Dembo

I suggest you go drive one before you get your heart set on it. The test-drive is what put me off.

That was a Rover S2; I think the Toyota cars are really a very different animal. If I had bought one I'd have lost far less in depreciation than I have with the S2K, which would be nice, but OTOH I'd probably be confined to a wheelchair by now as driving one for only 20 minutes gave me terrible back-ache.

GaryB

You do get used to that in a few days to be honest. After a couple of weeks it was extremely comfy but then I did change mine to Exige seats which also helped.

GaryB

And re depreciation... I paid £7300 for mine and sold it 19 months/30k miles later for £7200.

Monkeybone

I think you mean 1.8, the series 3 is 1.6 (and looks pretty cheap compared to the S1 and S2 in my opinion).

I was a passenger in an S1 for a relatively short journey once, my ass was numb after a few minutes. But apart from that it was a nice car.

LTB

Getting in and out is difficult at first until you learn the nack or somebody shows you, then it is fairly easy, quick and painless.

Regarding the comments on the seats, mine is fitted with the Probax seats and I haven't experienced any issues, even on longer drives.

I test drove an R and didn't find it significantly faster than an S2k although the figures say otherwise and I have had anecdotal evidence from another forum member that the R is faster than as S2000, tested against another forum member's S.

I have the SC and that is a different beast all together. Lotus will retro factory fit an SC kit to an R for approximately £4k.

The Toyota engine doesn't use a drop of oil and is very reliable, although it doesn't make the fabulous sound of an F20C. Engine cross over is around 6K rpm from memory on the R, but there is a simple ECU flash that you can have done to lower it to around 4 - 5K.

Getting the roof off and on isn't as fast as an S2000, but they have improved the design on the later models and it is fairly quick. The longest part on mine is getting the roof to fit inside it's storage bag, it's a tight fit at times.

Whilst not enormous, the boot is larger than you'd think and can take a decent amount of stuff, although you sometimes have to think where you are going to place it to maximise capacity.

Do I need to tell you about the handling and braking ? It pisses all over an S2000 from a high height.

Other than that I have had no issues whatsoever in over a year of ownership.

Kenneht

Have you though about a VX220 VXR? I'll be looking to get a VXT in a few weeks.

stew-t

I'll jump in on this, as a former owner, and still regret selling, a Lotus Elise S160(considered by most as the BEST Elise variant). I owned it for 3 years. Bought for £13500, sold for £13000, but could have got more.

So many dumb comments on here, and a good post by LTB.

Seats are not an issue really imo. Most owners come from cars with big comfy padded sofas, so a sparsely trimmed bucket is never going to be the most comfortable thing. There are plenty of seat options though should the originals not be to an owners liking.
S1's have higher side sills than the S2's, and with proper Corbeau buckets seats, getting in and out required some acrobatic skills, but you get used to that too.

My Elise was a Rover engined car, and I never once had any engine trouble. I know owners with cars near or over 100k miles and no engine troubles. Hell, I've known more Toyota engine failures than Rover HGF.

Handling/feel/braking/etc, all levels above the S2000.

MarkB

Basically I'd just echo what LTB said, so I won't add much.

I had a S1 Motorsport Elise (chocolate engined VHPD variant) and a S2 Exige.

As a 'Play and forget' prospect, a S2 is the way to go and in my experience the Toyota engine is less characterful but easier to maintain. The K-Series is more suited to the car (it's lighter) but for every owner who tells you they had no issues, you'll find one who has, there are fewer issues with Toyota engines, though they're not infallible either.
Plus of course, S2 cars a a bit newer so less likely to suffer age-related issue.

I had both cars for about 18 months each and the S2 was faultless, where the S1 had to have several issues rectified and a refresh at 20000 miles (ie. new rings, liners etc. a £2k job, however it used the most stressed engine in the K series range, so it's not a fair comparison). Never blew a head gasket but I fitted a different thermostatic valve to prevent this.

One thing to check for on the S2 is bubbling under the black strip at the top of the door skin, by the windows. If it's bubbling rust by the wing mirror, it's likely you're looking at a car that's been stored outside and that the wishbones are probably in a similar state - either factor a new set of wishbones into the price or find one that's been garaged all it's life, there are plenty about so why compromise.