>>I'm appalled at how many of the MINI enthusiasts here prefer an Elise over a JCW MCS. :smile:

I'm not surprised.

Many of use own MC or MCS for some time and know our cars. Some have done many mods and know what the JCW MCS can do. We have become acustomed to performance.

Now the Elise is coming and it looks like the grass is greener on the "other side" but the fact is the entry cost is $40+K not $25 to $31K for the JCW MCS. If you want raw power and fine handling get a stock MCS and take it to Randy Webb or Eric Savage at Helix13 and plop $6K down and for under $30K you can own a daily driver that is more civilized than an Elise but will knock your socks off. If you don't need to insure a separate daily driver and go kart then you save a bunch more money for driving school.

I thought long and hard about an Elise. The wait is going to be long and the prices start from $40K and go up. It is a two seater and doesn't haul anything. Tell that to your dog or children. It is rough riding and you have to worry about it since it has an exotic flare to it. If you like premium audio the open cockpit is junk for great audio sound and you are better off in a closed sedan like a MINI.

Finally if you thought MINI was kinda bad about treatening to void your warranty for doing Mods you had better check with Lotus. They really frown on doing any mods of any sort to the Elise. Not as many mods are available for the Elise and there are no great Elise tuners like Randy webb and Eric Savage and others nor a site as good as NAM for the Elise... yet.

Do check out our sister site PureSportsCar.com which supports the North American Lotus Elise community

I might pick up a used Elise if I don't get a cabrio MINI or 2004 Honda S2000 first. I have to wait for my 1995 Nissan Maxima SE to die first but it is so durable that it might be a bit longer.

 

I love the Lotus Elise and definitely plan on having on in a few years. The power to weight ration is rediculous, and I love the styling...but nothing on the planet will ever take the place of my MINI. The kind of situations the car can handle is just unreal, the fun factor is off the charts, and it is and will be my car forever! Just the same, the Elise will be its roommate in the garage with my love's Audi TT. When we have kids the MINI is going to be reduced to being a "family car"...lol...yeah what fun! I think that I will just get another MINI for that purpose!!

There is nothing that I have seen that tempts me away from the MINI Cooper S...everything from the styling to the handling are out of this world. But the second car for me would be the Lotus Elise. I love it as well, but we'll have to see if it makes that love permanent with the test drive. The MINI did...I had to test drive it five times before I got mine!!

I have not put too much thought into the JCW kit but it has crossed my mind briefly. I don't have any problem with the amount of power my MINI has now because I know that if I am driving aggresively, I can get to speeds pretty quick once she's moving, and is a blast to drive when I am not being a maniac as well.

The Elise is very cool, with the one knock on it being that it is made for smaller people, and I am 6'3...getting in and out of that thing is murder...but I think it may be worth it. The test drive in May will tell for sure...but there is no doubt whatsoever that the MINI will not be replaced.

 

Why would you need to mod an elise the power to weight ratio is as good as anything out there? Plus it has a toyota engine for the US. I imagine that there must be people doing stuff to their Celica engines?

The elise is pretty noisy on the move, not a good environment for listening to music. I am 6' and there was plenty of room in there. It was really tricky getting in and out though. I was trying to persuade someone to get one, but they chose a miata because it is much more practical.

 

>>
>>>>I'm appalled at how many of the MINI enthusiasts here prefer an Elise over a JCW MCS. :smile:
>>
Remember the original question "If you already have a primary transportation, which car would you pick to be your "fun" car, a Lotus Elise or a MCW MCS?" I was one of those posting that I would go for the Elise.

If the original question added:
.... for the money.... , ... more pratical second car..., or almost any other qualifier I might have answered differently. As a daily driver I like my MC - A BUNCH. I love the way it does so may things so well. I'd like to have the power of a JCW, but to be honest do not miss it in my daily driving.
If I had the cash and wanted a second car for autocross, track, and a fun drive every once in a while - I would go for the Elise. They are very different cars. In a more perfict world I would have one of each.
John