Caterham vs Elise

[MGYoung]

Hi there,

I'm looking for a new toy. I've previously owned a Caterham and a westfield. I have a budget of 9K. I want to use the car as much as possible al year round. When not in use the car will be left outside. My options at the moment are a K series powered Caterham with full hood and sidescreens and a heater or a standard mk 1 Elise. I prefer driving experience and the looks offered by the Caterham but I'm nervous that it may not stand up well to the being driven all year round. Both cars would be run as second vehicles to my diesel mondeo. I also considered a x-flow powered Caterham but feel that for maximum use the K series powered car might be more reliable and user friendly.

Any advice?

Martin.

[ewenm]

I used my 1.6K Series Caterham all year round as an only car for 5 years. Mine stayed relatively watertight and lived outside. I'd recommend getting a cover for it though (protection from the elements and prying eyes).

Winter driving will accelerate the corrosion of the chassis and sideskins (particularly along the bottom edge of the skins and in the gap between the footwell and sideskins), but good cleaning, waxoyl and POR-15 if necessary can slow or stop this.

I love driving my 7 in the winter - extra power from the cold, dense air

[tortoise]

I have a Caterham which I race (Academy) and an Elise which I occasionally track but mostly it lives in a workshop somewhere having something fixed! The Caterham is easy to work on and a real blast to drive. The Elise is sophisticated, comfortable, quiet (well, relatively), and costs more than twice as much to insure and everything is more complicated and inaccesible. If the sun's out I'd take the Caterham unless I had to do more than 50 miles, then I'd take the Elise. If it was raining I'd take the Diesel!

On track the Elise is faster and the Caterham is more fun.

To be really contentious Caterham owners seem to be enthusiasts, some of them have beards and drink real ale, Most Elise owners are also knowledgeable car enthusiasts, but there is a bit of a "boy racer" element too.

I'd say list your priorities and see which car best meets the objectives.

For me, if I had to sell one, it would be the Elise (you had probably guessed that anyway).

Edited by tortoise on Wednesday 30th August 13:51

Edited by tortoise on Wednesday 30th August 13:53

[jaycee72]

elise faster on a track???

[tortoise]

Well my Elise is 225 bhp with Nitrons/AO48's and the Caterham is 118 bhp Academy spec. which runs wooden tyres and has brakes made of cheese so not really a fair comparison. Still have more fun in the Caterham on track though, probably because I'm not so worried about bending it as I could fix most damage on the Caterham myself whereas any brush with a tyre wall in the Elise is likely to be expensive. Also I prefer the balance of the front engine/rear drive of the Caterham. The Elise is undoubtedly quick and handles superbly but the point at which it lets go is much harder to predict and control.

[dannylt]

An Elise on wooden tyres with original suspension and setup is quite predictable too. If you are keeping the diesel barge, then makes sense to have as much contrast as possible and go for the Caterfield? I had an Elise and Caterham and used the Elise for long journeys in comfort (heater + roof!). With a barge the Elise is hard to justify, and the Caterham is far cheaper to track.

[tortoise]

Agree 100%. Owning, developing and tracking an Elise is a bit like being married. The commitment of time and money is far beyond what one initially expects. A Caterham is more of a quick shag with the girl from the typing pool. Lots of fun, much less commitment. It's probably not a good idea to try to do both at the same time though!