Looking to Buy an Elise S2

[matmoxon]

Hi, I have been a lurker on these forums for a while I currently own a Focus ST but I have been thinking of replacing it with a Lotus Elise S2 in a few months, it would have to be used as a day to day car.

My question is this, what are they like to live with on a day to day basis, and do they cope with speedhumps ok?

Matt Moxon

[noodleman]

They cope just fine as standard.

Do it.

[Fidgits]

I live in an estate with silly speed bumps and my 111R copes fine - you just take it easy...

as for living day-to-day, I did a 300 mile round trip the other day in mine with no problems.

Yes its a little noisey on the motorway, but its all part of the fun!

[davislove]

can get frustrating as daily drive at times, but mostly its ok.........

my advice would be to drive a few before you go ahead, they all drive differently dependant on Geo / suspension / tyre condition, you'll not know the difference unless you've had a bit of seat time

[Loudman]

Have been quite a few questions like this on forum, so do a search. For me there is no issue at all once you're in the car, and they seem to be mechanically reliable. Getting in and out can be a pain in the arse, especially in a garage (the doors are quite wide so you can't open them fully, making getting out even harder), but generally very good. Speedbumps no problem at all.

[hueandcry71]

Loudman said:

Have been quite a few questions like this on forum, so do a search. For me there is no issue at all once you're in the car, and they seem to be mechanically reliable. Getting in and out can be a pain in the arse, especially in a garage (the doors are quite wide so you can't open them fully, making getting out even harder), but generally very good. Speedbumps no problem at all.

so much easier getting out in the garage if the window is down.

[Fidgits]

hueandcry71 said:

Loudman said:

Have been quite a few questions like this on forum, so do a search. For me there is no issue at all once you're in the car, and they seem to be mechanically reliable. Getting in and out can be a pain in the arse, especially in a garage (the doors are quite wide so you can't open them fully, making getting out even harder), but generally very good. Speedbumps no problem at all.

so much easier getting out in the garage if the window is down.

I dont have any problems in the garage - though you can always unclip the drivers side of the roof to allow you to get out more vertically.

[Philygumbo]

The biggest problem you will have as a day to day driver is, you won't want to get out of it. you will also become paranoid about leaving it parked when you can't keep an eye on it.

[R-Racer]

Bought my R eight months ago and she is my best motor to date. She is left outside all year long so I got a hard top for those winter days,(also think the car looks great with it on as well). Just reached the 5k mark now and she is bloody purring,another good buy is the stage 1 exhaust,I think the noise is easier to live with and sounds terrific. You will have no regrets, I promise you!

[Stan.]

I'm a recent Elise owner (6mths) and I know this is going to go against the grain a bit but since the day of purchase and every drive since I've thought 'what the hell have I done?'. It's like driving a Ford Anglia for chrissake! The vehicle in question is a Laser blue S2 Race Tech that's hardly been used (5000mls) fitted with a Bell + Colvill exhaust and the ubiquous Hurricane inlet. I cannot remember a more unpleasant vehicle to drive long distances and as for motorway use then you WILL need earplugs!! How can Lotus produce a modern day vehicle that transmits so much NVH into the cabin?
Ok people will say it's all about performance and seat of the pants driving and such like but hey, it aint all that - Clio Cup anyone? And the latest crop of mega - diesels will leave it for dead above 80.

As for the handling - whats all that bloody understeer all about?? Sportscars are supposed to 'turn in' not 'plough on'!

Anyway, I've said my bit and I've just put on my bullet proof vest on. Be interested in seeing if there's anyone else with similar feelings..........

[hueandcry71]

Stan. said:

I'm a recent Elise owner (6mths) and I know this is going to go against the grain a bit but since the day of purchase and every drive since I've thought 'what the hell have I done?'. It's like driving a Ford Anglia for chrissake! The vehicle in question is a Laser blue S2 Race Tech that's hardly been used (5000mls) fitted with a Bell + Colvill exhaust and the ubiquous Hurricane inlet. I cannot remember a more unpleasant vehicle to drive long distances and as for motorway use then you WILL need earplugs!! How can Lotus produce a modern day vehicle that transmits so much NVH into the cabin?
Ok people will say it's all about performance and seat of the pants driving and such like but hey, it aint all that - Clio Cup anyone? And the latest crop of mega - diesels will leave it for dead above 80.

As for the handling - whats all that bloody understeer all about?? Sportscars are supposed to 'turn in' not 'plough on'!

Anyway, I've said my bit and I've just put on my bullet proof vest on. Be interested in seeing if there's anyone else with similar feelings..........

i have thought exactly the same in the past but i bet if you sell it you will regret it. I am now on my 3rd Lotus and cant see there ever being a point where i dont have one or not wanting one if stupidly i decide to sell again.

[kambites]

As long as you know that you're buying a sportscar not a GT, it's fine to use day-to-day. If you regularly driver more than about 100 miles in one go, it can get pretty wearing though.

The problem on the motorway isn't so much the noise, you get used to that, but the constant bombardment of information through the steering and chassis. They also have a crap tank range (about 250 miles) which is annoying if you're touring.

Speed humps aren't a problem if you take them slowly.

[matmoxon]

Thanks for the replies so far I very rarely do long distance motorway journeys, 20 mile round trip to work, and I am used to crap tank range as I only get 200 miles out of the Focus ST (excluding the 50 mile reserve when the fuel light comes on).

From the responses so far I seem to have no reason for not getting one, the hardest part will be letting go of the ST, as it has been an awesome car over the past 19 months.

Matt.

[crackthatoff]

as nike says "do it !"

had mine over a year, yeah its a ball ache getting in and out(put on a few pounds lately) I could sell at any point to get a few quid in the bank, but would I ?

no way no how unless someone decided to hack off my arms and legs.

do a track day....... I dares ya I double dares ya !

[matmoxon]

Well I'm going to start looking around and try to blag a few test drives, and see If I like the car (I probarbly will) and see what happens.

Thanks
Matt M.

[Simond11]

I only wish mine was my daily driver
Fits in a garage fine, although a piece of carpet on the wall is a must to protect the door.
You can fit 4 or 5 bags of shoping in the boot and more in the pax seat of your on yer own.
As for mileage, I drove to holland last month and it was a 500 mile trip there, I got a bit of a ache in my right knee as it was in the same position for so long but then again I get thet when I drive my van. Petrol ran at 34 ish to the gallon for a 1150 mile trip.

If that doesnt convince you then drive one and try to get the grin off your face as you try to haggle on the price

[Saied]

Stan. said:

I'm a recent Elise owner (6mths) and I know this is going to go against the grain a bit but since the day of purchase and every drive since I've thought 'what the hell have I done?'. It's like driving a Ford Anglia for chrissake! The vehicle in question is a Laser blue S2 Race Tech that's hardly been used (5000mls) fitted with a Bell + Colvill exhaust and the ubiquous Hurricane inlet. I cannot remember a more unpleasant vehicle to drive long distances and as for motorway use then you WILL need earplugs!! How can Lotus produce a modern day vehicle that transmits so much NVH into the cabin?
Ok people will say it's all about performance and seat of the pants driving and such like but hey, it aint all that - Clio Cup anyone? And the latest crop of mega - diesels will leave it for dead above 80.

As for the handling - whats all that bloody understeer all about?? Sportscars are supposed to 'turn in' not 'plough on'!

Anyway, I've said my bit and I've just put on my bullet proof vest on. Be interested in seeing if there's anyone else with similar feelings..........

Mine seems to hit an aerodynamic brick wall once i've reached the rev limiter in 4th gear, but its only two or three times i've taken her up to that speed anyway (private road, officer )

The vast majority of my driving is done on twisty roads rarely going much quicker than 80 (kph ). Roads like those provide my thrills.

Maybe you need the geo looking at if you're experiencing understeer. A touch more negative camber on the front end or some toe could do the trick.

[Fidgits]

I got 40MPG out of my 111R on motorway runs..

as for the understeer, thats dead easy to resolve, you just set the car up before the corner, and apply gradual acceleration coming out of it.

Once you get the hang of it is dead easy...


Though a warning - coming out of a modern car and driving an elise down a B road at speed will terrify you at normal speeds - not just the sensation of sitting on the floor but the car moves underneath you - you feel every bump and undulation, and the car is so communicative you feel everything thats going on - it can be a bit disconcerting at first, but once your used to it you'll realise how wonderful it is to be an intricate part of the machine, rather than just a passenger turning a steering wheel.

[RichQuy]

matmoxon said:

Well I'm going to start looking around and try to blag a few test drives, and see If I like the car (I probarbly will) and see what happens.

Thanks
Matt M.

Matt

You will need to go into your test drives on the understanding that the S2 Elise and the ST are completely at each end of the spectrum, which is a good thing so that you don't directly compare the two. I have frequent use of the ST (both the old and new, new being in white which looks awesome!) and it is a cracking car, mainly because of that engine. As you will know it is so effortless to make progress in the ST, the engine is so lazy but very tractable. Real-world straightline performance will leave your standard S2 Elise for dead (by real-world I mean motorway overtaking, etc.) so as long as that is not what you hanker for, the Elise will be a very good bet.

The Elise will also be economically better, you will still get around 200miles per tank as you would in the ST, but will only be costing you £30-£35 per tank rather than near £50! Road tax next year for the ST is going to be around £300 whereas the Elise (111s) is around £140 which is also nice to know.

As for the chap mentioning understeer - that is a trait of the standard S2 Elise to make it more 'user-friendly' for the everyday driver, it is easily curable with a more aggressive geo set-up / wider front tyres / or even adapting your driving style slightly - it doesn't take anything away from the driving experience in my eyes and in any case, it won't be anything worse than you're used to in the ST!

Many people use their S2 as a daily driver, I personally don't need to but, if I did I wouldn't hesitate using the Elise - in the summer, but I'm sure there would be some winter mornings where I'd prefer to jump in the ST and use the heated windscreen!!

All I can say is try it, for the driving experience alone it is a million miles from the ST in a good sense, but it is always nice to have a 'hack' to do the more mudane drives, so maybe consider a cheap run-around to compliment the Elise.

Cheers
Rich

[matmoxon]

Thanks for the further responses, much appreciated. I would love to have a 2nd car and keep the Elise I am planning on buying as a weekend fun and track machine, I could probably easily afford it if I bought a decent S1 Elise, however I live at home with the parents and my younger bother (also a Petrol head) so we have 3 cars and my dads work van, making having another car a little hard

It will certainly be a 111S/R probably the former (depends what I get for the ST in a private sale/px) the cheaper running costs are certainly an advantage with the Elise, I knew what I was buying when I got the ST but I have to say it does like to drink and the scrotes at number 10 aren't going to make it any cheaper sadly.

Matt