Elise, S2000 or other????
Discussion
I am considering replacing my current MX-5, I have a budget of £25,000 ish however am unsure of what I should go for. I would prefer rear wheel drive and must be a convertible, and has to be usable as my every day car. The only two that emidiately spring to mind are the S2000 or Elise which are both excellent, however am I missing any thing? Is there any used car up to 3 years old which would be a better buy? Any thoughts or opinions?
The Alfa is a great looking car, and I loved mine - it's not nearly fast enough though. If you're looking at Elise and S2000, you'll regret getting the GTV unless you get the V6.
egoold said: ... Alfa is front wheel drive and that puts me off initially not to mention the depreciation.
I've got a feeling the GTV's getting/has been discontinued too...
Dan
Not very convertable, your average Cerbera
mondeoman said: Griff?
Cerbera?
IMHO Chimaera, all day unless you have to do loads of motorway miles then either an S2000 as you suggest or an MR2 (with a hard top for the rain and motorway) and a Caterham for the weekend sir
(MR2 choice based on driving (owning (well mrs B does)) one and driving back to back with an elise over a variety of conditions, Elise is faster, sharper etc but it's closer than you'd think, you get plenty of lift off oversteer in the MR2 (you've got to really push it though, get into corners MUCH too fast) and it's loads quieter on a motorway)
But TVR is the way to go
I would love a boxster however I object to paying £25,000 for a 5 year old car that probably only cost £30,000 when new, exagerating a bit I know but I would rather wait until I could afford a new one. A second hand TVR would be graet, however would the reliability and running costs not be an issue?
Maybe I should shift this over to the TVR forum. Does anyone know how to post a link on the Tvr forum or similar. I am curious to know about peoples experience of running a two or three year old Chimaera. servicing reliability? warranties available? servicing costs? where best to look or buy from?
I went through the same descision process about a year ago - £25,000 budget, car must be RWD and fun, convertible would be nice.
The problem for me was that it had to be a daily driver and reliable.
I wanted an Elise, but could imagine getting heartily sick of it's impracticality (100 mile round trip to work every day). Tried the Z3, TT and SLK - underwhelmed by all of them. Thought about a Boxster, but for £25k the choice was limited and didn't seem to be good value for money.
I was seriously tempted by a 2nd hand TVR, but fuel consumption on a car doing 100 miles a day would be too high, and despite things being much better than they used to be, I still speak to far too many TVR drivers who tell me they couldn't use theirs as a reliable daily driver.
So in the end I went for an S2000 and I've never regretted it. However, vtec isn't everyones cup of tea, it's no better or worse than any other 240bhp engine, but it takes a change in driving style (you have to change gear a lot) which some people just can't get into.
Edited to add:
Since the changes to suspension last year, the S2000 has become a much more manageable car to drive on the track now, not as pointy-squirty as the Elise, but a real hoot all the same.
>> Edited by Mark Benson on Wednesday 13th November 15:43
The problem for me was that it had to be a daily driver and reliable.
I wanted an Elise, but could imagine getting heartily sick of it's impracticality (100 mile round trip to work every day). Tried the Z3, TT and SLK - underwhelmed by all of them. Thought about a Boxster, but for £25k the choice was limited and didn't seem to be good value for money.
I was seriously tempted by a 2nd hand TVR, but fuel consumption on a car doing 100 miles a day would be too high, and despite things being much better than they used to be, I still speak to far too many TVR drivers who tell me they couldn't use theirs as a reliable daily driver.
So in the end I went for an S2000 and I've never regretted it. However, vtec isn't everyones cup of tea, it's no better or worse than any other 240bhp engine, but it takes a change in driving style (you have to change gear a lot) which some people just can't get into.
Edited to add:
Since the changes to suspension last year, the S2000 has become a much more manageable car to drive on the track now, not as pointy-squirty as the Elise, but a real hoot all the same.
>> Edited by Mark Benson on Wednesday 13th November 15:43
Mark you seem to have suffered the exact same dillema as I am in now. I agree with you entirely my circumstances are only slightly different by the fact that I only travel about 5 miles to work every day and once a week have to travel from Glasgow to Ayr about 100 miles all in. If this were the case for your self would you stick with the S2000 or would you consider a TVR??
Go and get a copy of Top Marques, circle everthing under £25k that fits your bill, then trot off down to your local dealers and get test driving, some cars will instantly get crossed off your list when you see them, and get in them, others will be crossed off after a drive, hopefully by then you've got a much shorter list and then it's cheque book out time 
I agree with raceboy - you need to drive them because the S2000 and any TVR you care to mention approach the 'sports car' thing from completely different directions.
For the reasons mentioned, I'd still go for the S2000, mainly because I do a lot of sitting in traffic and I need the car to be available most of the time. I also like track days, although I now have a Locost which I will be racing, I still take the S2000 to some track days, it's a fun car and I don't really regret buying it over the Elise, I thought I would.
But ever since I was a small kid, making my dad stop every time we drove past Harrogate Horseless Carriages so I could stare in at the cars, I've promised myself that one day I'd have a TVR. And if I didn't have the restrictions I currently do, thats what I'd be driving.
For the reasons mentioned, I'd still go for the S2000, mainly because I do a lot of sitting in traffic and I need the car to be available most of the time. I also like track days, although I now have a Locost which I will be racing, I still take the S2000 to some track days, it's a fun car and I don't really regret buying it over the Elise, I thought I would.
But ever since I was a small kid, making my dad stop every time we drove past Harrogate Horseless Carriages so I could stare in at the cars, I've promised myself that one day I'd have a TVR. And if I didn't have the restrictions I currently do, thats what I'd be driving.
Hmm
Get an elise - the S2 is well within your budget - enough spare for some track day wheels & tyres and plenty of track time ...
certainly is mechanically strong enough to be a daily driver - relatively inexpensive to run (40mpg) lower insurance and servicing than a tiv and lightning quick acceleration and superb handling.
Test drive one - but give yourself time to get used to the brakes and steering - quite different from servo braked cars (or abs)
roof is much better now, as is reliabilty - still a few niggles - but usually well known and easily solved.
Ok so it won't crack 150 mph - but this is the UK after all
Get an elise - the S2 is well within your budget - enough spare for some track day wheels & tyres and plenty of track time ...
certainly is mechanically strong enough to be a daily driver - relatively inexpensive to run (40mpg) lower insurance and servicing than a tiv and lightning quick acceleration and superb handling.
Test drive one - but give yourself time to get used to the brakes and steering - quite different from servo braked cars (or abs)
roof is much better now, as is reliabilty - still a few niggles - but usually well known and easily solved.
Ok so it won't crack 150 mph - but this is the UK after all
I should probably point out the only thing which put me off the Elise is the seats and the roof.
The seats because I got backache after an hour, I regularly spend much longer than an hour in my car and I couldn't imagine it would be very comfortable after the six or so hours it takes to get to my folks house.
The roof is better on the S2 Elise, but it's still bloody fiddly - whenever the weather and road permits (ie. not raining and not on the motorway for long periods) the roof on the S2000 is off and the heater is on.
The seats because I got backache after an hour, I regularly spend much longer than an hour in my car and I couldn't imagine it would be very comfortable after the six or so hours it takes to get to my folks house.
The roof is better on the S2 Elise, but it's still bloody fiddly - whenever the weather and road permits (ie. not raining and not on the motorway for long periods) the roof on the S2000 is off and the heater is on.
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