Elise mx5 or z4
Discussion
kambites said:
The Europa is probably worth a look, too. Marginally more comfortable and practical than the Elise but still a league ahead of the Boxster to drive.
One of the things I love about the Europa is that the boot opening gives you much better access to the boot. I can fit all my archery stuff in the boot of my Elise if I pack the arrows and stuff in seperate boxes and pack carefully. In a Europa I could keep the whole lot in one bag and just lift it in and out.Sadly Europas are outside my budget.
kambites said:
I don't think anyone buys an Elise with the primary aim of using it on the motorway, but it was certainly a consideration for me. If it wasn't capable of the odd long-distance weekend away, I probably wouldn't have bought it.
Weekends away are certainly very doable with an Elise. Indeed, it's one of the reasons I bought one over a seven type kit car.However, mine is an early S2 111S with a stupid exhaust and nitron streets. It's borderline perfection on a decent road. It's stupidly loud at motorway speeds. And I mean ear plugs required loud...
Captain Muppet said:
One of the things I love about the Europa is that the boot opening gives you much better access to the boot. I can fit all my archery stuff in the boot of my Elise if I pack the arrows and stuff in seperate boxes and pack carefully. In a Europa I could keep the whole lot in one bag and just lift it in and out.
Sadly Europas are outside my budget.
I had an S1 Elise before my Europa and the Europa boot still feels cavernous in comparison. A larger supermarket shop in the Elise usually resulted in my other half sharing the the passenger foot well and her lap with bags of shopping. No such issues with the Europa (the right hand "cheek" in the boot is deceptive too). It's not a large boot, but it's not bad considering Sadly Europas are outside my budget.
.The probax seats, 6 speed box, torquey engine and a little bit of sound insulation do mean Europas cruise well enough on motorways (not as quiet as something a bit more luxurious of course, and still quite low down).
They do still seem to be holding their value ok - you occasionally get one down near the £15k mark though (there's one at that at the moment).
Robert Elise said:
The Elise is hopeless as a practical car.
A lot of people say that, and it's clearly not a van, but I've found it to be no less practical than any other two-seat roadster I've used. The boot is quite small, but it's big enough for a couple's luggage for a week away if you pack carefully; it's comfortable (as long as you don't mind wearing ear-plugs); it's efficient; it's cheap to run; it's (reasonably) reliable;...Obviously it's never going to be a family car, but the practicality difference between an Elise and an MX5 or a Z4 roadster is pretty negligible.
kambites said:
A lot of people say that, and it's clearly not a van, but I've found it to be no less practical than any other two-seat roadster I've used. The boot is quite small, but it's big enough for a couple's luggage for a week away if you pack carefully; it's comfortable (as long as you don't mind wearing ear-plugs); it's efficient; it's cheap to run; it's (reasonably) reliable;...
Obviously it's never going to be a family car, but the practicality difference between an Elise and an MX5 or a Z4 roadster is pretty negligible.
i'm just provoking in the context of the OP. Obviously it's never going to be a family car, but the practicality difference between an Elise and an MX5 or a Z4 roadster is pretty negligible.
Over in SELOC there was a long thread from somebody wanting to replace his 'boring' 350 SLK with a 'real car'. He bought in to the Lotus kool aid and purchased unseen, as he lives mostly abroad. 3 months or so later it's up for sale "most uncomfortable car ever". I drive mine to and from the Alps in one day!!! around 12 hours at the wheel. No problem at all in those lovely Probax seats.
I'm trying to think of an appropriate simile.... Madonna - she'd be a total nightmare to live with. But you would...
Hideaway said:
It leaks
Had a poor heater
Can't fit much stuff in without careful packing. Quite a bit less than z4 mx5
Bit of a pain getting in and out
But I love them
I love them too, but I must admit that:Had a poor heater
Can't fit much stuff in without careful packing. Quite a bit less than z4 mx5
Bit of a pain getting in and out
But I love them
- mine never leaked; just the odd tiny dribble after washing it or heavy rain.
- The heater on mine was great. It's a tiny cabin to heat so I found it heated up quickly and I never got cold in it (which is saying something as I really feel the cold!).
- I found the boot on my S2 quite large actually; the only thing was that you needed several smaller bags rather than one big one.
- I never had any issues getting in and out, but then again I do have quite long legs. I could get in and out holding my CDs, phone, laptop bag etc with both hands - no issue. The passenger side was very hard to get in and out of for some reason, but the driver's side was easy (right leg stronger or something?).
RobM77 said:
I love them too, but I must admit that:
Perhaps because you had wheel to hold onto?- mine never leaked; just the odd tiny dribble after washing it or heavy rain.
