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2-year update: I've only been able to add another 800 miles in the past year (having a kid will do that), now up to 2,800 total (28k on the car). Continues to be an absolute blast to drive and dead reliable. Okay, the battery did fly off its mount during a particularly spirited drive - a known issue due to them only clamping it down from the bottom edge - but a few bucks at the hardware store to make a normal tie-down solved that.
Continue to be amazed by the steering feel and the combination of ride and handling. With the Nitron Street Series coilovers (barely softer springs but much more compliant adjustable dampers vs. stock Sport Pkg) it glides over bumps and is never jarring - over large bumps it's more comfortable than my wife's Merc C350. But at the same time, this car pulled 1.06g in 2005, so now on 15-year newer tire tech it's a roller coaster ride.
Just sold my E90 M3 since we didn't need two sedans working from home, so it's technically my only car besides wife's C-class, lol.
Incredible cars. I went back and forth between a Lotus and another S for a while before finally deciding on the S. The one thing that always scared me about the Elise was that if it were involved in an accident, the repairs get incredibly expensive for even minor damage depending on location. I didn't want to run the risk of having a totaled vehicle if some knuckle head side swiped me or something. Beautiful car...one of my all time favorites.
Quit talking about the steering feel! Makes the S feel completely inadequate since it has absolutely zero feel, lol!
Biggest difference between the two cars.
Originally Posted by Nil-S2k
Incredible cars. I went back and forth between a Lotus and another S for a while before finally deciding on the S. The one thing that always scared me about the Elise was that if it were involved in an accident, the repairs get incredibly expensive for even minor damage depending on location. I didn't want to run the risk of having a totaled vehicle if some knuckle head side swiped me or something. Beautiful car...one of my all time favorites.
I'm with you. I never parallel park mine because of this, and the fact that it's so low people often don't know there's a car behind them. Even when the battery came loose on mine, I was lucky because for some people, it flew around the trunk and damaged the fiberglass clamshell.
While I enjoy running errands and even driving to work while I could in mine, it is more of a Point A to Point A car vs. an S2000 which is more of a "real car".
I was almost set on an Elise for a while. Still would like to own one. Autocrossing one a few times is what made me want one. I personally would hate it for driving around a lot I think, which is why I prefer the S2k. As mentioned, it works better as a "real" car. I am in good shape, young, etc and still hate getting in and out of an Elise more than a couple of times, so if having to stop a lot during the day that would get old. Even more annoying that apparently they do not have a structural windshield, so owners always scream out DONT TOUCH THE WINDSHIELD when getting in and out
But in terms of a raw, no shits given roadster they are amazing to drive for sure.
They do have great steering feel and should by design. But to be honest, I dont really notice as much. Some get all whipped into a frenzy over "Steering feel" and I know some cars are numb as hell, but to be honest, you just adjust to it and get a lot of the inputs you need from other aspects of a car. Just switching from RE-71R's to A052's on the ND I codrive made it feel much more numb, and we got used to that in about 2 runs and were way faster on them. So more steering feel is great, but not really going to care that much that the S has less than an Elise with no power steering.
I was almost set on an Elise for a while. Still would like to own one. Autocrossing one a few times is what made me want one. I personally would hate it for driving around a lot I think, which is why I prefer the S2k. As mentioned, it works better as a "real" car. I am in good shape, young, etc and still hate getting in and out of an Elise more than a couple of times, so if having to stop a lot during the day that would get old. Even more annoying that apparently they do not have a structural windshield, so owners always scream out DONT TOUCH THE WINDSHIELD when getting in and out
But in terms of a raw, no shits given roadster they are amazing to drive for sure.
They do have great steering feel and should by design. But to be honest, I dont really notice as much. Some get all whipped into a frenzy over "Steering feel" and I know some cars are numb as hell, but to be honest, you just adjust to it and get a lot of the inputs you need from other aspects of a car. Just switching from RE-71R's to A052's on the ND I codrive made it feel much more numb, and we got used to that in about 2 runs and were way faster on them. So more steering feel is great, but not really going to care that much that the S has less than an Elise with no power steering.
