Lotus Elan
Reliability, running costs, and MOT data across 7 years from 3,029 real MOT tests.
Avg Pass Rate
78%
Total Tests
3,029
Best Year
1996 (86%)
Years Covered
7
How reliable is the Lotus Elan?
Lotus Elan by Year
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About the Lotus Elan
The Lotus Elan has been tested 3,029 times in 2024 MOT data across 7 model years (1990 to 1996), with an average pass rate of 78%. That's close to the national average of 82%. Available as petrol.
Best and Worst Years
The 1996 model is the most reliable with a 86% pass rate from 58 tests. The 1993 model has the lowest at 56%. With a 30 point spread, choosing the right year makes a big difference to reliability.
Reliability Trend
The LOTUS ELAN has maintained consistent MOT pass rates across model years, varying by only 1 percentage points.
Mileage Across Years
The oldest model in our data (1990) averages 87,120 miles, while the newest (1996) averages 66,887 miles.
Compared to the Lotus brand average of 90%, the Elan is 12 points lower, placing it among the less reliable Lotus models.
Click any year in the table above to see detailed running costs, individual reliability data, and comparisons with similar cars.