Lotus Elise and Exige - are they safe in a crash?
Discussion
I've always wanted a Lotus and had set my mind on buying one. However, I witnessed an incident which put me off a purchase for safety concerns.
A 2006 Lotus Elise was parked up and stationary. A 2008 Z4 was doing about 5-10mp behind it, also coming to a stop. Driver error meant the Z4 went into the back of the parked Elise. The impact was really quite minor as I saw it happen and the speed was really very low.
However, the damage was quite dramatic for what seems quite low impact and speed. What really concerned me is that the driver of the Lotus ended up getting a fairly deep cut, about 2 inches long to the back of his head and it needed a few stitches. I think this is where a bar that was behind the headrest still managed to cause some damage through the seat. I can only imagine how bad it would have been if the speeds were higher.
I really want a Lotus, but I think there is no way I would buy one that is more than 5 years old, having seen the incident above.
The big question I have is whether PH thinks the latest Exiges are safe and can hold up in a crash?
Not looking to cause an issue, just asking given what I experienced. If it sounds like a freak incident, happy to hear that!
A 2006 Lotus Elise was parked up and stationary. A 2008 Z4 was doing about 5-10mp behind it, also coming to a stop. Driver error meant the Z4 went into the back of the parked Elise. The impact was really quite minor as I saw it happen and the speed was really very low.
However, the damage was quite dramatic for what seems quite low impact and speed. What really concerned me is that the driver of the Lotus ended up getting a fairly deep cut, about 2 inches long to the back of his head and it needed a few stitches. I think this is where a bar that was behind the headrest still managed to cause some damage through the seat. I can only imagine how bad it would have been if the speeds were higher.
I really want a Lotus, but I think there is no way I would buy one that is more than 5 years old, having seen the incident above.
The big question I have is whether PH thinks the latest Exiges are safe and can hold up in a crash?
Not looking to cause an issue, just asking given what I experienced. If it sounds like a freak incident, happy to hear that!
Thanks everyone. Let me put this another way. I assume there are certain globally required standards of safety. I assume that some companies just about meet the requirement and some companies exceed them. Where would Lotus fall when reviewed in light of legal safety requirements?
My concerns is not so much the headon collision, but the fear of what might have happened to my friend if the BMW in the first post was doing 30 mph instead of 5-10.
My concerns is not so much the headon collision, but the fear of what might have happened to my friend if the BMW in the first post was doing 30 mph instead of 5-10.
Stephanie Plum said:
Honestly if this is worrying you then a Lotus isn’t for you. Or any other classic car. There are much higher volume sports cars that will have ncap ratings that you should look at.
Sorry, how is a recent Exige a classic car?Just to be clearer, I'm looking at S3 Exiges which are only a few years old?
And on the safety point, my concern is about a low speed knock on the backside leading to a cut head. Easily doable in a car park for example? Perhaps even at 20 miles an hour, which based on what I saw would have led to a serious injury. Unless it was a freak occurence?
Edited by AdvocatusD on Wednesday 27th May 17:49
kambites said:
I'd be interested to know how it happened. There's no way a 20mph impact could lead to cabin intrusion and generally rear-shunts are amongst the safest form of accidents because the head is simply pushed back into the seats. Plus fixed-back buckets generally offer better protection in that sort of situation than conventional adjustable seats which often have the head restraints set up badly.
It wasn't anywhere near 20 mph, that is what has given me the shivers.Owner says: "Probax flexed backward and my head scraped the rollover protection"
kambites said:
Ah that would make sense, I guess. He must be very tall because that could only happen if the seat was all the way back and his head was poking over the top of it. I'm six foot and would be serveral inches off that being possible.
He's not, actually! He's pretty much my height at 5 foot 10!I think the points made mean I'll never get the current generation of Lotus. How gutting. Just superb cars and I recall having as much fun in a Lotus at 40 mph as I did in a Ferrari at rather more.
CTE said:
I reckon your best bet would be to get a new/recent MX5 and take it to BBR...that would make a pretty excellent road sports car. If you go down the Porsche route, excellent cars that they are, they are a different type of beast and nowhere near as engaging...although I`ve never driven/been in a GT3/4 for instance.
Happy to say I've had all of these, including the BBR. I suspect an Exige S3 would be a superior car dynamically in terms of pure driving experience, compared to all of these.Edited by AdvocatusD on Thursday 28th May 11:16
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