Fuel consumption

[CTE]

I know it sounds like I am penny pinching (probably am a bit) but what is the real world consumption for a Toyota engined R or S Elise when on a run doing approx 75-80mph?
I have heard the demisters are not too clever, but how are they when it comes to dealing with salt on the road, ie corrosion, especially suspension components etc?

[bogie]

30 - 35mpg is most common

the demisters on cars with aircon are very good on the later models

however, if you are worried about such trivialities when buying a hand built luxury sportsar, I wouldnt advise it...when you get the first £500 bill, or bits fall off and it requires some "niggles" fixing from time to time, you will be mighty pee'ed off if you expect it to be like a regular mass production car

[james S]

About 30mpg i think on my S2 Exige. The demister etc work well, far better tha the air cooled 911s I'm used to and they were OK

Less sure about salt and stuff but I intend to use mine in all weathers so I'd be keen to know

[kambites]

If fuel consumption is a concern, the K-series is your friend.

[bogie]

yeah - I think a Rover engined S2 111S was about the best for VED and MPG ? over 40mpg on a run

[F.C.]

250 miles to a tank is easily achieved.

[Beachbum]

At a pretty constant 75mph to Derby area, I got 36mpg from a 54 111R

[kambites]

bogie said:

yeah - I think a Rover engined S2 111S was about the best for VED and MPG ? over 40mpg on a run

Over 40 on the combined cycle. 45 is realistic on longer trips (if you don't drive too fast). I actually average about 38 in mine but I don't drive on the motorway.

[jondude]

kambites said:

bogie said:

yeah - I think a Rover engined S2 111S was about the best for VED and MPG ? over 40mpg on a run

Over 40 on the combined cycle. 45 is realistic on longer trips (if you don't drive too fast). I actually average about 38 in mine but I don't drive on the motorway.

Agree. I took the S1 (K series) through France and Germany to Denmark, and was able to keep speeds of 60-80 mph ( sometimes a tad more on the ol' bahns ) for hours on end....to my amazement I was getting around 45 to the gallon.

[cyberface]

Keep off the 2nd cam and you'll get better fuel consumption than most 'economy' cars. Light weight and small frontal area is the winner here. If you get into higher speeds though the drag will outweigh the rest of the efficiency.

It's actually one of the aspects that Lotus dealers advertise these days... though I don't know anyone who buys a Lotus to save on petrol... though mine is rather frugal on fuel I fully expect a man-sized tyre bill each year

[bordseye]

I liked Bogies "luxury" sportscar comment.:-)

The argument about the K series is a false one for most owners. If you look at the ads you will see that a typical Elise does maybe 5k miles a year and even on the assumption of 40 mpg for the K and 30 for the yota (a difference I dont believe since my yota does more like 33 average around town)the extra fuel used is 16 gals or maybe £80. Far less than the extra repair cost and service costs of running the K

But whatever you decide bear in mind that the Elise is an up market kit car produced by a small Brit factory. Dont expect mass production quality, even Italian mass production quality. Things will fall off / break/ stop working. The car will be noisy and basic. Against that it will be huge fun. So you pays your money and makes your choice.

Luxury !

Edited by bordseye on Friday 5th December 09:29

[kambites]

bordseye said:

The argument about the K series is a false one for most owners. If you look at the ads you will see that a typical Elise does maybe 5k miles a year and even on the assumption of 40 mpg for the K and 30 for the yota (a difference I dont believe since my yota does more like 33 average around town)the extra fuel used is 16 gals or maybe £80. Far less than the extra repair cost and service costs of running the K

Edited by bordseye on Friday 5th December 09:29

Erm, but in my experience, as well as fueling being cheaper, servicing is cheaper, tax is cheaper, insurance (for me at least) is cheaper... I don't think anything is cheaper about the Toyota, is it?

Oh and the difference between 40mpg and 30mpg at 5k miles is the difference between 166 gallons and 125 gallons which is 41 gallons which is about 180 quid at current prices, and that's assuming you don't run the Toyota on super unleaded, so say 200 quid. Agreed it's not much though, when it comes to running a Lotus. Still, that's a new head gasket on the K-series every three years on the fuel savings alone.


ETA: I would still agree though, that the total cost of ownership isn't much different. It makes sense to buy the car you actually prefer driving, which for me was the K-series. The 500 quid a year less that it costs me to run is just an added bonus.

Edited by kambites on Friday 5th December 09:54

[Fidgits]

For my 111R, for a run on motorways, dual carrigeways, including some towns etc I got 40MPG...

[R.P.M]

kambites said:

bordseye said:

The argument about the K series is a false one for most owners. If you look at the ads you will see that a typical Elise does maybe 5k miles a year and even on the assumption of 40 mpg for the K and 30 for the yota (a difference I dont believe since my yota does more like 33 average around town)the extra fuel used is 16 gals or maybe £80. Far less than the extra repair cost and service costs of running the K

Edited by bordseye on Friday 5th December 09:29

Erm, but in my experience, as well as fueling being cheaper, servicing is cheaper, tax is cheaper, insurance (for me at least) is cheaper... I don't think anything is cheaper about the Toyota, is it?

I'm not so sure. In the grand scale of things the fuel saving and tax difference over a yota engine is irrelevant, and my insurance is actually cheaper (registered as a coupe). In three years and over 50k in my S2 k series I spent over 7k in keeping it tip top. I cant imagine I will spend that on my current stead.

[bogie]

"I liked Bogies "luxury" sportscar comment.:-)"

LOL - Od course It was a play on words - I didnt mean luxury as in the cockpit is luxurious...but as in the the purchasing of such a car is a luxury itself.

I just find it amusing - even on the Aston boards, there will be someone who pops up from time to time and ask about how much a service is, and what MPG people are getting ....like its the first thing you think of when splashing out £30k, £50k or £100K on a form of transport ...and the general response is "dont give a f**k"

...the Elise isnt exactly a 1.4D Fiesta is it, which is what I would buy if I was counting the pennies on fuel for my commute etc

we have the govt brainwashing on "green" stuff to blame - in reality, fuel cost, even in the UK is the smallest cost of car ownership to the majority. You will lose much more in depreciation, and it will cost much more to service than what you will spend on fuel during the time you keep it. Id be asking "how much will I lose over 30K miles and 2 years of motoring" etc as that will be st loads more than the 5Mpg difference between models

Ive had to convince family members this year who were thinking of swapping say they 3 yr old mint Civic for a diesel to "save money" because thats what everyone says, "buy diesel" ...in reality unless you are doing 20K plus miles a year its probably cheaper in the petrol version, certainly dont line the dealers pockets with thousands of pounds changing cars, unless you are going to keep the diesel for 10 years and do 20K miles a year to break even LOL

/sorry for the waffle...just find it amusing - fuel economy considerations and "luxury" sportscar in the same sentance

[braddo]

bogie said:

I just find it amusing - even on the Aston boards, there will be someone who pops up from time to time and ask about how much a service is, and what MPG people are getting ....like its the first thing you think of when splashing out £30k, £50k or £100K on a form of transport ...

An excellent example of "if you have to ask, you can't afford it!"

I guess they're either scraping their pennies just for the purchase price or they're too stupid to realise that depreciation is going to be the cost they should be worried about.

[cyberface]

Bogie is right - the new Elise and Exige *are* luxury sportscars. Compared to the S1 and VXT I had, my S2 Exige has a luxury interior. Alcantara everywhere, carbon-effect leather, electric windows, good heater, air conditioning, bucket seats, nice steering wheel.

It feels more 'special' and luxurious than my 993s did, and it's a world apart from the earlier cars.

OK, maybe on a Boxster you can specify (at extra cost) a full climate control system, but what other luxuries do you need? And what other sports cars *at the Lotus price point* offer a nicer cabin than the Exige?

And I'm not one of the top-down-in-winter hardcore. I genuinely think the new Exige interior is comfortable and 'luxury' compared to most other 2-seat sportscars, unless you pay Ferrari money... perhaps I have a weird view of what 'luxury' actually is

[kambites]

R.P.M said:

kambites said:

bordseye said:

The argument about the K series is a false one for most owners. If you look at the ads you will see that a typical Elise does maybe 5k miles a year and even on the assumption of 40 mpg for the K and 30 for the yota (a difference I dont believe since my yota does more like 33 average around town)the extra fuel used is 16 gals or maybe £80. Far less than the extra repair cost and service costs of running the K

Edited by bordseye on Friday 5th December 09:29

Erm, but in my experience, as well as fueling being cheaper, servicing is cheaper, tax is cheaper, insurance (for me at least) is cheaper... I don't think anything is cheaper about the Toyota, is it?

I'm not so sure. In the grand scale of things the fuel saving and tax difference over a yota engine is irrelevant, and my insurance is actually cheaper (registered as a coupe). In three years and over 50k in my S2 k series I spent over 7k in keeping it tip top. I cant imagine I will spend that on my current stead.

I couldn't imagine ever spending 7k in 3 years on a car. So far I've spent rather under 300 quid a year on routing servicing and that's all.

[R.P.M]

kambites said:

R.P.M said:

kambites said:

bordseye said:

The argument about the K series is a false one for most owners. If you look at the ads you will see that a typical Elise does maybe 5k miles a year and even on the assumption of 40 mpg for the K and 30 for the yota (a difference I dont believe since my yota does more like 33 average around town)the extra fuel used is 16 gals or maybe £80. Far less than the extra repair cost and service costs of running the K

Edited by bordseye on Friday 5th December 09:29

Erm, but in my experience, as well as fueling being cheaper, servicing is cheaper, tax is cheaper, insurance (for me at least) is cheaper... I don't think anything is cheaper about the Toyota, is it?

I'm not so sure. In the grand scale of things the fuel saving and tax difference over a yota engine is irrelevant, and my insurance is actually cheaper (registered as a coupe). In three years and over 50k in my S2 k series I spent over 7k in keeping it tip top. I cant imagine I will spend that on my current stead.

I couldn't imagine ever spending 7k in 3 years on a car. So far I've spent rather under 300 quid a year on routing servicing and that's all.

throw in a HGF, ally Rad replacements, Clutch, steering racks, Water pumps, shocks, discs, pads, cambelts, alternators, and a front end respray plus everything else I have forgotten and it soon adds up!

twas a lovley car though!

Rpm

[kambites]

R.P.M said:

kambites said:

R.P.M said:

kambites said:

bordseye said:

The argument about the K series is a false one for most owners. If you look at the ads you will see that a typical Elise does maybe 5k miles a year and even on the assumption of 40 mpg for the K and 30 for the yota (a difference I dont believe since my yota does more like 33 average around town)the extra fuel used is 16 gals or maybe £80. Far less than the extra repair cost and service costs of running the K

Edited by bordseye on Friday 5th December 09:29

Erm, but in my experience, as well as fueling being cheaper, servicing is cheaper, tax is cheaper, insurance (for me at least) is cheaper... I don't think anything is cheaper about the Toyota, is it?

I'm not so sure. In the grand scale of things the fuel saving and tax difference over a yota engine is irrelevant, and my insurance is actually cheaper (registered as a coupe). In three years and over 50k in my S2 k series I spent over 7k in keeping it tip top. I cant imagine I will spend that on my current stead.

I couldn't imagine ever spending 7k in 3 years on a car. So far I've spent rather under 300 quid a year on routing servicing and that's all.

throw in a HGF, ally Rad replacements, Clutch, steering racks, Water pumps, shocks, discs, pads, cambelts, alternators, and a front end respray plus everything else I have forgotten and it soon adds up!

twas a lovley car though!

Rpm

I see what you mean, but how many of those problems existed on late K-series Elises but not early Toyota ones?