kitwetzler

My Review of the Lotus Elise that I drove today

80s Boy

Really interesting read.

Great comparison. Too bad the steering and brakes seemed so wrong to you.

I sill think for the money the S2K is the Best bargain out there with a great compromise between sport and still being a liveable daily driver.

PoweredByCamry

Interesting comment about the steering. IMO when you switch between a car with slower, unassisted steering and the more modern heavily boosted but quick ratio systems in cars like the S2000, it takes a while to get used to the difference.

I realized this the other day when I drove my mom's E30 3 series- I've always said that it has the best steering feel of any car I've driven. When I started driving on local streets, it felt slow, kinda lifeless on center. But after getting re-acquainted with it, I realized what an absolute joy it is. I could feel every bots dot with a subtle nudge that the S2000 completely isolates me from. And in the twisties the steering loads up beautifully as cornering forces increase, communicating everything that's going on at the road surface.

The S2000's steering is wonderfully precise, and in combination with the stiff chassis you can really point it exactly where you want it to go intuitively. But I feel the tradeoff for such a quick rack is that you need too much boost which masks feedback. The s2k steering always has the same effort, regardless of how loaded the front tires are. Some will like that, but to me it's a bit artificial and an actual handicap when driving at the limit. The things I've heard about the Elise steering combined with memories of my manual rack MR2 and the E30 are the only thing that make me "want" an Elise. But who knows, I haven't had the chance to drive one.

Thanks for the great review!

Peter

kitwetzler

I agree with you about the feel, the s2k's steering is pretty numb, especially coming from my E36 M3. Personally, the thing I LOVE about the s2000 is it's ability to change direction very quickly. I have had lots of cars and my current setup really rocks in terms of that. It just does what I want it to do. Even on a relatively low speed test drive, I was fighting the steering in the elise, from the perspective that I had to turn the wheel a lot more than I wanted to, as well as the fact that it understeered, especially under 40 mph. I think it had the most to do with a lightly loaded front end and a slow steering rack.

You're right about the masking feedback, though... sometimes it's hard to tell what the front end is doing, and especially at low speeds, sometimes you just have to trust the car. But, I prefer a quick rack and a willingness to change directions over a slow ratio with good feedback.

heatmiser

Interesting post. I have driven the Elise and feel the steering is about as precise as you can get. All the magazine reviewers sing the same praise. I have spoken with quite a few people at the two dealers I am working with and they all state the same as well. In fact, most agree it is the most "fun" car to drive out of all their Ferrari's (Enzo excluded), Lambo's & Porsches.

It is definitely less practical than the S2000 (which isn't all that practical) and would be a track use/weekend car in my opinion unless you are hardcore all the time.

I am deciding between the two cars right now and lean towards the Elise one day and the S2000 the next. I don't think you can go wrong with either but it is true the Lotus is going to be about $10K more and the cost for maintenance will be substantially higher since the same technicians that charge $7K for 30K mile Ferrari service will be the ones working on your Elise.

The S2000 does have the best tranny out there and the steering is quite spectacular as well. The price is right and the depreciation/reliability are all very good. The acceleartion is sufficient as long as you keep the RPMs high. In case you haven't noticed, today is an S2000 day for me. Tomorrow will be the Elise's turn...

kitwetzler

I agree that the elise is very precise... it's just SLOW! You can tell what the car is doing at all times, unfortunately, a lot of those times, what it's doing is understeering.

I suspect the sport package will take care of the understeer, and if not, moton makes their club sport coilover package for it... but I was really disappointed, I wanted it to change directions like my s2000 and it doesn't.

tidalwdave

I dissagree with your feelings. I've driven the Euro car and the Federal car, and have had my S2K for two years. The feeling of driving the Elise was unmatched with the feel of the steering and brakes. I will say I'd rather have the S2K shifter in the Elise though. I'm not sure how you can say the Elise is slow. It's quicker than the S.

Anyway, too bad for you. I'm looking forward to selling my S and getting my Elise within the next few months.

rloewy

Interesting read. Thanks for sharing it.

I did not drive an Elise - but I find the fact that there is no power steering is very encouraging - I just love manual steering cars. I will probably never sell my old, low-powered Miata just because it is one of the relatively few manual steering ones that escaped. It is often hard to compare different cars - but I had the chance to drive many power-steering Miatas - and while the steering is a tad quicker - it pales in feedback.

FWIW - My 7 combines the advantages of very quick steering and no power steering

offroadr35

i don't mean to be rude but if you're getting major understeer on a liesurely test drive you suck at driving. That statement and the fact that you couldn't "change directions quickly" is enough for your write up to totally lose credibility in my book.

SilverKnight

calm down guys Good info on thread but keep on topic no personal attacks, a persons opinion may be u nique from others doesn't mean they suck.