All round (year and weather) Drivers car?
Discussion
I'm in the market for a all year round drivers car. I've had a variety of 4wd rally bred machinery from Ur quattro, subaru and late mitsi 9 Gt. These are all great cars in their own right but sometimes removed the "challenge" of driving (especially the mitsi) I've also exposed myself to S6 TVRs and couldnt quite gel with the somewhat odd nature of TVRs chassis dynamics.
So is the Elise (S2) the car for me? from what I've read sofar in the dry they are up there but maybe a tad underpowered ? in 120hp k series form, and they are reported as being a bit limited in the wet/cold.
Could I live with the lack of big engine or turbo grunt? I'd like the car to be useable wet or dry. I have a hankering for the K series as its seems eminently tunable, but can the chassis be made to work in the wet and cold north moors(the local A/B roads seem to be bumpstop challenging for most) so billiard smooth track capabilities may not be ideal.
Note having had perhaps the latest/greatest showroom rally refugee (9GT) I dont want another (well not at the moment) I want something to stir the drving emotions without being infuriating (TVR) but hopefully not too underpowered... is this too much to ask of an S2?
thoughts appreciated.
Cheers mac
So is the Elise (S2) the car for me? from what I've read sofar in the dry they are up there but maybe a tad underpowered ? in 120hp k series form, and they are reported as being a bit limited in the wet/cold.
Could I live with the lack of big engine or turbo grunt? I'd like the car to be useable wet or dry. I have a hankering for the K series as its seems eminently tunable, but can the chassis be made to work in the wet and cold north moors(the local A/B roads seem to be bumpstop challenging for most) so billiard smooth track capabilities may not be ideal.
Note having had perhaps the latest/greatest showroom rally refugee (9GT) I dont want another (well not at the moment) I want something to stir the drving emotions without being infuriating (TVR) but hopefully not too underpowered... is this too much to ask of an S2?
thoughts appreciated.
Cheers mac
Why not get the 189 bhp 111R? Frankly a better engine than the K plus you can bolt on a turbo or possibly a supercharger conversion.
Elise is an A&B road car with plenty of options when it comes to adjusing the suspension if you have the right shocks.
Consider and Exige or Exige S too,although the tyres are not the best for driving in the wet (Yoko 48s) but they can be replaced.
Elises are not great in the wet, but perfectly good for all year round driving. Go test drive some of the different models.
You could of course get a honda conversion car or an audi coverted car. You'll be looking at 220bhp to 270 bhp in standard forms with options up to 300bhp with a supercharger for the honda and 300+ with the audi with a larger turbo.
Elise is an A&B road car with plenty of options when it comes to adjusing the suspension if you have the right shocks.
Consider and Exige or Exige S too,although the tyres are not the best for driving in the wet (Yoko 48s) but they can be replaced.
Elises are not great in the wet, but perfectly good for all year round driving. Go test drive some of the different models.
You could of course get a honda conversion car or an audi coverted car. You'll be looking at 220bhp to 270 bhp in standard forms with options up to 300bhp with a supercharger for the honda and 300+ with the audi with a larger turbo.
whygee02 said:
You'd need to have a drive to decide. Elise always seems to me to be a marmite car (love it or hate it) lol.
If you're genuinely in the fog on the tyne area (Newcastle) I can take you out.
Cheers Whygee02If you're genuinely in the fog on the tyne area (Newcastle) I can take you out.
I'm close enough (rowlands gill way) I was hopeing to look at a local one this weekend but appears to be sold now :-( so may take your offer up if I cant find anything suitable nearby.
Mac,
The Marmite comment is an excellent observation!
As an Evo owner of 5 years or so, if you are worried about the potential lack of power, you are going to notice this alot in a standard Elise - I am pretty crap at driving and it has taken me some time to understand how to get the most out of my Elise; in the earlier years of ownership, I spent lots of money trying to generate a bit of straight line grunt to get some thrills from it.It will seem pretty slow accelerating from rest.
My S1 now has about 170 bhp and although I am still crap at driving, I understand how unbelievably grippy it is, but for me it cannot be pushed in the cold or wet because it can, very occassionally, be terrifying - it's no Evo with all the weight over the rear wheels, and no Caterham with power oversteer.
That said, they have bags of character and always bring a smile and feel a bit special.You must try one out!!
The Marmite comment is an excellent observation!
As an Evo owner of 5 years or so, if you are worried about the potential lack of power, you are going to notice this alot in a standard Elise - I am pretty crap at driving and it has taken me some time to understand how to get the most out of my Elise; in the earlier years of ownership, I spent lots of money trying to generate a bit of straight line grunt to get some thrills from it.It will seem pretty slow accelerating from rest.
My S1 now has about 170 bhp and although I am still crap at driving, I understand how unbelievably grippy it is, but for me it cannot be pushed in the cold or wet because it can, very occassionally, be terrifying - it's no Evo with all the weight over the rear wheels, and no Caterham with power oversteer.
That said, they have bags of character and always bring a smile and feel a bit special.You must try one out!!
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