Lotus Elan
Registered from 1990 to 1996.
About this model
Lotus Elan is the name of two separate ranges of automobiles produced by Lotus Cars. The first series of cars was produced between 1962 and 1975 as a rear-wheel drive vehicle. The second series was produced between 1989 and 1995 as a front-wheel drive vehicle co-developed with Isuzu and entirely decoupled from the 1962-75 cars from an engineering perspective.
From the Wikipedia article Lotus Elan, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
What fails its inspection
Great Britain's MOT record for the 1991 1.6 petrol. 90 of 412 tests failed, 22%.
Better than 46% of 1991 cars. The typical one fails 22%, across 94 models with enough tests behind them to say.
| Where | Share of failures | Failed tests |
|---|---|---|
| Brakes | 61% | 55 |
| Lights and electrics | 50% | 45 |
| Exhaust and emissions | 30% | 27 |
| Visibility | 17% | 15 |
| Suspension | 16% | 14 |
| Body and structure | 11% | 10 |
The defects inspectors cite
- Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement
- Emissions levels exceed default limits
- A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED
- Service brake efficiency below minimum requirement
- The aim of a headlamp is not within limits laid down in the requirements
- Brakes imbalance across an axle such that the braking effort from any wheel is less than 70% of the maximum effort recorded from the other wheel on the same axle.
Where it stands out against its peers
- Brakes: failed more often than 93% of 1991 cars — 61% of its 90 failed tests, where an ordinary 1991 car has 40%.
Same model year only, at least 30 peer cars, zeros included. Every car has a worst part; this shows which, and how far from ordinary it is. A high share means more to check, not a verdict.
NHTSA's investigations are American; no European regulator publishes an equivalent record, so this section has nothing to draw on for a European car. There is no European equivalent of the service-bulletin register either.
Before you buy one
Built from what this car fails on, not from general knowledge of the model.
- Brakes — 61% of its failures
- Parking brake efficiency below minimum requirement
- Service brake efficiency below minimum requirement
- Exhaust and emissions — 30% of its failures
- Emissions levels exceed default limits
- Suspension — 16% of its failures
- Lights and electrics — 50% of its failures
- A headlamp or light source missing, inoperative or more than ½ not functioning in the case of LED
- Visibility — 17% of its failures
- Windscreen washers not working or not providing sufficient fluid to clear the windscreen
- Body and structure — 11% of its failures
When it starts failing
Most of these pass at every mileage on record.
| Odometer | Failure rate | Rate | Its age | Tests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20–40k miles | 14% | — | 35 | |
| 40–60k miles | 21% | — | 63 | |
| 60–80k miles | 15% | — | 72 | |
| 80–100k miles | 28% | — | 97 | |
| 100–120k miles | 19% | — | 67 | |
| 120–140k miles | 26% | — | 42 |
376 British inspections, grouped by the odometer reading recorded at the test.