A Lotus Elise thread

[Ilogik]

You’re paying for the name, give me a VX220 over the Elise, front ends far more sexy than the Elise, rear ended Elise wins hands down.

[scootr]

You’re paying for the name, give me a VX220 over the Elise, front ends far more sexy than the Elise, rear ended Elise wins hands down.

Very little is more desirable than a good rear end

[Ole gits rule]

Late to this thread but I had a series II standard car at 115bhp and it was a hoot to drive, light nimble and far better than an mx5, would do 35mpg with ease while adding a grin to my face - still regret selling mine to this day.

Buy an early series II would have been the way to go - sold mine for £12K 10 years ago and now they are more expensive.

Major issue is service costs for me as it was a K series engine with Porsche service costs from a limited dealer network.

[scootr]

There are some really good mid-engine sport cars in this class. The Lotus is an iconic less is more roadster. While I totally appreciate both the concept and the execution I'm too old to drive it much. The E89 is in my opinion a lovely Sunday roadster. It is very comfortable and a fairly capable car. But that left me a wanting more capable car I could push harder and faster through the canyons. Hence the Boxa S. With a few tweaks the little car is both compliant and seriously aggressive.

[M1k3yC]

In the end I bought an MX-5 and have no regrets a few months on. I will investigate the BBR route to up the power next spring I think, funds permitting.

[Player 1]

OP, at around £30-40k you could try a lightly used Evora instead? They're a much more substantial car than an Elise and if you go for an Evora S, ought to feel plenty fast enough.
They also don't seem to depreciate so have it for a few years, stick as many miles on as you like and sell it for near enough the same price again.

I used to have a VX220 as well and they're a lot more different to Elise's than some will have you believe, they're slightly longer, wider, have unique damping setups, seats are more comfortable and have torquier engines too, the NA cars won't win any drag races (think 3.0i E85 Z4 for straight line speed) but they drive sublimely and are amazingly compliant over British roads.

[Angelus666]

A lotus is only for people under 5'9 and 11 stone. My friend has an Exige and I simply can't even think about driving it at 6'2 and 13 stone. A real shame as I'd love to have one.

[M1k3yC]

A lotus is only for people under 5'9 and 11 stone. My friend has an Exige and I simply can't even think about driving it at 6'2 and 13 stone. A real shame as I'd love to have one.

Maybe - I'm 5'10" and c. 12 stone and I fit in it absolutely fine and I probably had a bit of room to spare. I agree that upwards of 6' is likely to be challenging. I just couldn't get past the value for money (or in my opinion, lack thereof).

[Ole gits rule]

well I am 6'2" and 15 stone when I had an Elise and I drove it with no issues at all as an everyday car and still think I could even though I have expanded slightly, the major issue is getting out but after half a dozen times it become quite easy.

It is something that has to be done for basic raw driving experience.

The Z is a different thing altogether and more usable all round but still would have an Elise if the chief inspector of the fun police would let me

[Smartbear]

A lotus is only for people under 5'9 and 11 stone. My friend has an Exige and I simply can't even think about driving it at 6'2 and 13 stone. A real shame as I'd love to have one.

Maybe - I'm 5'10" and c. 12 stone and I fit in it absolutely fine and I probably had a bit of room to spare. I agree that upwards of 6' is likely to be challenging. I just couldn't get past the value for money (or in my opinion, lack thereof).

Surely the fact they hold their value so well over time means they’re fantastic value for money compared to other cars who’s value plummets?
I sold my Elise after 3 years for more than i paid for it!
Rob

[Smartbear]

A lotus is only for people under 5'9 and 11 stone. My friend has an Exige and I simply can't even think about driving it at 6'2 and 13 stone. A real shame as I'd love to have one.

I fitted in my s2 Elise easily at 5’11 and 15/16 stone, once you adopt the ninja method of climbing in&out it becomes easier.
Rob

[Ole gits rule]

Surely the fact they hold their value so well over time means they’re fantastic value for money compared to other cars who’s value plummets?
I sold my Elise after 3 years for more than i paid for it!
Rob

Totally agree and it is probably the only car other than my AR Spider LE that I wish I had kept, they seem to hit £15K and stick there with S1 now actually increasing in value quite quickly.

S

[M1k3yC]

Surely the fact they hold their value so well over time means they’re fantastic value for money compared to other cars who’s value plummets?
I sold my Elise after 3 years for more than i paid for it!
Rob

I was assessing value for money based on the initial outlay, not the cost of ownership over time. In my personal opinion, the one that I drove did not represent enough car for a £30k outlay. You can get a Porsche Boxster 981 S for that money.

[Ole gits rule]

Thats why its best to buy a £15k variant as that is then decent value for the outlay

[BMWZ4MC]

Thats why its best to buy a 315k variant as that is then decent value for the outlay

I’m not so sure, any Elise at 315k sounds overpriced to me