Hey everyone. 1st post. My girlfriend is looking into roadsters and was mesmerized by the new Lotus Elise. Her 2nd choice is the S2000. She likes both basically only for the looks. Won't be racing (either one, I will though). This will be her mid-life crisis / fun / weekend car.

I know the Lotus is probably the "better" of the two cars (i.e. faster) In the back of my head I can't help but shake knowing that the S2000's aftermarket is thriving. With less money than what would be spent on the Lotus, it could be made to be faster in all ways than the Lotus.

I really don't care which one she gets. The Honda will be less up front and we can walk into a dealer and buy it as opposed to being on a waiting list and test drive options being far more limited.

Opinions? Ideas? Thanks.

 

how tall is your wife? the elise is loud, bumpy, and raw. this can get old if your not a hard core car enthusiast and may eventually lead to selling. the s2000 is a caddillac compared to the elise and i still get complaints about how low my ride is and how bumpy and small it gets. one last thing, the elise is abit pricey so if money is no object to you(and waiting) get the s2k. imo
hope that helps.
angelo

 

Take her to a dealer and let her get in and out of the Lotus for few times. I can bet she will end up buying an S2000 instead. It is a pain in the ass to do so, as well it's manually folding roof that you have to get out of the car and store in the trunk.

 

Sorry should have mentioned that she is 5'1". I'm 5'4". I'm sure it will be an issue, but less if we weren't the size of hobbits.

Edit: We're moving to Southern California in about 2 months so taking the top on/off will again be an issue, but not as much as one. The Elise will NOT be her daily driver. The S2000 has more potential to be, but with calfornia traffic and a 6-speed manual, she'll probably stick to what she has for getting to work.

Please keep the posts coming.

 

If all she cares about is how it looks, it's possible she'll absolutely hate the way either car drives, unless she's already a track/auto-x junkie. Perhaps a BMW Z4 or Boxster would be more her style?

 

I work at a toyota dealership, and on the way to work 5 days ago I notcied something amazingly small in the distance. I pulled up to see what it was and it was the new lotus. First i've ever seen on the streets. Love the car, speed, looks are great . When I saw it at the auto shows it looked amazing, but seeing it on the street you really get to notice how small they are. It actually looked smaller or just as small as the crx. Great car though, but just to tiny for a daily driver i think.

 

I test drove an Elise and can tell you that it is one raw performer. Its tiny inside and out. I don't think you could drive one everyday, its a weekend toy at best. The S2000 seem more grown up by comparrison but of course the Elise will out perform it in every way.

 

Well, I think you came to the right place if you want opinions about why to get the S2000. I would say that most here are biased towards the S2000. Some are fairly objective, and very few are biased towards the Elise.

That said, I disagree with your statement that the S2000 can be made faster than the Elise in every way for less than you would spend on the Elise. If you start with two new cars, I do not think you can make up the performance difference for the price difference. Comptech's car with all the goodies that you are talking about had an as tested price of $68,000. If I recall correctly, the Lotus lists for somewhere between $39,000 to $42,000, or about 10 grand more than the S. Plus, your wife may not like the ride of a highly modified S anymore than she would like the ride of an Elise

I will agree with the statements that the S2000 will just be more comfortable and livable, and in the end, that is the greatest consideration; will your wife be comfortable in the Elise?

The smallness of the Elise is a matter of personal preference and your own tolerance for risk. If you are looking at an S you have some tolerance for risk to begin with, so it is just a matter of where you draw the line. Those who recommend against an Elise due to size are expressing their own preference for saftey, but between the two cars, it is a pretty fine line. There is a whole class of vehicles out there called motorcycles that are a lot less safe than the Elise, so to each their own.

 

why buy the elise if the owner isn't going to track it? elise makes a horrible daily driver...

 

Does she know that an Elise is a $40k car where floor carpets are an option? The windows are rollup? The plastic body is spray painted by hand? No Cupholders? No luggage space? The S is to the Elise what a 330Ci is to the S - 90% of the performance with a lot more comfort.

It takes an awful lot of commitment to live with a car like that. I suspect that a lot of people will just give up on it in a few months and I can pick one up on the cheap at a used car lot.