Getting in/out is definitely a pain - the first few times, I kind of just didn't know what to do! Watching a YouTube video gave me a technique, and now it doesn't really bother me personally. You basically have to use both arms though - no getting out with so much as a phone in either hand!
Did you only autocross one? I think the steering feel is a bigger deal on the street, where you can feel bumps, undulations, and camber in addition to the weighting up with g-force and lightening with loss of traction. It makes me drive and interact with the car so much differently. In almost every other modern car steering feel is an afterthought to me, it's kind of a non-factor when driving hard (my E90 M3 had okay feel, but it faded to the background in aggressive driving). In the Elise it's a very dominant part of the whole experience.
I also think in autocross (used to autocross a ton, mostly with my old Integra with the power steering taken out), since you're at the limit so much of the time, you naturally get more of your feedback through the chassis breaking away, whereas on the street that's (hopefully) not the case all too often.
Getting in/out is definitely a pain - the first few times, I kind of just didn't know what to do! Watching a YouTube video gave me a technique, and now it doesn't really bother me personally. You basically have to use both arms though - no getting out with so much as a phone in either hand!
Did you only autocross one? I think the steering feel is a bigger deal on the street, where you can feel bumps, undulations, and camber in addition to the weighting up with g-force and lightening with loss of traction. It makes me drive and interact with the car so much differently. In almost every other modern car steering feel is an afterthought to me, it's kind of a non-factor when driving hard (my E90 M3 had okay feel, but it faded to the background in aggressive driving). In the Elise it's a very dominant part of the whole experience.
I also think in autocross (used to autocross a ton, mostly with my old Integra with the power steering taken out), since you're at the limit so much of the time, you naturally get more of your feedback through the chassis breaking away, whereas on the street that's (hopefully) not the case all too often.
Yep I have only driven them on an autocross course. I drove a stock one the first time, then a slightly modded one the next time. That time I got about 15 runs in it at a practice event, with the last 5 or so being on Hoosiers. That was a ton of fun! The driver of that car LOVES to tell facts and stories and has a whole spiel on how to get in and out lol So I have heard all the techniques from him. You do get used to it a bit and like you said, you learn to put anything in your hands down before! I always said you will always look cool driving an Elise... but never look cool getting out of one! It is fun to watch people do it the first time though.
I agree that the steering feel is likely more noticeable on the street. I mean, dont get me wrong, I notice it autocrossing but I think some drivers use "not enough steering feel" as an excuse for poor driving a lot, as if having a bit more feel would have moved them all the way to the front of the pack Not aimed at people here, just a general observation.
Would like to drive an "all in" fully prepped XP Elise sometime. They look fun as hell. But like any good prepared class build I have pushed a few of them off course or back to grid but have not driven one yet!
I love me some Elise, but man the ingress/egress, lack of storage, lack of creature comforts, etc, makes is a very dedicated toy. I adore the way they look too.
I love me some Elise, but man the ingress/egress, lack of storage, lack of creature comforts, etc, makes is a very dedicated toy. I adore the way they look too.
It's pretty much a 4-wheel motorcycle, with more of a trunk (about half the size of the S2000's trunk). Indeed, mostly only useful for round trip "fun drives" and trips where you know where you'll be going and what you'll be doing. I find I can take it on most of the same trips I took the S2000 on, unless I need to carry more than a medium-small grocery trip worth of stuff.
I just bought my first lotus (Exige). It is a blast to drive and the simplicity in the interior is refreshing. I am dialing in the suspension tomorrow and hoping to attend a track day on Sunday. It is obviously incredibly impractical, especially since mine has the Accusump in the "trunk." It definitely draws too much unwanted attention for me. After decades of MR2 ownership, I had to try one and am glad that I did. Unsure how long I will keep it around. It has to be a lot better than my MR2 Spyder considering it is 5-10x the price!
08-18-2020, 09:21 AM
Not aimed at people here, just a general observation.
