RE: Lotus Elise Sprint: Review
Discussion
kambites said:
If you're the sort of person who is bothered by clunks and rattles this is very true. The paintwork is just as bad, the things pick up stone-chips at an astonishing rate.
They're surprisingly hard on their suspension components for such alight car too, it's rare for bushes to last more than about 50k miles and dampers can be past their best in half that.
I have put 108k miles on my 2008 SC.They're surprisingly hard on their suspension components for such alight car too, it's rare for bushes to last more than about 50k miles and dampers can be past their best in half that.
Last year i had the opportunity to replace the dampers and got the Nitrons.
The car drives beautifully and can't wait for the next track day.
It's younger than ever! Like me
DPSFleet said:
I have owned Lotuses on and off for 45 years! The common denominators are still there, driver's car above all else, , " iffy" build quality and expensive when new. The car scene would be poorer without Lotus but why can't they go back to basics a bit more without it costing more? A base Elise should be £25k.......
That's number 53 on the list of cliches: "Why doesn't the Lotus cost about the same as the (mass produced) MX-5?"Someone has already mentioned 'kit car', someone else 'it's too expensive'.
First off someone is wrong...or perhaps both in a sense; kit car they certainly ain't - the quality has shot up and to be honest, you have to go back to Chapmans era to find a real kit... Such is the nature of small scale production with limited resources - don't compete on perceived quality, concentrate on drive quality...
And for the above reasons, Lotus have never been really cheap - the original Elise, with inflation etc, sits about the same as the current base model Elise. If you want more, naturally you pay more. Was an Esprit ever cheap...?
Although I would say; £ for £, depreciation, essential and not essential extras from base spec (look closely at what you get as standard in an Evora and compare like for like...), smiles per miles, exclusivity, and sheer dynamics they offer very good value...
First off someone is wrong...or perhaps both in a sense; kit car they certainly ain't - the quality has shot up and to be honest, you have to go back to Chapmans era to find a real kit... Such is the nature of small scale production with limited resources - don't compete on perceived quality, concentrate on drive quality...
And for the above reasons, Lotus have never been really cheap - the original Elise, with inflation etc, sits about the same as the current base model Elise. If you want more, naturally you pay more. Was an Esprit ever cheap...?
Although I would say; £ for £, depreciation, essential and not essential extras from base spec (look closely at what you get as standard in an Evora and compare like for like...), smiles per miles, exclusivity, and sheer dynamics they offer very good value...
DPSFleet said:
Trouble is they get "old" very quickly, put 20k miles on mine over 5 years despite regular specialist servicing and it was then just full of clunks and rattles. Go for a boxster.
They're entirely different cars though. Considering a Boxster weighs HALF A TON more than an Elise, I would expect it to be on a totally different plane NVH wise. The Elise is what it is, and does that fairly well.I have seen the new Elise Sprint, and Exige Cup 380 in person. Whilst I don't especially want to comment on price, I do want to say that the quality of the carbon fibre stuff being tacked onto them now is extremely high. Fit and finish on Lotus seems to be better than ever.
The grey sprint looks lovely, and the single rear lights work well too. I hate the additional rear spoiler on the 220 though, and wonder if it is actually necessary or just a model differentiator?
I looked at a 2012 136bhp Club racer but wasn't allowed a test drive without agreeing to buy the car beforehand (true! haha!) I suspect the dealer was paranoid about people driving it and coming back saying 'it could do with more poke...'.
So I've never driven a 136bhp Elise. But in my head it should be nice. That's still 150bhp/tonne with me on board, not devastating but close to my old ITR (168bhp/tonne) which never felt like it wanted more performance. Add in the delicacy of the Elise and I think it would be nice.
I suspect most would eventually crave more power though unless you wanted a commuter/daily driver or really wanted to go the whole bare minimalist lightweight thing to the extreme. In which case a decent S1 would probably bet better still, but its not a new car of course. Also the refinement of Elise's has come a million miles since the S1.
I picked what I thought would be the best compromise when I bought mine. N/A 2ZZ-GE that revs out to 8500rpm, non airbag wheel, S2 chassis. The only thing I'm not a fan of is the DBW throttle, and some prefer non servoed brakes which i can totally see also.
But the Elise was always great. Each iteration different, but still great. And these latest models look just as nice in their own way.
I looked at a 2012 136bhp Club racer but wasn't allowed a test drive without agreeing to buy the car beforehand (true! haha!) I suspect the dealer was paranoid about people driving it and coming back saying 'it could do with more poke...'.
