As a cost vs enjoyment vs purity typoe thing, yes a lot of the time they do.

Said video is here

 

I wouldn't write off the K series either.

It seems to me, if you're careful when you're buying and you look after it reasonably well there's no reason why it shouldn't keep going for long time with no problems.

Mine is currently defying physics, although the usage is very different.

 

The problem with the k series was with the way the cold water from the radiator flooded the head when the thermostatic valve opened, the head cooled rapidly while the block stayed hot and the plastic dowels that Rover in their wisdom decided to fit to locate the head couldn't withstand the flexing - Head Gasket Failure.
The fact that the Elise's rad is at the front of the car, meaning the difference in temperature is bigger than it would be in a front engined car didn't help matters.

Look for one with the Eliseparts Pressure Relief kit fitted, or budget to do it yourself and you shouldn't suffer HGF - it slowly releases the cooled water into the head, reducing the temperature difference between the head and the block.

http://www.eliseparts.com/shop/index.php?m...products_id=732

 

Some great info there guys thanks. What is really swaying me, apart from the looks and go-kart-like handling, is the mog. I'm getting 23mpg out of my S!

This may be a silly question, but what is the boot space like? Is there a boot? Any pics if so?

Edit - what is servicing like? Worse than the S? What's the intervals?

 

Personally, i'm going for the 111R.

I hear all the stuff about the lower powered models not being much slower on the track, but on the road (and mine will be a daily driver) that power does make a difference in day to day driving where you're not in a rhythm and you don't know whats going to be around the next corner.

Plus i find the high revving nature of the Toyota engine appealing. I wonder why

 

Boot space is OK actually.

The opening is quite small so you need to use soft bags, but the spce goes into the rear arches, so it's bigger than it seems at first.

Servicing on the K Series is 9000 miles IIRC (mine was the VHPD which needed servicing every 4500, but that's the 190bhp K Series, lower power ones need less TLC).

 

Thaks Mark, have you any photos of the boot space?

I'm thinking that, if I buy ine, I should buy one that's just had a major service. Is this a good thing?

 

Looks crap, but Mark is right, it is a bit deceptive. It's not too bad compared with the S.

 

The major service is the 'C' service, it's a good bargaining point.

See here for the service schedule:-
http://www.elises.co.uk/servicing/index.html

 

Service you want to have had is the C service, and recently - this is the major service - after this its A, A,B,A,A (from memory) - A services are pretty much oil services, B have a few other things

HG failure is not so much of an issue if its caught early on - the boys on the SELOC forum are banding about figures of