sell the elise but then what?
Discussion
Had the Elise 3 years, getting a bit old and creaky ( me not the car) so I'm thinking of changing. But all the interesting makes like TVR and Noble have gone. Had a look at Porsche yesterday but they didnt really grab me - didnt see why I would want to buy one as opposed to a Z4 or a TT. So I guiess that what interests me is the small volume individualistic manufacturers.
Found myself looking at Morgan but the trad models I would be willing to buy are really a bit old fashioned after the Lotus.
Any ideas? Must be an open 2 seater and needs to be more civilised than a lotus 7 type clone.
Anybody tried the roadgoing versions of the Radical?
Found myself looking at Morgan but the trad models I would be willing to buy are really a bit old fashioned after the Lotus.
Any ideas? Must be an open 2 seater and needs to be more civilised than a lotus 7 type clone.
Anybody tried the roadgoing versions of the Radical?
bordseye said:
Had a look at Porsche yesterday but they didnt really grab me - didnt see why I would want to buy one as opposed to a Z4 or a TT.
If practicality is a factor then the obvious advantage of a Porsche Boxster over a Z4 or TT is boot space.The Boxster has one medium sized boot up front and a second smaller boot at the rear.
The Z4 and TT just have one small boot at the rear, that said though they all have a lot more practicality than an Elise.
Practicality aside it's pretty subjective, Styling, image, handling etc I'd say are all down to personal preference.
I moved from an Elise to a VX220, to a Boxster S.
Missed the Elise big time when I sold it so bought the VX, sadly the VX220 is'nt as special as the Elise and all the downsides of such a focused (Cramped) drivers machine were more noticeable in the VX so I got rid of it and bought the Boxster.
I can honestly say I no longer miss the Elise, best car I've ever owned.
It's not so much practicality ( we have a family Volvo for that - most boring car ever!) but physicality. I'm 65 so getting in and out of the Lotus with the roof up is not that easy any longer. By inclination I like modern things, up to date design and performance and the Morgan doesnt fit that mould, though it is much better on a test drive than you might imagine
But the Porsche to look at and sit in seemed very ordinary with the sort of interior that you would equally find on a BMW or the Volvo or indeed most other mass produced cars. Do you find the Boxter as "special" as you used to find the Lotus? Does it bring the same sort of smile to your face when you see it in the garage? They are toys after all so the smile factor is important.
But the Porsche to look at and sit in seemed very ordinary with the sort of interior that you would equally find on a BMW or the Volvo or indeed most other mass produced cars. Do you find the Boxter as "special" as you used to find the Lotus? Does it bring the same sort of smile to your face when you see it in the garage? They are toys after all so the smile factor is important.
bordseye said:
But the Porsche to look at and sit in seemed very ordinary with the sort of interior that you would equally find on a BMW or the Volvo or indeed most other mass produced cars. Do you find the Boxter as "special" as you used to find the Lotus? Does it bring the same sort of smile to your face when you see it in the garage? They are toys after all so the smile factor is important.
Yes i know what you mean about getting in and out and that had a lot to do with why I got rid of mine, even though I'm 36 using it every day made it a tad tiresome.The Lotus is very special but it's not that special to just sit in, quite ordinary really and the VX even more so.
The Porsche is much nicer to be sat in (Z4 and TT may be the same I couldn't comment), my Boxster has £12k of optional extra's which are mostly on the interior so maybe mines differenet to the one you tried but sitting in it is a lot more special than the Lotus, leather everything, sat nav, aircon, working heater, powered roof, heated seats.
Driving it can be what ever you want it to be, it cruises smoothly on the motorway with out being tiresome (The lotus couldn't do that) and is a fuss free drive for the daily commute but open her up on a country road and it can really get the adrenalin going, it handles very well, it's short of the Elise but what this side of an Exige isn't?
Mine has the factory fit sports exhaust system so the wail from the 3.2 flat six engine is fantastic, it sounds like a proper exotic but being switchable it can be quite and subtle when required.
Does it look as good as an Elise, no, no it doesn't but it's certainly not ugly and the build quiality is far superior to any Lotus and in just under a year of ownership it's been far cheaper to run than either the Elise or the VX, if you ignore the fuel bill!
It's a great all rounder and as it's my daily driver that's the ideal situation for me far more so than the Elise or VX were as they were a pain to use on a daily basis and took a cross country (No Motorways) blast to be appreciated.
Thanks for the reply Robert. In a way, the fact that you still read the Lotus forums says something in reply to my questions - but I'm not quite sure what!
My car isnt a daily driver. Its purely a toy and does maybe 3k miles a year and an occasional trackday. That said it would be useful to have a car that had luggage space and was useable on the motorway. I've taken the Lotus to Spain but tbh it isnt my first choice if I have to go any distance whereas I think a porker could be.
Do you ever find yourself thinking " I should have got a proper Porsche , a 911". Its not a view I subscribe to but it is one I have heard fairly often. I do wonder if that would get to me and I'd end up wishing I had gone the whole hog.
