thielepr

Any experience with Lotus Elise? New car bug have been itching recently. This is just daydreaming since I'm buying a house early next year but I would like to know experiences with the Elise. I'm looking the base model not the SC.

zdave87

Even less practical than the S2000, and in my experience, horrible build quality.

thielepr

It would be my third car. Can you elaborate on the quality?

zdave87

Simple. Test drove a brand new one a number of years ago, rear view mirror fell off before I even the dealership lot. Very tinny, cheap sounding etc.

Topplayer

I can elaborate, my close friend has a exige s240 so a bit above a base elise.

the car is amazing to drive in motorsports, really is a dynamic car and once you get your sea legs you can really get moving with it. On the streets its shitty, rattles galore. The window rattles even rattle. Its a glorified kit car. I would never get one for street driving, but auto x and track its hard to beat for the price( cost of ownership is cheap, even tho initial cost is a little expensive)

lookstoomuch

What would be your use of it? To me, it is a purpose built track car full stop. Not sure I am in agreement with the build quality at least in the samples I've seen...my father in law has an '05 that has had the snot kicked out of it at the track for the past 10 years and has not had any major mechanical failure. The interior leaves a bit to be desired but that is not the point of these cars. As a caution, part of what makes them so light is they have a fiberglass shell aka "clam" for a body which if you have any mishaps you can be out big bucks.

They are amazing handling light cars with a stiff chassis and just enough power that they can be extremely fast with the right driver. If money was no object I'd have one in my garage for sure. I drove it at the last track event and it was a blast. The only complaint I had is the shifting was a bit basic/sloppy, no where near the precision of the S. It was more like my miata, but even less precise but who knows maybe I'd eventually get used to it.

I would not consider one for a DD or just to drive around town on the weekends, it would be a waste of the platform in my opinion and that is where the lack of creature comforts, rough suspension, and interior would become annoying/impractical fast.

RC 94

There's a couple of people on this forum that have one. I would let the people who own one chime in here as well.

mosesbotbol

I owned an Evora for a few years, so can tell you from my experience. What these cars lose in straight line power, they make up being able to drive faster and more confident. Lotus can read your mind...

If looks and driving dynamics are most important to you than Elise is a fun car. As others have mentioned, Lotus is not up to S2000 in build quality. There is a ton of engineering into Lotus cars, but they are hand made and it shows. The clam shell's can be fragile, so make sure you know the condition of them inside and out. The Elise's I have driven are a harder ride than the Evora.

What is your budget? If an Evora is in the ball park, I would take one over an Elise, but an Elise has a much bigger audience and expertise when it comes to repair & owership. Lotus dealers are spotty. You may have a good partner near you or a dealership that Lotus is just a sign out front and they don't work on them much...

s.hasan546

So I've owned a Exige s240 for 4ish years now. Also drove my best friend's Elise SC a lot.

I love the car. IMO it is the best 3rd car out there. People are talking about build quality? Lol.... you guys aren't getting the point. It's not suppose to be luxurious at all. It is a barebones racecar for the street. There is nothing inside the car except a steering wheel and seats. The steering is sublime & telepathic. The acceleration below 100 with great. The rawness of the car is on a totally different level.

The elige reminds me of the old school exotics. The exotics that weren't comfy, they were just raw & fun. Half the fun was if the cars would turn on or not lol. Batteries will die. Small issues will happen. It is very cheap to maintain/repair this car (as long as its not a clam off job or clam damage).

Driven

You can't go from S2000 to Elige and expect everything to be better.

S2000:
Pros
- Dead nuts reliable
- Pretty comfortable, in this comparison
- shifter is a thing of perfection
- incredible handling
- Superb engine

Cons
- drop top (subjective, but I like coupes)
- "honda" image
- not that fun in a straight

Elige:
Pros
- Handling wise -- it's like how you wish every shifter felt like the S2000 shifter-- well you wish every car handled as well as as these cars
- Consumables are pretty cheap
- Looks absolutely fantastic
- I'm short, so I LOVE the driving position

Cons
- Shifter is one step above a SN95 mustang shifter
- Fiberglass bodywork -- which means if you hit a cone hard enough, you're going to be cursing -- a lot
- If you opt for a non-SC Elige, you're back in the S2000 boat of being bored in the straights, whereas the S240 feels like it has the appropriate amount of power, until you are outran by a Z06 down a straight and you mod it for more
- Some parts and such have "Lotus" tax