RE: Lotus Elise S Club Racer: Review
Discussion
Reavenger said:
BSC said:
4C vs Elise SC stats
Very interesting. I wonder if the Exige S would be any closer? Guess it shows weight isn't everything after all. Edited by BSC on Tuesday 8th July 00:13
gm77 said:
I bought one of these earlier this year...
Good on you.I don't understand people thinking they're so expensive. Compared to what?
M135i straight-line pace, better handling than a Boxster, light weight so you can track them all day without the tyres and brakes noticing, and real-world 35-40mpg fuel economy. Big depreciation hit in the first year that then levels out to be much better than most cars at 4-5 years (and forever thereafter).
Atomfire said:
36000 for the base car? You see that's why Lotus is in it's current scenario, most ppl would go for a Boxster instead with its creature comforts, not something like this......also remember the time an Elise could be had for 20K?
You can still have an Elise for something like £27k which is less than £20k was back in 1996. The Elise has always been an expensive car if you only look at numbers and has never been aimed at people who value creature comforts over driving dynamics. Personally, I don't like the direction Lotus have taken with the Elise but it still looks pretty good value compared to most of its competition to me.
Edited by kambites on Tuesday 8th July 11:46
kambites said:
You can still have an Elise for something like £27k which is less than £20k was back in 1996.
Exactly. Lotus have more than one model of Elise these days...Should be more expensive IMO!! I woukd also think a Boxster with the required options such that it is not a residual disaster would be a lot more than the base price. SidewaysSi said:
kambites said:
You can still have an Elise for something like £27k which is less than £20k was back in 1996.
Exactly. Lotus have more than one model of Elise these days...Should be more expensive IMO!! I woukd also think a Boxster with the required options such that it is not a residual disaster would be a lot more than the base price. kambites said:
Those figures can't be right? That makes the current supercharged Elise slower to 62 and only marginally faster to 100 than my 160bhp car (I mean than the figures I can achieve in my car, not than the official figures)!
I'm not sure I agree with the "superior car" bit either; that's a deeply subjective thing and whilst the 4C certainly looks impressive on paper, but from everything I've read Alfa have made a bit of a dog's dinner of the handling and controls. Also, again this is purely personal preference, I don't like the drive-train choices they made.
I certainly don't see any reason to say the 4C is "worth" any more or less money than the Elise in terms of what it actually delivers to a driver/owner. They both have their pros and cons. Obviously you've picked reviews whcih have favoured the Alfa, but there have been plenty which have come to the opposite conclusion.
ETA: If anything I think the Elise's biggest problem is that it treads too close to the Exige.
Those figures are correct. You have to consider that sport-auto tests all cars with two up and full fuel tank, that's the standard on the continent. And the reason why no Lotus manages to deliver the work's figures.I'm not sure I agree with the "superior car" bit either; that's a deeply subjective thing and whilst the 4C certainly looks impressive on paper, but from everything I've read Alfa have made a bit of a dog's dinner of the handling and controls. Also, again this is purely personal preference, I don't like the drive-train choices they made.
I certainly don't see any reason to say the 4C is "worth" any more or less money than the Elise in terms of what it actually delivers to a driver/owner. They both have their pros and cons. Obviously you've picked reviews whcih have favoured the Alfa, but there have been plenty which have come to the opposite conclusion.
ETA: If anything I think the Elise's biggest problem is that it treads too close to the Exige.
Edited by kambites on Tuesday 8th July 09:02
And no, I haven't picked reviews that favour the Alfa. Maybe you have read the reviews of Harris, he was happy with the 4C except the steering wheel as far as I remember. Be a man and accept that the Alfa is the superior car. Re. the handling on the track sport-auto states that the Alfa is better. On B-roads the comfort of the Elise may be slightly better, but where do you find roads in the state of Englands B-roads?
BSC said:
Maybe you have read the reviews of Harris, he was happy with the 4C except the steering wheel as far as I remember. Be a man and accept that the Alfa is the superior car. Re. the handling on the track sport-auto states that the Alfa is better. On B-roads the comfort of the Elise may be slightly better, but where do you find roads in the state of Englands B-roads?
I don't understand? Why would it be "being a man" to accept the Alfa is better? I have no particular affiliation to either manufacturer and I don't hugely like either car - Lotus has taken completely the wrong direction with the Elise for my tastes and everything I've read about the 4C has convinced me that it's not even worth driving it. If I was in the market for this sort of my these days my money would probably be going to Ginetta. I haven't driven either car and have no particular wish to. I just see no reason to believe that either car is "better" than the other or even to believe that such a comment makes sense at anything other than an emotive level.
gm77 said:
... Re noise, yes it's a bit flat. But those who have replaced the exhaust can have difficulties hearing the radio, and there's only so much fun can be had sitting in traffic. ...
http://www.2bular.co.uk/Jim's exhausts are works of art. Mine makes a proper noise under load but at cruise quietens right down to factory levels, with no drone and no problems with hearing the radio either.
kambites said:
They did back in the old days too. What was the list price of an S1 Sport-190 (probably the closest equivalent to this)?
I was thinking 1996 when the car was launched. But you are right, I have an S1 Sport 160 and think the final invoice was knocking on £30k. And that was 14 years ago!Atomfire said:
36000 for the base car? You see that's why Lotus is in it's current scenario, most ppl would go for a Boxster instead with its creature comforts, not something like this......also remember the time an Elise could be had for 20K?
That figure of £20k was in reality a bit of a fantasy. I bought my S1 new in March 1998 (the second year of production) after waiting six months for delivery.I paid £24.5k and the only "extras" were driving lamps, a radio fitting kit and an alarm!
SidewaysSi said:
kambites said:
They did back in the old days too. What was the list price of an S1 Sport-190 (probably the closest equivalent to this)?
I was thinking 1996 when the car was launched. But you are right, I have an S1 Sport 160 and think the final invoice was knocking on £30k. And that was 14 years ago!"As the Elise developed, Lotus offered a Sport 190 model in 1997 for £33,500 with a 190bhp version of the same engine."
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=102...
Which, adjusted for inflation, is £53,000.
I WISH said:
macky17 said:
Looks great - just wish they'd build them so 6'4"+ can drive them 
Have you actually test driven one?The guy who used to run our local Lotus dealer was way over 6ft tall and he had no problem driving an S1.
Just a thought.
When you speak about the prices, you should also consider the running costs.
I have just started going on track days this year, and I am amazed how much people spend on bigger and more powerful cars comparing to my little Elise
And I am not sure they get more fun or achieve significantly better lap times (ok, achieve better times - but not because of the car, but because of its driver
Thanks to the light weight, the fuel consumption and the wear of tyres, pads, etc, is so much less than any other car... and there is no overheating, no any other problems of big fat cars - so the price is quite ok for me.
I have just started going on track days this year, and I am amazed how much people spend on bigger and more powerful cars comparing to my little Elise
And I am not sure they get more fun or achieve significantly better lap times (ok, achieve better times - but not because of the car, but because of its driverThanks to the light weight, the fuel consumption and the wear of tyres, pads, etc, is so much less than any other car... and there is no overheating, no any other problems of big fat cars - so the price is quite ok for me.
MichalPH said:
If the new MX-5 is indeed ~1000kg, has 165-185bhp SkyActiv engine and looks like current 3/6 it may be a major problem for Lotus. The weight difference will be marginal, and the price difference...
Unfortunately the new MX5 will also end up having electric power steering. Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff