Elise S1 or VX220?

[swakelin91]

Which one would you go for? I am soon to be 21 and I fancy a change, and I want something different to a hot hatch.

Budget of around £10,000

Will be used as a daily.

[Jasandjules]

Well I had an Elise. But a TVR Chimaera is "better".......

[MX7]

VX. I know that people will tell you how much better the S1 is, but you are getting far more car for your money with the VX.

[kambites]

Probably the VX - you get more car for your money and a bit of sensible modification can get the handling pretty close to the Elise.

[swakelin91]

I was swaying towards the VX really, it seems to have a fair bit of tuning potential, and looks a slightly nicer place to be inside.

[Sappy]

Can you get a turbo VX for under £10k?

[unpc]

VX for sure. I never liked the engine and box in the Elise and the hood on the VX is way superior.

[kambites]

swakelin91 said:

I was swaying towards the VX really, it seems to have a fair bit of tuning potential, and looks a slightly nicer place to be inside.

The VX was basically an S1.5 Elise with a different engine.

There are a few significant differences. Vauxhall, for some reason, decided to fit the same diameter (17 inch) wheels front and back which messed up the handling; this can easily be rectified by fitting after market wheels. The VX has a much better roof than the S1 Elise - both more waterproof and easier to take on and off. The Elise is quite a lot lighter. The VX has a brake servo and ABS - personally I prefer the Elise's brake setup.

Future parts supply, specifically the body panels, is starting to become a bit of a worry for VX220s.

[kambites]

Sappy said:

Can you get a turbo VX for under £10k?

Yes, although it's the bottom end of the market. You can also get an S2 Elise.