- The heater on mine was great. It's a tiny cabin to heat so I found it heated up quickly and I never got cold in it (which is saying something as I really feel the cold!).
- I found the boot on my S2 quite large actually; the only thing was that you needed several smaller bags rather than one big one.
- I never had any issues getting in and out, but then again I do have quite long legs. I could get in and out holding my CDs, phone, laptop bag etc with both hands - no issue. The passenger side was very hard to get in and out of for some reason, but the driver's side was easy (right leg stronger or something?).
Hideaway said:
RobM77 said:
- I never had any issues getting in and out, but then again I do have quite long legs. I could get in and out holding my CDs, phone, laptop bag etc with both hands - no issue. The passenger side was very hard to get in and out of for some reason, but the driver's side was easy (right leg stronger or something?).
I can also get in and out with no hands, but only on the right hand side. Mrs Muppet is ace at the left hand side, but struggles on the right. It's something that comes with practice.
Robert Elise said:
Over in SELOC there was a long thread from somebody wanting to replace his 'boring' 350 SLK with a 'real car'. He bought in to the Lotus kool aid and purchased unseen, as he lives mostly abroad. 3 months or so later it's up for sale "most uncomfortable car ever".
5 months later and he was very enthusiastic about the car for the first few months 
. Lots of people said to him before he bought "it will be very different, you need to try driving the Lotus" pointed out the shortcomings and generally gave loads of sound advice which he seemed to entirely ignore! He was looking at a Ferrari 360 but "fell in love with a 2012 CR in white" (I don't think he'd driven that though either - maybe just the looks) but decided as the cost of a new CR was only 4.5k more he'd go for the new one. It was all rather odd.I agree with your point tho' about practicality - it's more of a compromise than a lot of other cars, but also more rewarding. Some people find the balance suits them, some don't
.Regarding what RobM77 said about getting in and out of the passenger side - Captain Muppet is entirely correct that it's down to practice! Prior to buying my S1 years ago I had a passenger ride and then drove it and I recall finding both sides a real pain. After a few months I was pretty accomplished with the driver's side but on the rare occasion I got in the passenger side it was like I'd never got in one before.
I get the gist of this but there are levels of practicality and I would not say the difference is neglible.
Re; boot size ok they are all small but you can get two sets of golf clubs in a Z4 (I don't know about series 3 mx5s) ... not everyone plays golf but it is a target audience for sports car manufactorers (my only 'proof' of this is the S2000 has a graphic in the boot to show exactly how to fit two sets in the boot). Its more the opening to me that restricts the practicality. I can just about get one set in my elise but it involves taking out all the clubs, using a pencil bag and the drivers, woods in the front... I can't give a fellow golfer a lift...
And practicality is not just size of the boot. Getting in and out is an issue for some people... my wife really struggled with my car from the point she was about 5/6 months pregnant and she is quite small. I had an NCT friend who managed to hold onto his Z4 until a few weeks before the baby was born and his wife is relatively tall.
The Elise in the S2 / S2.5 has come on in leaps and bounds in terms of practicality vs the S1 - but my car for example takes longer to 'get going' in the mornings than a mates MX5 in the winter...
None of these are absolutes but in terms of practicality - yes all two door cars will have compromises but the Elise I think has more in terms of practicality than the Mx5/Z4/s2000/etc etc
Re; boot size ok they are all small but you can get two sets of golf clubs in a Z4 (I don't know about series 3 mx5s) ... not everyone plays golf but it is a target audience for sports car manufactorers (my only 'proof' of this is the S2000 has a graphic in the boot to show exactly how to fit two sets in the boot). Its more the opening to me that restricts the practicality. I can just about get one set in my elise but it involves taking out all the clubs, using a pencil bag and the drivers, woods in the front... I can't give a fellow golfer a lift...
And practicality is not just size of the boot. Getting in and out is an issue for some people... my wife really struggled with my car from the point she was about 5/6 months pregnant and she is quite small. I had an NCT friend who managed to hold onto his Z4 until a few weeks before the baby was born and his wife is relatively tall.
The Elise in the S2 / S2.5 has come on in leaps and bounds in terms of practicality vs the S1 - but my car for example takes longer to 'get going' in the mornings than a mates MX5 in the winter...
None of these are absolutes but in terms of practicality - yes all two door cars will have compromises but the Elise I think has more in terms of practicality than the Mx5/Z4/s2000/etc etc
kambites said:
Obviously it's never going to be a family car, but the practicality difference between an Elise and an MX5 or a Z4 roadster is pretty negligible.
I'm very "different", I think. Gassing Station | Elise/Exige/Europa/340R | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff