Does the Lotus Elise fail the MOT on lamps, reflectors and electrics more than it should?

The Lotus Elise records 13.09 lamps, reflectors and electrics failure items per 100 initial MOT tests (2019–2024), against 32.19 expected for a car of the same age mix: less than expected for its class and age (−19.10, 95% interval −19.74 to −18.46). It ranks 699 of 729 models on lamps, reflectors and electrics (1 = most failures above expected).

Data release dvsa-2024-v2 (24 Sep 2026) · page updated 30 Sep 2026 · all models on lamps, reflectors and electrics · check a Lotus Elise by registration

What exactly fails on lamps, reflectors and electrics?

The most frequent DVSA defect wording in this group on the Lotus Elise is “The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements”, recorded 1,055 times in 2019–2024.

Lotus Elise: most frequent lamps, reflectors and electrics defect wordings, 2019–2024 (30+ items each)
DVSA defect wording	Items	Per 100 tests
The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements	1,055	3.49
A lamp missing, inoperative or in the case of a multiple light source more than 1/2 not functioning	430	1.42
A rear registration plate lamp or light source missing or inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources	327	1.08
Headlamp reflector or lens slightly defective	279	0.92
A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED	234	0.78

Source: DVSA MOT bulk data (OGL v3.0) · Window: 2019–2024 · n = 30,192 (initial tests) · Method: failure items (major and minor) grouped by DVSA's defect tree; wordings with 30+ items · Updated: 30 Sep 2026 · Release: dvsa-2024-v2 · CSV

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Does the Lotus Elise fail the MOT on lamps, reflectors and electrics more than it should?

What exactly fails on lamps, reflectors and electrics?

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