What Do People See In The Lotus Elise? Yuk!

[slow&rusty]

I am prepared to duck for cover on this as I know alot of folks think these cars are wonderful....but I do not get it, what do people see in these things?

1) Extremely expensive...think 993 Twin Turbo money!!!

2) Crappy seats with no padding!

3) How the heck do you get in and out of them?

4) Extremely loud (ringing ears) and hot (no insulation) and awful suspension for a "normal" road (way too stiff)

5) They look like an insect!

6) An engine that is not very exotic (Toyota Corolla) but probably very reliable, makes you wonder why they are so much?

7) Would not want to get into a fender bender with one!

8) Would you drive one in the rain?

I don't get it...I'll keep driving my old 911 and my old Datsun Z.

Yasin

[Jim Richards]

Fugly, but fast on the track.

[legion]

They weigh 2,000 lbs.

[Tobra]

very light, very quick and nimble, would run away from a 9whatever or exotic you care to name on many, many roads and tracks. They look just fine from the driver's seat.

If you can't get your fat ass in and out of it, perhaps you need a fitness program?

[TechnoViking]

We had one show up at our DE last weekend. Probably in the top 5 fastest cars out of a field of 60 or so p-cars including including quite a few that you can't drive on the street!

As far as street legal cars go, the GT3 and a couple turbos were probably the only ones that could beat it. Arguably the best bang for the buck for a street/track car.

[Zef]

Look like a Fling Flang car...worst in yellow.

[89911]

And plenty of them on the used car market. Seems having the ideal track car doesn't cross over to having a car that you like to drive on the street. Did I mention that is has a 10 gallon gas tank?

[GothingNC]

1) Extremely expensive...think 993 Twin Turbo money!!!- I spotted a used one for about $35k, 2008 base price is $47,000

2) Crappy seats with no padding!-Change the seats

3) How the heck do you get in and out of them?-I had no problem

4) Extremely loud (ringing ears) and hot (no insulation) and awful suspension for a "normal" road (way too stiff)-Didn't bother me.

5) They look like an insect!-I like it

6) An engine that is not very exotic (Toyota Corolla) but probably very reliable, makes you wonder why they are so much?
Rather have the Toyota motor vs. the Rover.

Type: 2ZZ-GE dohc 16V inline-4
Displacement: 109.8 Ci/ 1799.6 Cc
Horsepower: 190 HP @ 7800 RPM
Torque: 138 lb-ft @ 6800 RPM
Redline: 8300 RPM
.

7) Would not want to get into a fender bender with one! - Easier to avoid one, passive safety

8) Would you drive one in the rain?-sure

[JeremyD]

What do you see in one? A small, nimble car.

Drive one in anger and you won't care what one looks like - especially from the inside.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by slow&rusty

4) Extremely loud (ringing ears) and hot (no insulation) and awful suspension for a "normal" road (way too stiff)

That pretty much sums it up. Maybe you should look into a nice Camry...

[Z-man]

Simply put: the car is comletely one-dimensional. It has but one purpose: to turn. Very, very well. The Elise/Exige is a go kart on crystal methylamphetamine.

I instructed in one at a DE last year -- it was an absolute blast! The car turns so well, it is almost telepathic in translating driver inputs into motion. It is light, nimble, and with a low-polar moment of inertia due to it's weight distribution it can turn. turn turn!

Is it a good daily driver? I'd love to have one! I had a Toyota MR2 for a couple of years prior to Porsche ownership and took it often to work. It was fun to drive. I suspect the Lotus would make my morning and afternoon commute exponentially more enjoyable than the MR2.

The Lotus Elise gets 24/29 mpg, while the Exige gets around 23/29. That's not a bad commuter car, given the current cost of gas...

In my case -- if I weren't so involved with PCA, and if I didn't dump so much money into my 944S2, I'd be seriously considering a Lotus as a track car/daily commuter car. (I would keep my Ford Explorer Sport Trac for when I needed more room, of course!)

-Z-man.

[KFC911]

I don't think you'd like my 911 either

[vash]

lots of people here spend good money to turn perfectly good 911's into a car with many of the same discriptions. bad seats, loud, difficult ingress/egress, expensive......

the lotus is not a "multi-tasker" at all. fun to watch on the track.

[Jims5543]

Originally Posted by KC911

I don't think you'd like my 911 either

Nor my RX7 - hot, noisy, rides like there is no suspension, no pistons and it goes like stink and turns on a dime, its all about concessions.

[the]

Spotted this post over on the Cadillac board:

I am prepared to duck for cover on this as I know alot of folks think these 911s are wonderful....but I do not get it, what do people see in these things?

1) Extremely expensive...think Coupe de Ville money!!!

2) Crappy seats with no padding! No bench seat option!

3) How the heck do you get in and out of them? And once you do get in, where do you put your walker??

4) Extremely loud (ringing ears) and hot (no insulation) and awful suspension for a "normal" road (way too stiff)

5) They look like a frog!

6) A VW engine.

7) Would not want to get into a fender bender with one!

8) Would you drive one in the rain? They have no real defrost system!

I don't get it...I'll keep driving my Fleetwood Brougham and Eldorado.

[Jim Richards]

ROFL! Caddy's and Camry's sound like the answer.

[vash]

hehehe,...(but those V-series caddy cars are HOT! not that comfy tho...and loud....)

[scottmandue]

Ugly? IMHO yes... would I buy one if I had the money... yes!

Of course if we are talking $35K for a fun car I would have to check out a used Boxster S and a Honda 2000S.

Yeah, I'm a sports car whore.

[dd74]

Hollywood types in my neighborhood use them as daily drivers. They buy in on the cool factor, "look at me," etc. Funny thing is I never see the same guy in one twice. I think they're a little too intense for the less-than-dedicated driver. That's why you can buy them a few years old for less than $25K, coming off of someone's impulse buy.

[Tobra]

That is the way to buy one, as someone else's mistake.