First Drive of Elise
Discussion
Hey guys, I have finally decided to buy a new car, and have wandered onto Lotus patch. anyway I drove a s1 elise today bog standard thing.
its a W plate with 29,000 miles it has a sports exhaust anf thats it.
first impressions were
1 Bloddy hell the roof is a mission to take off
2 I need to lose weight !
3 This is like a kenner Go-kart from late eighties
Anyway
All was good when I was being driven around, bumpy is an understatement, But when I had the chance to drive Squezzed in
first thing that I noticed is how close the gear stick is to my knee. and how heavy the steering felt when stopped. Sortted mirrors and acquanited myself with the gear box and set off. As we went further I forgot about the gear stick issue, and the bumpy ride, but what struck me is how the brakes didn't feel quiet right I was expecting them to be a tad sharper, but I was told the brakes will stop me and to shift down through the gears. as I spent more time in the car I started to feel like a kid and I think I worried the poor sales person.
WHAT A GREAT CAR !!
I know the wife is going to hate it, (as she is not going to be to dignified having to shimmy out of it ?) prob not going to go for this one as I think I want a 111S.
Do you always need to let it warm up and cool down for 20 mins ?
is there anything I should be looking for when buying ?
I noticed the rear clam had some quiet deep scratch marks from the roof. anything else I should be wary of ?
Cheers Guys.
its a W plate with 29,000 miles it has a sports exhaust anf thats it.
first impressions were
1 Bloddy hell the roof is a mission to take off
2 I need to lose weight !
3 This is like a kenner Go-kart from late eighties
Anyway
All was good when I was being driven around, bumpy is an understatement, But when I had the chance to drive Squezzed in
first thing that I noticed is how close the gear stick is to my knee. and how heavy the steering felt when stopped. Sortted mirrors and acquanited myself with the gear box and set off. As we went further I forgot about the gear stick issue, and the bumpy ride, but what struck me is how the brakes didn't feel quiet right I was expecting them to be a tad sharper, but I was told the brakes will stop me and to shift down through the gears. as I spent more time in the car I started to feel like a kid and I think I worried the poor sales person.
WHAT A GREAT CAR !!
I know the wife is going to hate it, (as she is not going to be to dignified having to shimmy out of it ?) prob not going to go for this one as I think I want a 111S.
Do you always need to let it warm up and cool down for 20 mins ?
is there anything I should be looking for when buying ?
I noticed the rear clam had some quiet deep scratch marks from the roof. anything else I should be wary of ?
Cheers Guys.
BMGM3 said:
As someone who is also currently searching out a S1 ,I noticed all the same things as you list - especially the brakes.I think it would take some time to adjust to them, but there stopping power wasn't in question,just needed a damn good prod on the middle pedal !
Exactly!When I took my Elise out for a test drive, I was disapointed with the brakes. I was worried about putting my foot down because I felt they weren't keen enough for such a quick car.
My mate who I took with me for an expert opinion took it for a blast after me and said how great the brakes were! After getting used to them properly, I totally agree now.
When you get used to the non-servo brakes you will love them. As BMGM3 says, you just have to prod them a bit harder. The feedback you get from them is amazing.
Edited by ganglandboss on Sunday 16th September 12:27
You'll quickly adjust to the brakes. They are mega powerful. The steering is similar......seems heavy at first, but tells you everything, just lightly hold that wheel and you'll get all the communication you need. The rattles are all part of the S1 charm.......drive a recent S2 and it'll seem like a rolls royce in comparison!You should warm up k-series engines if you want to lessen the risk of head gasket failure. I don't think you need to warm it down though.
To be fair, the car doesn't need warming up any more than any other car with a K-series engine so if you thrash it as soon as it'll let you (the 111S has a 4500rpm rev limiter until the water is up to temperature) it'll be no less reliable than the average Rover or MG containing a 1.8 K-series.
The buyers guide should tell you what to check for, the most obvious thing being head gasket failure.
To be fair, the car doesn't need warming up any more than any other car with a K-series engine so if you thrash it as soon as it'll let you (the 111S has a 4500rpm rev limiter until the water is up to temperature) it'll be no less reliable than the average Rover or MG containing a 1.8 K-series.
The buyers guide should tell you what to check for, the most obvious thing being head gasket failure.
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