I am either going to get the Honda S2000 or the Lotus Elise and can't decide. How does the S2000 handle compared with the Elise?? I know that the Honda will be a lot easier to live with and will be far more reliable. I took the Elise out for a test drive and to be honest with you, it seemed to be a very cheap car. Very bare interior, not the best fit and finish, and I know it is a hand built car but really. It costs quite a bit more than the S2000 as well. Lotus=$41,000 vs $33,000=S2000.
I have seen many videos where the S2000 has been very competitive with the Lotus. I have been reading a lot of posts that say the new S2000 has better or more neutral handling without the risky oversteer than the older models. Any comments would be very much appreciated.
By the way what kind of real world mileage can I expect from the Honda???
I have a Subaru STI and it is rated at 18 city and 26 highway, but I only average 17 combined.
Cheers

 

I'd say it depends on what you're getting the car for. To me, the Lotus Elise is a much more focused track car...as you already noticed its quite bare to save weight, and very uncomfortable as a daily driver. If you want a good compromise, look no further than the S2000. As for mileage, I've seen 23 for city and 26 for highway...from C&D I think?

 

If you can afford the Elise, I'd go with that if it's not over MSRP. It's still novel here, and it's a blast to drive. It's really small, and if it's your second car, then why not? I drove one a couple of years ago and that made me want to buy the S2000 because the Elise wasn't here yet. Get it loaded though, and in the wildest color you can, I love their orange.

Not many cars (in the same class) are as well put together as the S2000, including many that are more expensive ones.

 

totally different cars, i cant compare them.

 

I've tested both. I had and S2000 and a friend bought recently an Elise...

Well: The Elise is "THE CAR" for driving. Theres is no point. I mean. S2000 is like a boat compared with the Elise. The Lotus is telepathic, turns like if were you alone with the hands over de road. Like if the car disappears and were you flying over the road...

The cons of the Elise? First, your ocuppant is touching you with the shoulder and his foot whould collide with your gas foot if there were not a piece of aluminium between you two.





Is so so so raw.





But it handles like a dream.





I'm thinkin' now if I pic an S2000 again (i miss it so much) or a Elise... Hard decision...





Oh, please take a look at this pics, made few weeks ago, in a meeting of S2000 and the elise of my friend. (I'll encourage him to post something here right now. He had an S2000 too)

(The red one is the one from S2000_Europe)

Check out!:
http://www.silueth.com/pics/jarama2004/

Yummm... Elise..

 

This is a simple one.

If this car is going to be your ONLY car then get the S2000.

If you are going to have another car then get the Elise.

 

I had a dream last night about test driving a yellow Elise at a dealership. It was a sweet ride until I crashed the car in a telephone poll I don't know what this dream means but I'm holding off on buying the Elise for now. You know sometimes dream can come true

 

The Elise is such a beautiful car. It looks great. The lines are so sexy! I wish I had one. Unfortunately I need another beater. Thinking about getting an Accord Hybrid for a beater.

 

If you already have an sti, why not just go ahead and get the Elise? Dont get me wrong i love my S, but you already have something that is comfortable enough, and the Elise is a gorgeous car than handles amazingly, and does 0-60 in 4.9 seconds to boot. But hey, its your choice man!

 

I dunno, its also a question of ~$7000. From the statements in the original post, it sounds to me like you want the s2000, but you're having second thoughts about not considering the Elise.

There's also the consideration that you can't have an Elise today (as in you can't walk in with $$ and walk out with the keys). There's a waiting list. Don't know if that matters to you.