Is there the same sort of enthusiasts scene about the boxter as there is for the lotus?
My car isnt a daily driver. Its purely a toy and does maybe 3k miles a year and an occasional trackday. That said it would be useful to have a car that had luggage space and was useable on the motorway. I've taken the Lotus to Spain but tbh it isnt my first choice if I have to go any distance whereas I think a porker could be.
Do you ever find yourself thinking " I should have got a proper Porsche , a 911". Its not a view I subscribe to but it is one I have heard fairly often. I do wonder if that would get to me and I'd end up wishing I had gone the whole hog.
Is there the same sort of enthusiasts scene about the boxter as there is for the lotus?
bordseye said:
Thanks for the reply Robert. In a way, the fact that you still read the Lotus forums says something in reply to my questions - but I'm not quite sure what!
Actually I saw this come up on "What's New > Last Visit" tab at the top right of the screen rather than from trawling the Lotus forum! Yes there is a Porker scene although I have little or nothing to do with it so I couldn't really comment on what it's like.
I did fancy a 911 but I wanted a convertable car and I'm not a fan of roofless 911's, I don't think they look right. The Boxster was designed from day one as a convertable so the lines look correct, to me at least, as well as not being a dynamicly inferior version of a hardtop parent which a lot of convertables are.
The Boxster being mid engined rather than rear is a great handling car, some say better than the 911!
I've had the car a little while now and keep looking at 911's. The budget is restricted to 996's but I can't find a 996 with all the extra's my Boxster has and as both cars are identical from the front seats forward it would feel like a step down from the drivers seat, that and the extra 200cc, 30-40bhp and the engine a foot or so further back aren't quite enough to tempt me in to one just yet.
It's kind of like Elise's and Exige's I'm sure you don't spend all your time wishing your Elise was an Exige, but it doesn't stop you thinking about owning one someday!
Good luck with whatever you go for.
Edited by Roberty on Wednesday 11th May 13:53
bordseye said:
Had the Elise 3 years, getting a bit old and creaky ( me not the car) so I'm thinking of changing. But all the interesting makes like TVR and Noble have gone. Had a look at Porsche yesterday but they didnt really grab me - didnt see why I would want to buy one as opposed to a Z4 or a TT. So I guiess that what interests me is the small volume individualistic manufacturers.
Found myself looking at Morgan but the trad models I would be willing to buy are really a bit old fashioned after the Lotus.
Any ideas? Must be an open 2 seater and needs to be more civilised than a lotus 7 type clone.
Anybody tried the roadgoing versions of the Radical?
lol, how in any language is a Radical more civilized than a Lotus 7?? Found myself looking at Morgan but the trad models I would be willing to buy are really a bit old fashioned after the Lotus.
Any ideas? Must be an open 2 seater and needs to be more civilised than a lotus 7 type clone.
Anybody tried the roadgoing versions of the Radical?
How about looking at smaller car companies?
http://www.marlinsportscars.co.uk/sportster/
http://www.gkdsportscars.com/overview-1.html
300bhp/ton said:
lol, how in any language is a Radical more civilized than a Lotus 7??
I don't know which is why I was asking. Dont see why it has to be less civilised than an Elise and absolutely anything is better than a 7 IMO. Still have horrific memories of the crudity of my Westfield. Kept that car for all of 2 months.Do you want it to be mid-engined? Boxster is the most similar experience in the same price range. I have found it better that it initially seems after a while, although it doesn't have the Elise's rawness. You could also go cheap and get an MR2 Turbo or expensive and go for F355 / 360 otherwise 
Not bothered whether the engine is in front or the middle. I just want it to be "special" and however good a car it is ( and I reckon it is a great car) the Boxter is not special. A 360 or 430 would be special but listening to the tales a pal tells me ( he has a flat 12), I would not want the service bills / unreliability.
The old style Brit sportscar industry was my sort of territory - people like TVR, Marcos, Lotus, Noble before they went silly expensive. Even Ginetta with their original road cars. But they have mostly gone hence and I'm not interested in a classic.
The old style Brit sportscar industry was my sort of territory - people like TVR, Marcos, Lotus, Noble before they went silly expensive. Even Ginetta with their original road cars. But they have mostly gone hence and I'm not interested in a classic.
bordseye said:
The old style Brit sportscar industry was my sort of territory - people like TVR, Marcos, Lotus, Noble before they went silly expensive. Even Ginetta with their original road cars. But they have mostly gone hence and I'm not interested in a classic.
So what was wrong with the GKD or Marlin? I'd have thought they are exactly what you are describing. 
surrey7er said:
How about a Murtaya? Or you could take up Yoga to make getting into the Elise easier?
You can joke! An 10 year older pal of mine ( ex gym teacher and still fairly fit) wanted to try the Lotus. Got him half way in and he wedged. Took 10 mins to get him out again - he just couldnt bend enough after two hip replacements even though he could still run and dance ( after a fashion!). There are no benefits to getting old. :-(
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