Lotus; where to start

Lotus; where to start

Author
Discussion

Richie200

Original Poster:

2,011 posts

208 months

Friday 19th December 2014
quotequote all
Always fancied having a Lotus; in fact I even named my first daughter Elise biggrin
If you were a relative novice in all things Lotus, which would be the best car to buy. For me the most important factors are:

-Must sound good (probably rules out any supercharged versions???)
-Lightweight with phenomenal handling (I guess this covers the whole model range)
-Reliable (not sure how possible this is given the acronym 'lot of trouble....')
-Something that holds its value
-Must be quick
-Cost up to £30k (doesn't mean I want to spent this much as you guys might suggest a 10k car is all I need)

Many thanks for your time

limpsfield

5,871 posts

252 months

Friday 19th December 2014
quotequote all
I would suggests a second hand Elise with a sports exhaust. I had a 111r for four years and have an Evora for 2 so far.

Would go back to the 111r in a heartbeat. Great cars. I never had any major problems. Only let down once in 6 years. Depreciation has been a pleasant surprise- makes them really cheap to own.

kazste

5,663 posts

197 months

Friday 19th December 2014
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What about a Europa, values are climbing lots of easy torque not quite the handling of an Elise if standard but not far off.

zebra

4,555 posts

213 months

Saturday 20th December 2014
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111s in a heartbeat.

Not as reliable as the 111r but just felt right 99% of the time; only let down by no sixth gear and I would want to swap the seats.


Rick101

6,959 posts

149 months

Saturday 20th December 2014
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Bought my first lotus this year. Lots of different models/versions to think about. I went for a 111R with induction system and Stage 2 exhaust.

Absolutely love it. My experience so far is a very reliable car with low running costs and minimal depreciation. I really don't know what I would replace it with. 4.8 to 60 and 30MPG too.

I wouldn't disregard supercharged. I have a ride in a charged 111R with TRD airbox and it sounded great. The TRD airbox is a fairly cheap mod and lots of cars already have it.

kazste

5,663 posts

197 months

Saturday 20th December 2014
quotequote all
See this is the thing, I you buy a lotus it will quickly become your favourite thing. I've had two Elise's and one europa would heartily recommend both. Best bet would be to decide if you want a quick road car, fast track car, convertible or hard top and then go from there.

hajaba123

1,302 posts

174 months

Saturday 20th December 2014
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I've had 2 S2 elises, an S and an SC. Wish I'd bought the supercharged one first time around. Had a sports exhaust on the S and the TRD airbox on the S/C. Sports exhaust would have been the next upgrade if I hadn't got rid of it.
Be prepared for breakdowns and niggles, worth it though

ad260S

978 posts

201 months

Saturday 20th December 2014
quotequote all
zebra said:
111s in a heartbeat.

Not as reliable as the 111r but just felt right 99% of the time; only let down by no sixth gear and I would want to swap the seats.
+1

Loved my 111s, had HGF after 60k miles which wasn't too bad other than that only the rad went pop

lj04

371 posts

190 months

Saturday 20th December 2014
quotequote all
I would buy another 118 hp s1 , just for the grin factor. Had one as a daily driver for 5 years , before changing to a s2 111s, which was very good . Now have a cayman and think I have been making backward steps in terms of grin factor.

AndyD360

1,380 posts

179 months

Saturday 20th December 2014
quotequote all
lj04 said:
I would buy another 118 hp s1 , just for the grin factor. Had one as a daily driver for 5 years , before changing to a s2 111s, which was very good . Now have a cayman and think I have been making backward steps in terms of grin factor.
This entirely - a well fettled basic elise is a fantastic thing to drive. I had one, bought a 911 instead and much as I enjoyed that it never made me smile like the lotus. Since bought another s1 and absolutely love it... They do go wrong from time to time but aren't complicated - I even managed to change the radiator on mine - and aren't huge money to fix...

You don't say whether it's to be a daily driver etc - if so I'd suggest an s2 is a more liveable proposition. If not, I'd buy a Sport 160.


