Welcome to the site! Fellow european here. Also, fellow avensis owner. T22 to be precise. A little more kms on the clock than yours though.
(405000)
Have to say i did not know lotus uses toyota engines
So, about the car modding in Germany. What are you allowed to do "freely"?
In Finland you can do a lot of mods, bigger ones you have to get separately inspected and approved. (engine swap, lowering springs etc.)