Some Elise info please!

[Mike_C]

Hi all,

A while back i was thinking about an Elise as a daily driver and once again, once Xmas is out of the way with, i would be interested in one.

However, i have a few questions if u dont mind! Firstly, the car would be a daily drive, covering around 12-15,000 miles a year throughout the year-and it would be my only car. I have a budget of roughly £10,000 which it seems would get me a good S1-would it stretch to an S2?

Secondly, as a daily drive, how are they? I'm not expecting amazing practicality by any means, and i assume with the K-series they should be mechanically sound too, but what other aspects? Is the hardtop essential for cold winter months? Is the heater adequate? The missus doesnt like the cold much so thats pretty important! Also, the car is in an underground car park every night so frost etc isnt too much of a worry, but the cold weather effects us all! Oh, and what is storage/luggage space like? I have a laptop bag (or 2!) and an audit bag with me plus a colleague most days, and i'd like some luggage space for weekends away too! Is it possible to fit a boot rack a la MGF/MG TF, or would the engine cook the luggage?!

Thirdly, what are they like on fuel? A lot of my driving is to and from work and out to see clients, so round town, the odd A and B road (normally congested)-are they well behaved here or tiresome to drive, and what sort of fuel economy can i expect? I'm hoping 'good' given their light weight and basic engines!

Fourthly, as it'll be a daily driver which model is the best for me? I dont want a stripped out race spec car, i want one with padding on the seats, carpets in the footwells, a radio and a few other luxuries where possible! I know its not in the spirit of the car, and i love the idea of back to basics motoring (my Dad has a couple of Austin 7's, one being a boat tailed Ulster Sports! ), but as a daily drive its not practical so what is the best choice for me?

Finally, any other advice or things i should look out for? And is there any way of "toughening up" the front end of the S1? I love the rear view but the front is a bit girly IMO! Oh, and any pics of your Elise S1's you feel like posting up please do! Encourage me to buy one, PLEASE!

Thanks for any help and advice everyone!

Mike.

[Mike_C]

I've bumped my previous thread with a response to a question, but please answer this one if you're able to!

On a side note, all of these cars really appeal but i'm not sure on the differences between the different models within my ~£10k budget! Anyone point out which would suit, which wouldnt, and what the differences are? Ideally i'd want a sub 40,000 mile car-is this realistic for my budget?

www.pistonheads.com/sales/56678.htm
www.pistonheads.com/sales/54273.htm
www.pistonheads.com/sales/57763.htm
www.pistonheads.com/sales/56633.htm
www.pistonheads.com/sales/58447.htm

Thanks!

>> Edited by Mike_C on Monday 5th December 00:40

>> Edited by Mike_C on Monday 5th December 00:40

[Mrs Triple S]

Hi
I have put my opinion on your other thread.
Lorraine

[piooly]

Check out a pic of my S1 on my profile. Think it shows how good a S1 can look. If I was you though, seem as you are going to use it that much, get the S2. I drive mine about 15,000 miles a year and use it everyday, love it but it is a bit hardcore and terrible on the motorway...

[Mrs Triple S]

piooly said:

Check out a pic of my S1 on my profile. Think it shows how good a S1 can look. If I was you though, seem as you are going to use it that much, get the S2. I drive mine about 15,000 miles a year and use it everyday, love it but it is a bit hardcore and terrible on the motorway...

Here's a pic of my S2 :



Lorraine

[shnozz]

£10k is unlikely to buy an S2 unless its Cat registered. I paid £13k for a top notch S1 earlier this year.

To be honest, I am getting the impression from your criteria that the S1 Elise may not be the car for you. Its spartan, harsh and more of a toy than a car. I love mine to bits, but I wouldn't want it as an everyday car. I know lots do, but I would soon get fed up. The heater is ok, the hardtop I had with mine was good but to be honest it does little that the soft top cant do by itself, aside from security issues. Its good on fuel, largely cos it weighs the same as a bag of peanuts and has a small engine. However, none of the seats will be particularly padded, its drafty, bangs around and imagine a go kart on the roads.