Edited by AndyD360 on Saturday 20th December 22:38

CrouchingWayne

682 posts

175 months

Sunday 21st December 2014
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I've got a VX220, but if I'd had a bigger budget I'd of gone for a 111S.

Motorsport3

499 posts

191 months

Sunday 21st December 2014
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I bought my first Lotus 3 months ago. It's an S1 Elise and basically chose that because of how it looks. I think it's one of the most beautiful and timeless car designs.
I found interesting that you named your daughter Eiise. My daughter was born earlier this year and thought Elise would be such a nice name too. In fact I almost managed to persuade my wife too. But in the end we gave her the name of my mother in law....

Rick101

6,959 posts

149 months

Sunday 21st December 2014
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Motorsport3 said:
But in the end we gave her the name of my mother in law....
Allegro?

lee111s

377 posts

187 months

Sunday 21st December 2014
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Definitely 111S! Had an S1 version a few years ago and just bought and S2 111S a few weeks ago!

lee111s

377 posts

187 months

Sunday 21st December 2014
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Definitely 111S! Had an S1 version a few years ago and just bought and S2 111S a few weeks ago!

naboo

118 posts

112 months

Sunday 21st December 2014
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I had an Elise R, absolutely amazing car, loved it to bits. Great performance, insane at high revs and cheap to run, servicing was around £230 a year and that was it, nothing ever dropped off and car never let me down.

van cleef

201 posts

167 months

Monday 22nd December 2014
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QI've just bought a black 03 plate 111s after owning a CBR fireblade powered Toniq kitcar.

I managed to pick it up for just under 10k and I'm chuffed to bits with it. The only fault I can pick with it is the stupid sized front wheels which are a nightmare to get really decent rubber for them.

I could of spent more on an elise but i had a 10k budget, which I stuck to because I couldn't justify more spend on something I would only use a couple of times a month as a weekend car.

lee111s

377 posts

187 months

Monday 22nd December 2014
quotequote all
van cleef said:
QI've just bought a black 03 plate 111s after owning a CBR fireblade powered Toniq kitcar.

I managed to pick it up for just under 10k and I'm chuffed to bits with it. The only fault I can pick with it is the stupid sized front wheels which are a nightmare to get really decent rubber for them.

I could of spent more on an elise but i had a 10k budget, which I stuck to because I couldn't justify more spend on something I would only use a couple of times a month as a weekend car.
Yoko AD07 R were made specifically for the s2 elise and can be found for pretty cheap online.

lee111s

377 posts

187 months

Monday 22nd December 2014
quotequote all
van cleef said:
QI've just bought a black 03 plate 111s after owning a CBR fireblade powered Toniq kitcar.

I managed to pick it up for just under 10k and I'm chuffed to bits with it. The only fault I can pick with it is the stupid sized front wheels which are a nightmare to get really decent rubber for them.

I could of spent more on an elise but i had a 10k budget, which I stuck to because I couldn't justify more spend on something I would only use a couple of times a month as a weekend car.
Yoko AD07 R were made specifically for the s2 elise and can be found for pretty cheap online.

van cleef

201 posts

167 months

Tuesday 23rd December 2014
quotequote all
lee111s said:
van cleef said:
QI've just bought a black 03 plate 111s after owning a CBR fireblade powered Toniq kitcar.

I managed to pick it up for just under 10k and I'm chuffed to bits with it. The only fault I can pick with it is the stupid sized front wheels which are a nightmare to get really decent rubber for them.

I could of spent more on an elise but i had a 10k budget, which I stuck to because I couldn't justify more spend on something I would only use a couple of times a month as a weekend car.
Yoko AD07 R were made specifically for the s2 elise and can be found for pretty cheap online.
I've got these tyres on the car at the moment but I'm not that impressed... I've been looking for something a little more track focused, but the fronts are 175 wide and most manufacturers start at a 195 on any 16" wheel.