OMG.. I think I know what my next car is...

 

Great choice Rune,

As you are well aware, driving a Lotus Elise is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

$40k and a year long wait. Still as MINI drivers, we should be used to long lines for MSRP.

 

Totally! I just found out about the car last week, just surfing the net.. I knew about the Esprit, but didn't know they just released the Elise! An affordable mid-engine rwd sports car! And hard to get, too. I'm definitely not going to buy on the west coast though, with all the markups and long waits.. I have family out east in NY and MD, so maybe I can go through them! It would be a nice Christmas present come December 2005. :D

 

The car is awesome...but I can't do a 2-seater. A little out of my price-preference range, too.

 

I put about 250 Miles on a Elise with the Sport Package. On paper I thought it was the perfect car whiling driving it I got a completely different impression. Yeah, it's proabably one of the best looking and handling cars to ever hit the road but to get everything out of it you really need to be on a race track. Driving the car on the street is not that much fun because the engine needs to be rev'd so high to get any "real" power that you really feel like your abusing the car. Plust, the car is incredibly hard to get in and out of and rides like a buckboard. Top it off with questionable build quality by Lotus and you have a car that is a fun toy but not much else.
Sorry, don't mean to burst your bubble but I think the MINI is much more fun on the street

Stuart

 

Like I've said in many Lotus Elise threads here on NAM, it may seem affordable, but when you consider that it's about $200+ for a simple oil change....you have to realize that you are dealing with an exotic motor car!

I was VERY interested in the Elise until I realized how expensive its upkeep would be. I'm sticking with MINI!

But I absolutely LOVE the Elise! It is a beautiful little creature!


Clover

 

Wow, $200 for an oil change? I figured the Toyota engine would be relatively easy and cheap to maintain but I guess not if you have to pay the sorts of prices Lotus service departments are used to getting. I imagine access to that engine is a bit more difficult than it is in a Celica, too.

Mark

 

Valid points! It is, as well, the first year it's coming to the US market, so I will probably wait at least until the end of next year to see what happens.. I also thought that being a Toyota engine it would be more hasslefree than other engines.. But 200+ for an oil change is pretty steep. Over on elisetalk.com, where I was browsing, there is a tale of repairing the front bodywork clamshell of the car (just bodywork!), that came in at 15000 dollars!! :( It is a mini exotic, to be sure. All these detractions make for a very confused buyer come one year from now.. I love my Cooper S because it performs, and I don't have to worry about minor fender damage.

 

My experience with the Elise was driving the previous version (1998 model with the MG-Rover engine) on a racetrack in England. In this environment it was absolutely increadible. I had driven earlier in the day a Mercedes SLK (kompressor) with racing slicks, the Lotus was on street tires. Even so, the Elise was noticeably faster than the Merc, and a hoot to throw around too. If I had the need for a third roadster , (read if I could convince the wife to allow me to add to my stable of rolling stock) the Elise would be #1 on my list.

 

Sport Compact Car did a good article on this car a few months ago. Definitely a beautiful car.

 

Best car ever. I would do anything for that car. ANYTHING! Its got the MINI beat stylewise, performancewise, droooooolll.

 

But not backseatwise, which is a deal breaker for me

 

You dont buy a lotus elise for the back seat, you buy a lotus to have fun and to kick the crap out of ppl at autocross events.

 

or to just have the coolest car around. here in the bay area, at the los gatos lotus dealership, there are 7 or 8 of them. if someone wants one, they just have to walk on in with a down payment!

 

I was in communications with the Los Gatos dealership well-over a year ago as I too was seriously considering an Elise; not to replace my MCS, but to relegate her to Fall/Winter use only...

I have since found something more unique, less money (esp. if self-built), and even better performance: a Caterham 7 (also of Lotus ancestry). An Elise will get one to nearly a 10:1 weight to hp ratio. A Seven, with a tuned NA 2.3 l Duratec engine can very realistically drop below 5:1 (1,200 pounds at 250hp). And considering that 1,200 lbs is a "heavy" Cat, and that Duratecs still have much more upside, one can get even more crazy...

USA Caterham site mentions competiton, including the Elise:

http://www.uscaterham.com/home.html

More info and photos:

http://www.stevecarter.com/pw.htm#costs

UK official website:

http://www.caterham.co.uk/showroom/index.htm

Many cool photos:

http://www.mycaterham.com/174550/175378.html

If one is willing to consider the minimalist features of an Elise, this is still another step in that direction, and I find it very appealing...