Excel, Esprit & Elise headroom

[Spathodus77]

Hi all,

I'm thinking purchasing a Lotus as a weekend toy, budget 10K. I'm 6 foot 5 in tall so I would appreciate hearing from any other tall owners out there. I've heard that the Esprit S3 had the most room of the Esprits and my budget will only stretch to an S1 Elise.

Also what should I budget for insurance? and is it possible for me do all my own servicing - I keep costs down on all my other cars by doing the simple/medium difficultly oily stuff.

Thanks.

[Oilchange]

You will struggle with an esprit, I'm 6'1" and there isn't much room, if I put a helmet on I almost have to crouch...

[Thorburn]

Can't comment on the Esprit or Excel, but I'm also in Wiltshire (Swindon) and you're more than welcome to have a sit in my S1 Elise to see how you fit. Always happy to walk potential owners through the things to watch out for, etc.

The Elise is the K-series engine so the basic oil change and such is fairly simple. You have to take off the undertray and being mid-engined the cambelt can be a bit of a pain but there are some good specialists around as well - Sportomotive and Esprit Engineering in Salisbury and Neil Garner up in Kemble.

If you're interested in DIY jobs on them then take a look at the SELOC TechWiki section on the car, lots of advice and walk-throughs in there: http://wiki.seloc.org/a/Category:S1

[Thud_Mcguffin]

I am 6'3" and have a series 1. Headroom is no problem, in fact because the interior of an Elise is so sparse there is nothing that comes into contact with your knees/shins when driving. Being a tall bloke I absolutely hate it when my knee is constantly rubbing on a centre console or something. It can actually get painful on long journeys.

The downside however is getting in and of it. No matter what height you are this is an acquired skill in an Elise, however being lanky makes you look even more of a tt as you have to fold in two.

[Spathodus77]

Thanks for the replies...that rules out the Esprit then...

Ralph

[dpr59]

I've not owned an Excel for a few years now, however....
When I did my son, 6' 4" and size 10 feet, drove it.
Headroom OK and no problem with the pedal box.
This is another area to consider.

[james280779]

I am 6'5 and I have an Esprit Turbo (1988). I am fine for headroom but wouldnt be able to fit a helmet. If you are going to rag a lotus around the track don't get an esprit- its far too good for that!

[tonyjduk]

I've an Elise S2 - i'm 6'5", with more than enough headroom. (getting in and out is a bit of a squeeze, but once you're in there's more than enough room). Driven an Esprit (many) and the driving position was awful.

Incidentally the Elise was designed to accommodate a 95th percentile, so us tall ones are ok.

[Oilchange]

right. firstly an Esprit is great fun around a track, it's where it was developed, it's the car's spiritual home so certainly not too good for it!!!!
...but you really need one with the the brakes and suspension sorted as my S4 had hopeless Toyota single pot things that wouldn't stop rampaging fieldmouse let alone a sportscar.

secondly, the driving position (for someone who isn't too tall) is brilliant. not rubbish. brilliant. Cramped for someone too tall, yes. ie someone who is 6'5" or above. But under 6'1" it's fab. It was credited with one of the best by several magazines (don't ask me which it would mean trawling back too far)

I've had my car for 12 years so I know a bit about them. not everything but a fair bit.

Cheers

[Hedgerley]

At 6ft1in and 18st I fit perfect in my 2001 V8-GT. Plenty of headroom and room under the steering wheel for my knees. The interior re-fit of 1998 gave an extra inch or two in most directions and it looks a lot tidier. On earlier Esprits its easy to remove the seat mounting rails and bolt them straight to the floor, giving another couple of inches headroom, as a mate of mine did many years ago on his Esprit SE and he is a good few inches taller than me.

You really need to try a few - the post 1998 probably being your best bet and if you prefer the 4-cylinder late GT3's picked up the re-fit as well.

There are to many good things about the Esprit to dismiss it 'on paper'. Try to get a drive. You'll be hooked.

Edited by Hedgerley on Tuesday 17th April 23:41

[james280779]

Spathodus77 said:

Hi all,

I'm thinking purchasing a Lotus as a weekend toy, budget 10K. I'm 6 foot 5 in tall so I would appreciate hearing from any other tall owners out there. I've heard that the Esprit S3 had the most room of the Esprits and my budget will only stretch to an S1 Elise.

Also what should I budget for insurance? and is it possible for me do all my own servicing - I keep costs down on all my other cars by doing the simple/medium difficultly oily stuff.

Thanks.

have you thought about TVR? The designer was 6'5 so they were all designed around tall people. If your really short you need a pedalbox put in lol.