I know you will get a lot of posts telling you to get one anyway, and how they use it everyday etc, but the sort of questions you are asking makes me think something else may be a better option. All IMHO....

[shnozz]

oh, and there are plenty of ways of toughening up the front end. Personally I prefer the unfaired headlights for a more aggresive look, and in the new year I am going for the eliseparts headlight conversion, not cheap, but I like... (ok, personally I think this car is OTT but the headlights are the bit I am interested in!) - not cheap though.

[nick j]

Have a look at mine on my profile, its a standard base model Elise. I dont use mine every day but for your kind of usage I think it would be fine.

www.eliseparts.com

this web site has some additions for the front end.

Hope this helps

[shnozz]

nick j said:

Have a look at mine on my profile, its a standard base model Elise. I dont use mine every day but for your kind of usage I think it would be fine.

I'm not convinced

mike_c said:

what is storage/luggage space like? I have a laptop bag (or 2!) and an audit bag with me plus a colleague most days, and i'd like some luggage space for weekends away too

mike_c said:

I dont want a stripped out race spec car, i want one with padding on the seats, carpets in the footwells, a radio and a few other luxuries where possible

the elise is a compromise car, more so than other sports cars.

How about a decent late M100 Elan?

[S Works]

Mike_C said:

However, i have a few questions if u dont mind! Firstly, the car would be a daily drive, covering around 12-15,000 miles a year throughout the year-and it would be my only car. I have a budget of roughly £10,000 which it seems would get me a good S1-would it stretch to an S2?

You might be able to get a repaired Cat C or D car, doubt you'd be able to get a "straight" one for that.

I'd advise saving another grand and getting a really nice S1.

Mike_C said:

Secondly, as a daily drive, how are they? I'm not expecting amazing practicality by any means, and i assume with the K-series they should be mechanically sound too, but what other aspects? Is the hardtop essential for cold winter months? Is the heater adequate? The missus doesnt like the cold much so thats pretty important! Also, the car is in an underground car park every night so frost etc isnt too much of a worry, but the cold weather effects us all! Oh, and what is storage/luggage space like? I have a laptop bag (or 2!) and an audit bag with me plus a colleague most days, and i'd like some luggage space for weekends away too! Is it possible to fit a boot rack a la MGF/MG TF, or would the engine cook the luggage?!

Depending on the model (and hence the trim level) and your tolerance it's going to be OK as a daily drive.

Mechanically it's a pretty simple car so if it's been looked after ok it should be fine. Hardtop not essential, I sold mine this year. I like to be able to have the roof off in Winter on sunny dry days. So long as the softtop is well looked after it's fine. Heater is OK once the engine is upto temp, don't expect a BMW quality job though and on a cold, frosty morning you'll want to plan ahead a bit to get the car warmed up and demisted (5 mins once engine's warm).
Storage is fine when you've no passenger, with a passenger you'll accommodate 2 laptop bags in the boot fine, depends on the size of the audit bag I suppose... but you can shove that in their lap!
You can get a boot rack, I suspect you won't want to carry any cool items on it though. You'll also have to have the bodywork cut into, to fit the thing. Wouldn't bother personally.

Mike_C said:

Thirdly, what are they like on fuel? A lot of my driving is to and from work and out to see clients, so round town, the odd A and B road (normally congested)-are they well behaved here or tiresome to drive, and what sort of fuel economy can i expect? I'm hoping 'good' given their light weight and basic engines!

You can expect 30+ mpg on average, on the motorway higher than that. Generally well behaved, clutch is light, steering only a bit heavy when parking but not that bad. Basically it's one of the best handling cars ever made, so generally you should be loving it.

Mike_C said:

Fourthly, as it'll be a daily driver which model is the best for me? I dont want a stripped out race spec car, i want one with padding on the seats, carpets in the footwells, a radio and a few other luxuries where possible! I know its not in the spirit of the car, and i love the idea of back to basics motoring (my Dad has a couple of Austin 7's, one being a boat tailed Ulster Sports! ), but as a daily drive its not practical so what is the best choice for me?

