RE: You Know You Want To: Lotus Elise S1
Discussion
Mark Benson said:
I had a purple S1 Sport 190 and a S2 Exige n/a, even as a weekend car the S2 was the easier of the cars to live with.
On song, the VHPD engine was spine tingling and the way the car chucked itself down the road was exhilarating, but the worry of when (not if) something would go wrong just made anything other than a quick drive out nerve wracking.
Sadly the VHPD engine actually had no Rover involvement, hence they amount of issues associated with it. A regular 1.8 or 1.8 VVC should be reliable, even more so if you make a few simple mods to solve the problem areas. I mean there must be 10,000's out there doing high mileages every single day. The K-Series went into production in the 80's originally and I don't know how many Rover built, but I suspect the vast majority never have had issues. On song, the VHPD engine was spine tingling and the way the car chucked itself down the road was exhilarating, but the worry of when (not if) something would go wrong just made anything other than a quick drive out nerve wracking.
Was thinking last night how I wish I could go for a blast in my old one. Sold it as I have a very long car list to get through and wanted to try something different. I had the car for 4 years, the longest I've kept a car for and I do question that decision sometimes.
Mine had S2 suspension and a Larini exhaust. On a summers night with the roof down on the right road it was the perfect car.
IMO the standard S1 has enough power to be entertaining, has "flow" by the bucket load and can still do 30MPG when enjoying the car.
Of course they're not without their issues but when the weather and the roads are right, it's pure bliss.
Mine had S2 suspension and a Larini exhaust. On a summers night with the roof down on the right road it was the perfect car.
IMO the standard S1 has enough power to be entertaining, has "flow" by the bucket load and can still do 30MPG when enjoying the car.
Of course they're not without their issues but when the weather and the roads are right, it's pure bliss.
kambites said:
Personally, I wouldn't use an S1 as a daily, although plenty of people do.
My S2 has been fine as a daily though. It's not really much less practical than something like an MX5.
I'd agree with that, though it depends on what you are going to use it for. The only things which would bother me would be noise at high speed and susceptibility to expensive damage from on-street parking.My S2 has been fine as a daily though. It's not really much less practical than something like an MX5.
CraigMST said:
Are they really that good?
Are they good dailys or are they more suited to having a work car and the Elise being a drive out/ toy/ track car?
They are a great car. Had 3 S1's over the past few years, 2 of which I used as daily drives. If you can cope with the 'rawness' and lack of creature comforts (which for me is part of the attraction), then you'll love it. What isn't so fun is the fact that most S1's leak, even after window adjustment etc etc. I had an S2 as a daily, never leaked a drop. Much improved roof configuration, but a very different car to drive. I will have another S1 at some point!Are they good dailys or are they more suited to having a work car and the Elise being a drive out/ toy/ track car?
I have an Azure blue S1, which I bought for £6k a couple of years ago. I only use it for track days and Sundays. My wife hates it and there's no way I'd EVER use it as a daily drive.
It's incredibly noisy at speed and when slow it sounds like it's going to fall apart. There's a 1cm gap between the windows and the roof so when it rains you may as well drive roofless.
That said it's still worth at least £6k after 2 years of the most motoring fun I have ever had. I honestly can't think of another car you can constantly drive like you nicked it and remain relatively carefree about cost of ownership, as most of things that go wrong (unless you crash it) are made by Rover so are cheep cheep cheep!
It's incredibly noisy at speed and when slow it sounds like it's going to fall apart. There's a 1cm gap between the windows and the roof so when it rains you may as well drive roofless.
That said it's still worth at least £6k after 2 years of the most motoring fun I have ever had. I honestly can't think of another car you can constantly drive like you nicked it and remain relatively carefree about cost of ownership, as most of things that go wrong (unless you crash it) are made by Rover so are cheep cheep cheep!
Yep agree with Chris completely, bog standard is the way to go except remove the front number plate and its mount and use a smaller stick on plate on the front - I had one of the very first S1's (silver with red leather) in 1996 chassis no.79 i think will never forget how excited I was coming from an Opel manta to brand new Elise, definitely one I should have kept, personally think they are great value now and probably only have one way to go. The MMC brakes were quite scary in the wet though, on a wet motorway one would eventually bite before the other pulling the car to one side, but otherwise all great memories.
otolith said:
I'd agree with that, though it depends on what you are going to use it for. The only things which would bother me would be noise at high speed and susceptibility to expensive damage from on-street parking.
I think if you were going to use one as a daily an S2 would be better, however it would also depend what mods have been done to the car. A lot of them have had induction kits and exhausts added, which are great when going for a spirited drive but suddenly become very irritating when on the motorway.
num2uk said:
I think if you were going to use one as a daily an S2 would be better, however it would also depend what mods have been done to the car.
A lot of them have had induction kits and exhausts added, which are great when going for a spirited drive but suddenly become very irritating when on the motorway.
Yes - though even then it depends. Mine has a 2bular exhaust and a TRD airbox, but they only really make much difference when you put your foot down. Even before that, however, it was still noisy at motorway speeds.A lot of them have had induction kits and exhausts added, which are great when going for a spirited drive but suddenly become very irritating when on the motorway.
otolith said:
Yes - though even then it depends. Mine has a 2bular exhaust and a TRD airbox, but they only really make much difference when you put your foot down. Even before that, however, it was still noisy at motorway speeds.
I think it's mainly to do with the gear ratio's, especially with the CR box. Means the revs are relatively high in comparison to some cars. Almost feels like there should be another gear on the 5 speed 'K' engined cars.S1 is the stuff of automotive legend.
Nothing agains the k-series, I still have on in my 7, it was the vague gearbox that always put me off rover Elises.
I think the toyota powered cars offer a much wider range of uses and are ultimately more fun with the now unfashionable v-tec like kick of the 2ZZRGE engine adding real thrills to the fabulous recipe.
Took mine 3000 miles in less than a week to follow the mille miglia. It would have been hard work in an S1 but I don't think I was missing anything when it came to the alpine passes. S2's are still, amazingly, very under-rated.
Nothing agains the k-series, I still have on in my 7, it was the vague gearbox that always put me off rover Elises.
I think the toyota powered cars offer a much wider range of uses and are ultimately more fun with the now unfashionable v-tec like kick of the 2ZZRGE engine adding real thrills to the fabulous recipe.
Took mine 3000 miles in less than a week to follow the mille miglia. It would have been hard work in an S1 but I don't think I was missing anything when it came to the alpine passes. S2's are still, amazingly, very under-rated.
I loved the S1 elise when it was first released.
I was so disapointed when I was old enough and rich enough to buy one and found I couldn't fit in. Lucikly a few years later I realised I could fit in a VX220!
However I really fell out of love with the S1, I'm not sure why but all of a sudden it just looked really dated and rather ugly to my eyes....
Must admit I am begining to like the look of them again, the shape is looking more classic now and less old fashioned (if that makes sense?)
I was so disapointed when I was old enough and rich enough to buy one and found I couldn't fit in. Lucikly a few years later I realised I could fit in a VX220!
However I really fell out of love with the S1, I'm not sure why but all of a sudden it just looked really dated and rather ugly to my eyes....
Must admit I am begining to like the look of them again, the shape is looking more classic now and less old fashioned (if that makes sense?)
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