Even before buying the S a couple of years ago I always saw the Elise/Exige as being more appropriate for my driving pleasure needs, but ended up comprimising and buying the S for a lot of very good reasons, not all of which were comprimises really as I still think the motor and gearbox piss all over anything lotus have fitted to any of their cars.

Anyway, I'm seriously getting the itch again but am wondering whether in my position I'm being daft to even be considering an Elise.

See, I'd have to park it on the road, that's the main stumbling block. I live out in a semi rural location which is quiet and our road is well off the beaten track and is actually no-entry at one end so it generally doesnt attract a lot of passing traffic, I've parked the S there for 2 years now and no issues and none of my neighbours have had issues with scum messing with their cars.

Would it be a no-no to park an Elise on the road like this? Are there good reasons not to do this if for example I had a hardtop on it as I do with the S?

Secondly, I know there are people on this forum that run or have run Elises as daily drivers which I would be doing; Is this really an option or is it just plain daft in reality? How much shopping can you get in one (I feel really stupid even asking that tbh ).

Thirdly; Of all the various types of Elise, which is confusing me a bit tbh; Can people recommend which ones to be looking at; I'd be using it for track use as well as Dales/Lakes hoons but also the 12 mile daily commute. I'm straight away drawn to the 'R'; There appear to be 111's and 135's etc, Some guidance would be appreciated. The car would be for driving pleasure basically but needs to be able to get me to work and back and occasionally carry a few shopping bags.

Fourthly; One of the great things about the S is how reliable it is; I hear tales on here of people spending lots of time fixing Loti; Are the newer ones more reliable.

Lastly; Loti 'seem' to be reasonably rhobust when it comes to depreciation, but is this because most people are sensible enough not to use them as a daily driver and thus they generally have low miles on them for their age. If I were doing 12k miles a years would this have a major impact on resale value after say 2 years.

 

i havent had a lotus but your parking situ sounds like mine.
i dont think lotus (or any of the proper 2 seater sports cars) attract scum attention.
ferrari or lambo maybe, but imo lotus, s2000, caterhams, and maybe tvr are in the wrong league to be desirable to them.

i've not had my S touched where i currently live, and was one of the reasons i chose my current location and the car rather than a scoobie or evo.

 

My Exige gets parked on an urban side street daily outside work with no problems. Two schools within 300yds with kids passing all the time although this is millionaires Cheshire area so notmany chavs around.

As for daily driver. It works for me & i love mine to bits. Can fit plenty of shopping in the boot & its easily carried enough kit in there for a comfortable week long Euro Hoon. A very comfortable carto drive & the perfect way to keep a grin on your face.

Go for it.

 

Later Loti are extremely reliable IMO.

My Exige got absolutely hammered at Spa / Ring, both twice, and a lot of Uk tracks, plus drove me there and back - never skipped a beat.

Reliability is better than Honda imo. Less to go wrong though.

 

Thanks chaps, good info.

I'd more likley go the Elise route tbh; Exige is great but perhaps a little too hardcore as a daily driver although I take my hat off to you Echo for using one that way.

Of the Elsies, which would people plump for?

Has to have a hardtop and has to have a Toyota motor as I dont trust the old K-Series on reliability tbh. I'd be buying second hand and wouldnt want to throw more than say £20kish at it (I said that though about the S )

 

 

The joke in our house is that the Lotus is the support vehicle for the Caterham

I think Chris hasn't had much reliability problems (maybe one issue?) and I don't see an issue parking it on the road.

Also the boot is surprisingly big for shopping, especially if you use normal sized plastic bags, as opposed to big stiff "eco friendly" stuff. The aperture to the boot is fairly small but the space itself is big. Not enough for a monster shop, but ceratinly enough for a decent one.

Chris's is a 111R of the newer cars (2006 I think). It's very driveable and usable for daily work, motorway etc. (although not that easy in stop/start slow traffic). I would suggest getting one with a/c !

 

Whatever you get, get a jap engine in it. Even the 140bhp 1ZZ-FE in the Elise S

Whilst he K-series can actually be really reliable, if it's reliability you're worried about, you'll be safer with an unmodded Yamaha or Toyota engine El/i/ge

I've heard people moan about roofs leaking, which would make the Exige the better bet.

It's never going to be a Rolls for inside fit and finish. But on the reliability front they tend to be pretty strong.

Biggest issue is people binning it and the associated tub repair costs.

 

Thanks Dreamer/Chilled.

Interesting about the leaky roof Chilled; Is that with the hardtop?

Does the Exige lid come off? Is it just a better fit than an Elises?

Russ, is that your motor? Very nice bit of track kit indeed, not sure about a daily commuter as well though

 

Think it's both, not really sure. I looked into getting one and it seemed a common complaint. May just be badly fitted roofs.

You can remove the Exige roof, although you're not really supposed to.

I'll be impressed if Russ has upgraded.