Has anyone got my (old) motor?

[patsy]

I recently p/ex'd my Tamora for an Elise 111r at Christopher Neil's in Northwich. I was hoping that prospective owners would come on here to see if anyone on PH had owned the car and I could reply 'yes' and then ramble on about how great it was, and how the new owner can look forward to a cracking example of a TVR.

I've just returned from holiday and the car is no longer on CN's website so it must have been sold. Does anyone new on this website own it?

It's registered PN03 **F...

[honahont350]

patsy said:

I recently p/ex'd my Tamora for an Elise 111r at Christopher Neil's in Northwich. I was hoping that prospective owners would come on here to see if anyone on PH had owned the car and I could reply 'yes' and then ramble on about how great it was, and how the new owner can look forward to a cracking example of a TVR.

I've just returned from holiday and the car is no longer on CN's website so it must have been sold. Does anyone new on this website own it?

It's registered PN03 **F...

What do you think of the 111R?

[patsy]

Honahon - I like it so far. It's a new one so I'm having to run it in which has tested my resolve a little, but I've started using a few more revs recently and I've gone from liking it a lot to loving it.

Build quality is very good, handling is a revelation and the brakes are exceptional.

Overall, it's very much horses for courses between the Elise and the Tamora. The TVR was (to my eye at least) a stunning looking car and sounded brilliant (quite quick too!), the Lotus is sharper and (I think) more resolved and for me, ultimately more fun, but it's easy to make a case for either.

I loved TVR but wanted to try a Lotus. We haven't got any kids yet, and I wanted to try both marques before getting something more practical.

Off topic - sorry to hear about your incident. Hope it all works out. I live in Manchester and have sometimes considered a similar thing happening to me. I wouldn't own a Subaru or Evo for that reason.

[t40ora]

Interesting comparison Patsy.

I've never driven the lotus, but tried the VX220 Turbo and didn't find it that exciting. Mind you, test driving and living with a car are very different experiences.

Be interested to hear what you think of the comparison between the cars in terms of practicality. Lttle thingss like getting in and out, comfort on long journies and luggage space/accomodation.

One major selling point of the Tam for me was the realitive luxury of the interior plus the size of the boot and back shelf. My wife and I like to go away for weekends/weeks and we can get LOADS packed, even with the roof stowed.

Love the Tam, and the marque, but like you have always quite fancied an Elise and although I think that I'd always come back to TVR (epitomises sports cars for me) might be interested in a change at some time in the future.

[deders]

I went the other way.

I had a 04 Elise 111R for close to two years. You are right in saying the handling and brakes are fantastic,once you have ran in the motor the way it kicks in at 7.000rpm is realy good fun, but power band is slim so you have to work that motor!but very good fun.Build quality as you said is very good and i had no reliability issues right through ownership.(althought a/c did not work from the day i bought it 3 months old and fixed under warranty) There is a mountain stretch on the IOM TT course where the Elise was outstanding if you realy went for it. Sure you will like it.

I bought a 03 T350C of classifieds on P/Hs Moonraker Black (05 motor)I love it,but the down sides are the brakes and handling. Today its getting a set of Nitrons fitted and Ferrodo DS2500 brake pads. TVR is quicker but Elise will beat it on the twisty bits.Will post how she feels soon as i get good run out!!

Cheers Paul

[patsy]

t40ora said:

Be interested to hear what you think of the comparison between the cars in terms of practicality. Lttle thingss like getting in and out, comfort on long journies and luggage space/accomodation.

I can answer that one fairly easily!

I terms of practicality, the TVR would win hands down. The Lotus isn't the easiest to get in and out of and probably needs a wider parking space as a result, although it is worth pointing out I'm 6'2". I've not done a long journey in it yet, but the seats feel good enough(I've got a fairly bad back too). The tank range is pretty low so by all accounts you aren't really in the car long enough to get too concerned about seat comfort over really long runs.

You can get a suprising amount of stuff in the Elise, but again, the TVR would win this one. My missus and I went to France and took tons of luggage and managed to get the roof in the boot too. I always thought of the Tam as a mini GT after that trip. It was a brilliant car on that trip (and saw the wrong side of 150 at one point too!).

[t40ora]

Thanks Patsy, and Deders. Nice to get a sensible set of comparisons.

My Tam is stock, so will be interested to hear Deder's update on his shocks and pads. BTW what sort of total cost are we talking here? Although whatever it is, it would be worth it to be able to use the power and speed more effectively!

[patsy]

t40ora said:

Thanks Patsy, and Deders. Nice to get a sensible set of comparisons.

My Tam is stock, so will be interested to hear Deder's update on his shocks and pads. BTW what sort of total cost are we talking here? Although whatever it is, it would be worth it to be able to use the power and speed more effectively!

No worries - if you need any more info, give me a shout. I look back on the Tam with a huge amount of affection. It was a car with huge character, and the Elise has a lot to live up to.

Your car looks fabulous and you'll have a great time with it.

[pjp]

Having myself just switched from a Tamora to an Elise Sports Racer I have to fully concur with what Patsy has written.

I love both cars but for different reasons. In a perfect world I would have both but at present the Elise suits my needs better than the Tam.

Phil

[t40ora]

Hmmm. Looks like I'll have to try one.....

Just for scientific purposes, of course..