CG

Saturday morning I grabbed an early flight out of Pensacola to Jacksonville so that I could test-drive the new Federal Elise. Long before we bought the S2000 in 1999 the Elise was my dream sports car. I was worried that once I finally got to drive one that my opinion of the car might make me perceive the car as better than it actually was. Conversely, I was worried also that my dreams and expectations were so high that they would be shattered by reality. Luckily my fears were largely unfounded as I found myself evaluating the car much as I would any other car.

The temperatures in Jacksonville Saturday afternoon were on the chilly side and the winds were extremely gusty so the Saffron Yellow demo car was wearing the soft-top. This particular car was fitted with the $1350 Touring Pack which includes leather seats, electric windows, carpet, upgraded stereo, noise insulated soft top, and additional interior sound insulation. I appreciate that looks are a matter of personal taste but I found the styling of the car to be absolutely stunning. The car is small and it sits low. I have heard horror stories of how difficult it is to get in and out of the car with the top on. The only other Elise I had parked my butt in was topless, and while I found it somewhat awkward that first time, it was manageable. Getting in with the top on does add some challenges. As I stepped over the high sill to get into the passenger seat so the salesman could familiarize me with the car I banged my right knee hard enough to bruise it on the rigid edge of the soft-top. What, I banged my knee on the top while getting in? Sure did, this thing sits close to the ground.

Once inside, the narrow non-adjustable racing style passenger seat, while confining, was comfortable. There was plenty of room for both head and legs as long as you didn

genghiskwong

nice right up...... I may believe it if there are pics.....

Racemint

Jacksonville.... I thought San Fran was your destination. Roberta and I were cruising down Atlantic weekend before last, testing her new daily transport. We wondered if we should stop in to see if they had an Elise, but decided we didn't have time and the salesman had not called, saying he had one. Well it was probably over a year since we called. I guess we will stop in after the holidays.

Great write-up BTW. Your description of getting in and out of the passenger's side reminded me of the first ride I had in a C-4 Vette. I decided I didn't want one after that. Of course, Roberta decided she wanted one, and after actually owning one, learning to get in and out was pretty simple, so I imagine the Elise would be the same. The biggest consideration is how it fits and drives once your in.

I will be interested in your evaluation of the shift feel after you try another one. I have never been a Toyota fan for many reasons, but I thought Lotus would have done some magic on the driving feel of every control, since that's the aim of the whole car. Keep us informed.

R

CG

Kwongie, I didn't take any pictures so you'll just have to believe I made it all up.

Racemint, San Luis Obispo was where I expected to go but decided to look for one that would take less time to get to. I may still go out there to drive a Sport Pack but I don't really want to go that far unless I spend at least a full day. Austin was another option but I couldn't make the flights work in the time frame I needed to travel.

I thought I told you I was going to Jax but I guess it was all in my head. I would strongly recommend the salesman I worked with. His name is Andy Temples and he even spent another 45 minutes with me after I told him I wasn't going to put down a deposit that day. He had no problem with it. In fact I liked everyone I met at the dealership.

When I was writing this up I did think about comparing the wide sills to the C4 Corvette but the C4 is a breeze to get in and out of next to the Elise.

tidalwdave

Come to Tampa and drive the SY demo. The stick isn't too bad, but not at all as smooth as the S. I think the S may have spoiled you.

S2K_LA

WOW! That is one sexy beast!

I read somewhere that it has a celica engine in it? Is this correct? Also what does this card red line at? How much is there to have to wind out?

CG great write up man. Enjoyed every word.

CG

[QUOTE=tidalwdave,Dec 13 2004, 09:45 PM]Come to Tampa and drive the SY demo.

CG

S2K_LA, it does have a slightly pumped up Toyota engine in it. The red line is hard to define and there's not one showing on the tach. It seems that they set it up as something of a floating redline. Like the S2000 it's fairly low until the engine is fully warmed up. After that a shift light will come on at 8100 with the limiter hitting at 8200 if not under WOT. Under WOT the light will come on at about 8500 with the limiter cutting in about 100 rpm's later. I didn't redline the car so I have seen this -- yet.

tidalwdave

No, the demo here in Tampa is touring package, not sport package. Traffic sucks here too, so you probably didn't do too badly going to J-ville.

Racemint

CG

You mentioned that the salesman hit reverse by accident at one point. That's scary. What did he have to say about that?

Oh, and when you decide to get the Elise, Roberta wants an enclosed trailer, so put me on the list for first dibs on yours. It does come with the FF inside, right? Until then I'll just have to suffer trying to learn to drive the S2k.

R