FRChilln

Thoughts on the lotus elise? Anyone driven them? Do they feel fast? Stock they look like somthing from the cartoon movie "Cars" but with some modding they can look alright.

Mopar Jimmy

Perfect sports car for a woman.

UE Triplefi

When elise/exige depreciates at the right price I think i'd buy it and swap the engine from stock Toyota/Yamaha 2ZZ-GE engine to Honda Type-R K-series engine.

N/A form



supercharged

Dave68

Sounds like angry bees but there's no doubt they are fast. Lightweight = fun, that's for sure. I'll take a blue one with supercharger (but not as a daily driver, of course)

skyavonee

VERY fun to drive on twisty roads, not extremely fast in a straight line in stock form though, especially if you're used to driving a Vette. It's very lightweight and has manual steering so it drives like a go-cart, and its shifter/clutch/trans combo is real smooth. Definitely test drive one some time if you get the chance; I guarantee you'll enjoy it.

phileaglesfan

Handles like a go-cart but has the features of a go cart also. They wouldn't even have power windows the window crank was lighter than the power window motor.

Very fragile cars. This one got its butt kicked (totaled) by a small block of wood.

http://www.lotustalk.com/forums/f3/w...-no-way-44956/

Research clam shell repair. Any damage results in a big repair.

Dave68

Wow, a small piece of wood totaled the car!

tjZ06

Most guys that track know them as "rolling chicanes" so take that for what it's worth.

-TJ

Stewart Allison

They are a purposeful built car. I like them but would I buy one probably not. I always have trouble buying cars that have no torque ( nothing special in a straight line). They don't have any mods inside. If I had one I would be putting a supercharger on it. But I still like them but don't lust for one ! Stewy

Gering

The blue one looks cool.

TLGunman

Pure, uncluttered, no nonsense sports car!!

elise

Look elsewhere if your used to the power your Vettes have under the hood.

If your looking for kart like handling and really enjoy driving a Pure Sportscar then schedule a test drive and try it out.

I crave handling more than all out power, the Elise/Exige are momentum cars regardless of whether they are NA or Forced Induced.

I enjoy the drive every time out.

gs568

Drove one last week. As long as you know going in that it is basically a little race car, then you are prepared. What most surprised me are the various rattles I heard while driving. I stand 5'10" and found it somewhat awkward to get in and out. You also will be sitting on top of your passenger. Good luck.

Gering

elise

The rattles you hear are little issues like underbody panel fasteners that may have worked itself loose and needs tightening, or could be that the wheel liners are probably loose, most people cure that with better fasteners. I think the test drive car you had is in need of a nut and bolt check. There are a few threads on lotustalk about the issue.

Yes, its more technique to get in and out of these things. We have one member thats about 6'7" and he says he can get in as gracefully as I can, I'm only 5'8". Did you test drive the car with the hardtop on?
Anyways the running joke is that ingress and egress is the lotus filter, if this does not deter you from the car then maybe the car is the right choice for you.

The car depends so much on lightweight that even adding a passenger is very noticeable in the car's overall performance.

phileaglesfan

Getting in and out of an Elise/Exige is definitely not fun. You cannot even hold on to the A pillar as it'll fold on you. I personally lost interest in them when they were bought up by a Malaysian company. British really don't own anything anymore.

Stewart Allison

I lost interest in them when they wanted 100k for them in Aussie land real quick ! Stewy

gs568

I had about 30 to 40 minutes in the car. This particular one was supercharged and said to put out 250 hp. What you say about the rattles makes sense. Yes, the hardtop was in place. I guess that I wouldn't have minded the experience if I were sitting next to a big bewb woman. Neat track car, but not something I would like to drive on a daily basis.

Tzzird

Supposedly they make an s2000 feel super spacious.

phileaglesfan

I'm only 5'8" tall and I felt cramped sitting in the Exige. Having two 200lb men in the car also decreases performance a bit since that just added 20% more weight and with no extra ponies. I heard some insurance companies will not even insure them because they are so fragile.