RE: Why the Lotus Elise still matters | PH Footnote
Discussion
I also have a GT4 and had an early Lotus elise.
The porsche is close to perfection and worth more than I paid for it.
The Lotus dumped me at the side of the road on a regular basis,usually because of over heating.
I had 3 new cylinder heads fitted and the final straw was when it dumped the coolant onto the back tyres on a track day at Oulton and I came off at Old Hall
stopping 2 feet away from the Armco.
Even when it was working properly the handling at the limit was very tricky.
Summary Porsche 10 points Lotus 2 points
The porsche is close to perfection and worth more than I paid for it.
The Lotus dumped me at the side of the road on a regular basis,usually because of over heating.
I had 3 new cylinder heads fitted and the final straw was when it dumped the coolant onto the back tyres on a track day at Oulton and I came off at Old Hall
stopping 2 feet away from the Armco.
Even when it was working properly the handling at the limit was very tricky.
Summary Porsche 10 points Lotus 2 points
flukey5 said:
Currently deciding between an Elise sport 220 and a 30th Anniversary MX-5. They're both brilliant in their own ways, I've been procrastinating for weeks.... help
I've been a long time Porsche fan and owner of a few, have also had a good few MX-5s. I have just dipped my toe into Lotus ownership and boight a new 220 Sport - it's a fantastic little car, it really is. I really woudn't go with the MX-5 over the Elise if you want the best drivers experience. Of all the cars I have owned the Elise is without doubt the most fun and the car I will keep forever.
The 250 Cup is in my opinion the best of the current Lotus offerings and gives a pure driving experience it's rivals still can't match even if it is now getting on for being a 25 years old design - shows how right the original was.
Keep it up Lotus
The 250 Cup is in my opinion the best of the current Lotus offerings and gives a pure driving experience it's rivals still can't match even if it is now getting on for being a 25 years old design - shows how right the original was.
Keep it up Lotus
cerb4.5lee said:
Helicopter123 said:
It never sold as it should have as it's a pain to get in and out of.
I remember struggling to get in and out of one when I was only 10 stone and a lot younger...I'd have no chance now at 12 stone and a lot older!! 
twinturban said:
Elise is a great car that nobody buys.
The sports cars that sell well continue to get bigger and heavier and easier for the unskilled to drive.
If you were running a car company would you continue making lightweight sports cars that nobody buys, however brilliant?
Current ex-JLR management can't wait to get shot of the Elise and won't be making anything like it again. If you are one of the few that appreciates what the Elise offers get one while you still can.
+1The sports cars that sell well continue to get bigger and heavier and easier for the unskilled to drive.
If you were running a car company would you continue making lightweight sports cars that nobody buys, however brilliant?
Current ex-JLR management can't wait to get shot of the Elise and won't be making anything like it again. If you are one of the few that appreciates what the Elise offers get one while you still can.
I think the challenge with the current Elise is that, except for a few dedicated hard core drivers, it is just too challenging to live with as an every day sole car. This means the market for them is greatly reduced, as something circa £45K is an expensive weekend car. It also means that they don't rack up big miles, so that there is a large market of low mileage secondhand examples around, which means there is not that much incentive to buy a new car ( especially as it has been around so long, and has not changed THAT much ).
If you were starting again as the management team, would you go down the same road, or move closer to an Alpine/Boxster offering, which, while not as pure, will deliver far bigger volumes and hopefully profits....
I owed an Elise S160 for three years. Best car I've ever owned and driven. The purity. The connection. The sadness and realisation of insanity upon seeing it being driven away by its new owner still lingers ten years on.
Since then I've been through many cars trying to find something close. An MR2 Roadster with a 2ZZ engine goes 75% of the way to it for a fraction of the cost.
Since then I've been through many cars trying to find something close. An MR2 Roadster with a 2ZZ engine goes 75% of the way to it for a fraction of the cost.
Before I bought my elise I was tempted by a 996 911.
I researched what was the most common faults and prices to fix.
People harp on about the head gasket in k series engines but they are between £500 and £1000 to get done.
People seem to stay very quiet about one of the 996's faults requiring an engine rebuild at around £8k+.
I loved every one of the 25000 miles I put on it, for a 17 year old car it was relatively cheap to run and maintain aside from the head gasket failure that the previous owner kindly masked up.
I wish I never had to sell it, but family life and uk average income meant that it was a luxury I couldn't justify anymore.
After owning it though theres no other car less than £20k that I want anymore, even if I could to spend that on a car again.
Everything about the car felt just right to me, for all the critics it has, the 156bhp k series engine was lovely and responsive to drive.
One day I'll own another.
I researched what was the most common faults and prices to fix.
People harp on about the head gasket in k series engines but they are between £500 and £1000 to get done.
People seem to stay very quiet about one of the 996's faults requiring an engine rebuild at around £8k+.
I loved every one of the 25000 miles I put on it, for a 17 year old car it was relatively cheap to run and maintain aside from the head gasket failure that the previous owner kindly masked up.
I wish I never had to sell it, but family life and uk average income meant that it was a luxury I couldn't justify anymore.
After owning it though theres no other car less than £20k that I want anymore, even if I could to spend that on a car again.
Everything about the car felt just right to me, for all the critics it has, the 156bhp k series engine was lovely and responsive to drive.
One day I'll own another.
Would have owned an Elise or exige by now but at 6-4 they just aren't a option. Which is why I'll be buying an evora 400 or 410 next year. Also wonderful things. Remember however easy the replacement is/isn't to get in and out of, lotus are being forced to go to electric steering just like everyone else. The cars being sold (or not sold) right now might just be the best there ever are.
A supercharged Elise is pretty much the perfect road toy - I've had mine just over a year having been through TVR and Porsche ownership.
The ride/handling balance we all know about however it's the accessible performance that is really refreshing. Low ratios in a manual box, pedals perfect for heel that even I can do it, torquey motor if you want to leave it in 4th, stops on a sixpence with brakes you can feel, steering that jiggles away so you know exactly what's going on.
As a car it's nigh on useless but as a plaything it's addictive.
Good to see the article had a chrome orange example, they're faster.
The ride/handling balance we all know about however it's the accessible performance that is really refreshing. Low ratios in a manual box, pedals perfect for heel that even I can do it, torquey motor if you want to leave it in 4th, stops on a sixpence with brakes you can feel, steering that jiggles away so you know exactly what's going on.
As a car it's nigh on useless but as a plaything it's addictive.
Good to see the article had a chrome orange example, they're faster.
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