You want either a 111S, a Sport 135 or a Special Edition like the Millenium, Type 79 or Type 49 then. Or you can get the standard seats retrimmed to 111S spec for a couple of hundred quid by the Lotus trim shop. Or you can replace with S2 items. But it is very basic, and if you've not been in one you really should.

Lots of engine noise, road noise, roof noise etc.

Mike_C said:

Finally, any other advice or things i should look out for? And is there any way of "toughening up" the front end of the S1? I love the rear view but the front is a bit girly IMO! Oh, and any pics of your Elise S1's you feel like posting up please do! Encourage me to buy one, PLEASE!

Full service history is a must, get any potential purchase checked out by a specialist (NOT the RAC or AA) and you must get out there and test drive a few first. Oh, and please don't go screwing around with the front of it, it's a classic design, all the attempts I've ever seen to mess with it look aweful (including the one above - sorry Shnozz). Losing the faring on the headlights does 3 things... breaks up the lines of the car, exposes the headlights to potential damage and wastes cash better spent on other mods!

[S Works]

Mike_C said:

I've bumped my previous thread with a response to a question, but please answer this one if you're able to! On a side note, all of these cars really appeal but i'm not sure on the differences between the different models within my ~£10k budget! Anyone point out which would suit, which wouldnt, and what the differences are? Ideally i'd want a sub 40,000 mile car-is this realistic for my budget?

They're all practically the same, you should be able to get one less than 40k on your budget.

www.pistonheads.com/sales/56678.htm
> Is a guy on SELOC's. He's been trying to get rid of it for a while so you could probably have a deal if you approach it right.

www.pistonheads.com/sales/54273.htm
> Has v high miles compared to the others, and the colour isn't THAT rare.

www.pistonheads.com/sales/57763.htm
> Is a guy on SELOC's who's well known and is probably a very nice car. Being a late model it should have had some or all of the niggles ironed out by now.

www.pistonheads.com/sales/56633.htm
> Looks nice and mean, a few sensible mods. Miles are low and should be in good shape. Late model again is good. The one I'd pick if I had to pick from this bunch with no other info.

www.pistonheads.com/sales/58447.htm
> Higher miles than the one above and has some track spec stuff on it. LSS isn't great and at that many miles you'd want to know how long it's been on for.

Like I said, I'd save another grand and get a 111S.

[shnozz]

furry muff. I knew that I would be going against the grain

I wouldnt touch one with a bargepole as a daily car and asking questions about comfort factor, carpets and luggage space rings alarms bells for me, but hey ho. I guess its almost worth putting up with if its your only chance to own one. I'd seriously look at spending £1k on a weekday commuter though.

And re the headlights, well mine came out the factory without the covers, so you could say original And I dont like the poofy covers which only make the car look even more girly. putting covers on wastes cash, the lines of the car have more aggression without the girly covers and the chances of breaking them are the same as any other car. Its happened once to me in 10 years driving, I'll take my chances in the sake of vanity (having said that I did get blasted by stones chasing Rods RUF 911 on a track day and a stone hit the headlight so hard it snapped the rusty remains of the headlight bracket and left the light dangling around - a good testament to how strong the headlights themselves must be mind)

[AVES]

I'm with Schnozz - The questions that you are asking lead me in the direction of thinking you probably won't be happy with an Elise.
I have an S1 which I use a couple of times a week. It's a good one.

It:
1) Has thinly padded seats that ain't so comfortable after 50 miles
2) Is noisy - so noisy on motorways that you can't converse comfortably with a passenger or listen to the radio
3) Is never really warm on cold days coz the heater ain't up to it
4) Is awkward to get out of - particularly in confined spaces
5) Keeps you in a constant state of heightened awareness about the temp guage
6) Bangs about on anything but newly surfaced roads (although S2 suspension might sort that)

On the plus side i regularly get over 35 miles per gallon out of it.

Now I have a Caterham as well so I know what a raw car is about & I'm fond of my Elise.But............... I drove my wifes H reg MK1 MX5 yesterday & found myself thinking what a comfortable, warm, well built capable car it was - Maybe I'm getting old.

[cej]

hmm..Yeah. I think you are