Yesterday I picked up my Elise 111R, now I know there have been quite a few threads about Elise's of late but after the Cayman write-up people have asked me to write this one up.

So the basics - the car is 190bhp, does the equivalent of VTEC from 6250rpm, has a shift light and tops out at 8.5k rpm. It has a book time 0-60 of 4.9s and a top speed of 150mph. This all proves I can read

So what is the car actually like?

It is chilli red - this is a red with an orange metallic undertone. Apparently BB has the only one in the country (he is the only gay in the village tho ). It has the "black pack" on it which means the alloys and the rear diffuserunder the car are black rather than the standard silver.

Access

Compared to the S this is a magic trick crossed with a 12 year old Russian girl's gymnastic capability. Iexaggerate but it is not as easy to get or out of by any stretch of the imagination. Not difficult just a little awkward.

Cabin space

This surprised me, it is actually quite light and airy inside. There is no transmission tunnel as it is mid-engined and onl the handbrake and gear stick linkages run under a housing. The stereo is a full arm's stretch away but that's not why I bought it for it's ICE capabilities but I was surprised to find 4 speakers inside. This is double the amount my MY00 S had. The seats are very thin but are both comfortable and very supportive and made by Probac, whoever they might be. The biggest difference here between the S and the Lotus is that I always felt like I sat on topn of the S whereas the Elise makes me feel in, or should that be under, the car.

Gear changes

Here the S's gear box is superior. Not for feel but for distance travelled. The Elise feels about the same as the mondeo in travel and nowhere near as tight as the S's.

Handling

Cor blimey governor! It is amazing - there were times in my S I was worried about grip at the rear, but the Elise is very planted and capable on every corner. Jo followed me home yesterday when I got it and I found here running wide in comparison. Of course this could be down to driver etc but I prefer the feel of this in the corners tbh.

Boot space

It has one - it will take the roof and some extras. However word to any other potential diabetic purchasers out there. DO NOT PUT YOUR INSULIN IN THE BOOT ON A HOT DAY NEXT TO THE ENGINE BAY. I did and then threw the insulin away as I'd cooked it moment big time.

Roof

The mechanism is efficient but very very manual with the roof being unfurled across the car and then clamped into place kinda. Just about 3 - 5 minute job compared to a 6 second job. The S is superior here, but then I think it beats every car in the world.

So here are some pics first...





So how was today's drive?

I went out for a play and joined a 348 at one point who mucked around with me in the twisties. Well actually I was getting away a little in the corners but the straights I was being murdered, no 2 ways about it.

After about 90 mins on the road I drive towards James and Carrie's place to meet up. As I drive through their village a little girl, guessing about 7 yrs old, points at the car and then claps her hands around her face agog.

Likewise there have been other moments like this.

Having met up with the V's James and I head out and play all over our favourite roads and generally enjoy the car as much as I could after 24 hours of ownership. The funny bit is James got so excited he soiled himself.

 

Red with black wheels.

 

What have they done to the back of your Elise!? Can you not peel all that shite off?



No Lotus lettering between the rear lamps either, did you request that?

Looks good with black wheels though. How's your soft top for wind noise, have you had it on yet? Mine's no improvement over the S2K in that respect.

Took mine on my own private race track this weekend and was simply stunned by the cornering speeds. The attention the car gets when just stationary is remarkable too. Took some piccies, which I'll post if you don't mind; rather than make a thread of my own for no reason.

 

Gaz, Lotus lettering is being changed from the flat decal type to the embossed type as used on the month later Elise's and Exiges. As soon as they've got this in I'll be getting that and the indicator stalks changed.

I haven't driven the car with the roof on yet so I can't comment on the wind noise but I'm not expecting much.

 

Looks like a fun/exciting/good purchase to me

Even MORE reason to hate my current oil burner.

 

Do you guys have any experience of the S2 111S? The 'R' is a bit out of reach right now and i'm wondering how the 'S' (160bhp) Elise compares to the 'R'?

Cheers for the lovely pics!

 

Ben I haven't driven it and I'm not sure whether it is 160 or actually 135 bhp but I have been told that it is meant to be more torquey than the R which has an engine very similar in driving terms as the F20C. The S takes the engine from the Toyota Corolla IIRC whilst the R is from the Celica.

 

I raced a couple a few weekends ago on a meet Ben. In the bends there's nothing in it, and low down in the revs too, the 111S is right there. Only when you have enough space to open up the car does the R pull away, and at 6200rpm it really pulls away.

There's not much difference unless you're really pushing it.

 

Ah, I get you it's on the Europa too. It'll rob you of at least 3 whole grams though!

Can you peel the dealer's muck off from below the Elise lettering?

I'll stick with my Cavalier stalks thankyou very much.

 

not Cavalier - they're from a Corsa I'll have you know