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.3% | £30–80 |
| Has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords Tyres | Major | 0.93% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp aim too low Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.93% | £30–80 |
| Linkage ball joint dust cover ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 0.93% | £18–45 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 0.93% | £80–200 |
| All position lamps with a multiple light source up to 1/2 not functioning Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 0.47% | £5–25 |
| Has ply or cords damaged Tyres | Major | 0.47% | £45–95 |
| Headlamp aim too high Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Rectified | 0.47% | £30–80 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.47% | £5–25 |
| Rear fog lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 0.47% | £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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tread depth below requirements of 1.6mm Tyres | Advisory | 9.3% | £45–95 |
| Has a tear, caused by separation or partial failure of its structure Tyres | Advisory | 2.8% | £45–95 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 1.9% | £45–110 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 1.4% | £18–45 |
| Tread depth tread pattern not visible over the whole tread area when minimum depth required is 1.0mm Tyres | Advisory | 1.4% | £45–95 |
| Exhaust system silencer insecure Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 0.93% | £45–120 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 209 | 93.8% | 9,770 mi |
| 30-60k | 3 | 100.0% | 36,172 mi |
Source: 214 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.
2020 Exige MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2020 Lotus Exige?
93.9% of the 214 2020 Lotus Exige tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 90.7% for cars first used in 2020. First-attempt pass rate: 93.6%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2020 Lotus Exige?
The three most recorded items are headlamp aim too high (2.34%), has a cut in excess of the requirements deep enough to reach the ply or cords (0.93%), headlamp aim too low (0.93%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2020 Lotus Exige MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 93.8% of the time, falling to 100.0% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2020 Lotus Exige in this dataset had covered 9,057 mi.
Does the season affect the 2020 Lotus Exige MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 95.6% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 92.7%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.