From sitting in the car, the build quality seems on par with other modern cars. Nothing rattles or squeaks - but that's just an observation from sitting inside it.
English cars, from what I've heard, suffer enmasse from electrical problems. I'm certain these days Lotus has worked those problems out. Engine problems - I highly doubt it. Toyotas are very reliable. I'm sure if one wants to be an enthusiast, yes, they can hope to find a Rover K 1.8, but those engines aren't nearly as reliable, nor can they be federalized. Toyota's a better motor anyway. And puts out much more power.
I for one like the new face on the Elise, as well as the rear "under spoiler." People to whom I've talked to about the car state it as looking toy like. Someone went even as far to say it looks like "Speed Buggy," that scarcely-known Hannah-Barbera cartoon.
The best (and safest) thing going for the car in the U.S. are its speed and lightness; like the Porsche, its speed and quickness can be used in evasive techniques to get out of the way of those cel-phone-jabbering pre-occupied housewives in their Suburbans and Hummers.