So I've never driven a 136bhp Elise. But in my head it should be nice. That's still 150bhp/tonne with me on board, not devastating but close to my old ITR (168bhp/tonne) which never felt like it wanted more performance. Add in the delicacy of the Elise and I think it would be nice.
I suspect most would eventually crave more power though unless you wanted a commuter/daily driver or really wanted to go the whole bare minimalist lightweight thing to the extreme. In which case a decent S1 would probably bet better still, but its not a new car of course. Also the refinement of Elise's has come a million miles since the S1.
I picked what I thought would be the best compromise when I bought mine. N/A 2ZZ-GE that revs out to 8500rpm, non airbag wheel, S2 chassis. The only thing I'm not a fan of is the DBW throttle, and some prefer non servoed brakes which i can totally see also.
But the Elise was always great. Each iteration different, but still great. And these latest models look just as nice in their own way.
The thing to notice is that Lotus have upped the game across the board. They're delivering lighter cars, the reviews are pointing out the better fit and finish, the designs are getting a bit of love and attention so the details are coming together.
A couple of years back a thread like this would be mostly about whether or not Lotus would go bust. Now people are complaining they can't afford the cars. That's a big turnaround.
Not only that, but it's finally sinking in that buying a Lotus is a good long term proposition. These things go great on day one, and years later they're still going great (or can easily be brought back to top form). Their depreciation is awesome.
At last, Lotus don't "need" to do anything to convince people they make great cars. Long may it continue.
A couple of years back a thread like this would be mostly about whether or not Lotus would go bust. Now people are complaining they can't afford the cars. That's a big turnaround.
Not only that, but it's finally sinking in that buying a Lotus is a good long term proposition. These things go great on day one, and years later they're still going great (or can easily be brought back to top form). Their depreciation is awesome.
At last, Lotus don't "need" to do anything to convince people they make great cars. Long may it continue.
bobo said:
there is no escaping its 20 year old chassis and cramped cockpit.
i appreciate they need to keep kicking the can down the road and good for them but ultimately a new platform is desperately needed ....
They've got a new(er) car without the cramped cockpit; it's called the Evora.i appreciate they need to keep kicking the can down the road and good for them but ultimately a new platform is desperately needed ....
Maybe there's a market for a car between the Elise and the Evora with more space inside than the format but a less GTish focus than the latter but that's not, in itself, a reason to get rid of the Elise platform which is still just as suitable for what it was designed to do as when it was first released. The Elise isn't really meant to be a mainstream car suitable for people who are 20 stone; 7 foot; or in their 90s.
bobo said:
there is no escaping its 20 year old chassis and cramped cockpit.
i appreciate they need to keep kicking the can down the road and good for them but ultimately a new platform is desperately needed ....
Don't think anyone disagrees about the platform - but there are working working on that, but they still need to keep selling cars to invest in the new platform.i appreciate they need to keep kicking the can down the road and good for them but ultimately a new platform is desperately needed ....
They did manage to change the tub in the Evora 400 and cut those side sills down a lot - I suppose because its a coupe and they can't do the same in the Elise.
The interiors in Lotus's of late really are quite nice. A long way away from how they used to be. And yes love this new look.
CABC said:
bobo said:
there is no escaping its 20 year old chassis
you'd have thought the others would have caught up by now.What chassis do you prefer?
Gentlemen please, the price is almost completely irrelevant. For £25k Caterham will sell you a series of boxes and leave you to spanner your own 2 seater 1.6 n/a light sports car. If you don't get it l fully understand, there are Boxsters at all price points to keep you happy. Truth is Hethel make specialist machines for a tiny market and they are brilliant. Very few of us would trade horsepower for feel but I bet you most of us are also incapable of getting 10/10ths out of a low powered Elise. I, for one, would have a lot of fun trying. Porsche and Lotus are chalk and cheese. As long as they are, every now and then, some strange enthusiast will part with sufficient cash to keep them in business. Time to give my local garage a call and grin my way through a test drive. Great write up Dan and the guy suggesting this is a sales article deserves a torrent of invective that Monkey Harris used to reserve for those who suggested he was in the pocket of a manufacturer's marketing department.
Cold said:
Are they not allowed to make a profit? £25k is a laughable suggestion. That's the RRP from almost twenty years ago.
I paid £28K for mine new in 2012, which included a hard-top (£2200) option, aircon (£1100), leather (£1100) and metallic paint (£600) and I know of another who paid £26K for one shortly afterwards. So they were available around £25K four or five years ago, but these discounts are not available nowadays.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff