Europa as daily driver?

[bp1]

Mrs BP1 has started looking around for a new car and mentioned the elise, at which point my ears perked up. She then went on to say she thought it a bit too small for her and our daughter(4). So the question is would the Europa be better? She currently has a seat leon cupra, so its a big leap from fwd hot hatch to rwd sports car, but she also drives my 6er so has some experience of rwd. We also have a smoker for station runs etc so it would be feasible for her to have a 2 seater. I reckon she does around 15k a year mileage, a mix of A/M roads for her daily commute. Having a look at the classifieds seems to suggest a 2 year old for around 20-21k would be doable.

And I could also take it for track days

So does anyone have any experience using the europa as a daily driver, occassional trips to supermarkets etc.

Cheers

BP1

[Redlake27]

Yes! Go for it.

I wouldn't want to use mine if I was a multidrop delivery driver, as getting my portly 6ft 3 frame in and out is only marginally more elegant than an Elise, but once I'm in it is great. I did a 380 mile round trip last week and it was very comfortable.

It is very torquey so it a very easy 'potterer', fairly frugal and a very useful boot. If you include the hidden corners of the boot it is very roomy.

I love mine, and it is 'Exige S quick' on a track day when I put my Direzzas on.

[bogie]

I would say that the Europa is probably the most suited "daily driver" car there is based on the Elise chassis

most comfy trim level
lowest sills for easier entry
torquey engine
quiet, aircon, stereo, nav etc (on posh ones)

it would certainly be top of my list if I was looking for an Elise type car as an only car....

[Twit]

As above really... 22,000 miles in mine in the last 18 months or so. Great car, much better than my old Elise and easily a match for anything else Lotus if you want to push it.

Go for it!

[bp1]

Thanks for the responses guys, so it seems like its doable then.

What are the service costs/intervals like? Its possible this weekend I can coax her along to Lotus in Edinburgh. Strike while the iron is hot

BP1

[Herman Toothrot]

bp1 said:

She then went on to say she thought it a bit too small for her and our daughter(4). So the question is would the Europa be better?
Cheers

BP1

Well, no considering the above comment. Its the same car with different clothes a VX220 turbo basically which is of course an Elise with differnt clothes and engine.

[footsoldier]

bp1 said:

Thanks for the responses guys, so it seems like its doable then.

What are the service costs/intervals like? Its possible this weekend I can coax her along to Lotus in Edinburgh. Strike while the iron is hot

BP1

When I bought mine, I drove it from Southampton to Edinburgh in one go, no problem at all. Used it everyday for a while, and still take it on long runs even when I don't have to.

Can't remember service intervals off hand, will have a look tomorrow if you still want info? Serviced at Scottish Lotus last time - bit of a hassle, but was about £140 for A service I think. Good on fuel consumption, though small tank means pretty frequent trips.

Only issue I'd have with car for wife is that it can be a bit slidey at back in cold weather (not bad, but relative to a FWD hatchback), and brakes are maybe not as confidence giving as they could be, again esp when cold. Not a problem if that doesn't bother you/her.

Mine is standard 225, lux pack interior with Nitrons, will hold on to it if some of the rumoured Hoffmans upgrades appear soon, otherwise probably change for no good reason. Although every time I think I've decided to change (eg yesterday!), I back off cos there's not much wrong with it!

[C43]

I use mine every day with no problem. With a standard setup the rear is very very stable in the wet. The suspension goemetry upgrade and Nitrons push the car a bit more to oversteer (loose rear end). Good for track work, not so good for wife.

My wife drives mine (thinks its very quick) and children no problem in it at 4 and 8 years.

cheers

C43

[bp1]

Think we'll go along for a test drive and see what she thinks. Murray have a 2007 for 22K at the moment, must be some room for haggling there. Although I'll leave it up to her if she likes it or not, no point in me pushing her if shes not comfortable driving it.

Thanks again for the responses

BP

[Jim Mitch]

I've had mine for about 4 months now (having had a VXT for 6 years before then). The car is definitely easier to live with than the VX (which had Nitrons fitted and was quite hard and fidgety as a result).

It's quieter, slightly softer, warmer and drier than the VX. It also feels (subjectively) marginally more spacious, but that is probably all in my mind.

Driving experience is, as you'd expect, very similar. Mine has the 225 upgrade which cancels out the extra weight over the VXT (which all Elise owners will say is too heavy anyway). It is marginally less responsive than the VX was, but this is not really noticable on the daily commute (25 miles each way through New Forest). I reckon you get 99% of the "feel" of the Nitron-equipped VX, but it feels more solid on the road. Certainly no slower than the VX anywhere other than a track.

As for longer journey's, my wife has driven to North Wales and back with our 3 year old daughter and a surprisingly large amount of child-related "stuff". Her opinion was that it was more comfortable over a long distance than our Renault Megane family wagon - seats are better and didnt give her backache. She really didnt enjoy the journey in the VX!

Only trouble is that I've had some reliability issues with it. It's currently having a replacement gearbox fitted (strange rubbing/friction noise in 5th and 6th), which is the worst of the problems, but there have been some of the more usual Lotus niggles as well (eg lock falling out of fuel cap). Lotus say they have no record of this happening to other gearboxes fitted to the Europa so it may be a one-off. It's also started to use a bit of water, so I think the radiator may need looking at as well (common problem I understand). Not great for a car which is 2 years old and only done 11.5k miles.

Apart from these issues, which may never affect the car you buy, I have to say go for it. As a price guide, mine is the same colour, spec and mileage as the Murray Motors one and cost about £2k less 4 months ago (with about 7.5k miles then). I think prices have firmed up a little since then though.