Elise for all seasons?

[SonicHedgeHog]

It's a lovely summer day and I'm awake which means it's time for another mid-life crisis. I do 12,000 miles per year of which 75% are on non-rush hour motorway. The rest of my journeys are the backroads of Surrey and a few trips to the golf course. My job requires me to regularly take a small-ish suitcase and a briefcase to work. The missus has a Fiat 500 for practical stuff.

Question: could I live with an Elise all year round and if so is one model particularly well suited to the job? Realistically I'm only interested in S2/2.5 cars.

[Tyrewrecker]

SonicHedgeHog said:

It's a lovely summer day and I'm awake which means it's time for another mid-life crisis. I do 12,000 miles per year of which 75% are on non-rush hour motorway. The rest of my journeys are the backroads of Surrey and a few trips to the golf course. My job requires me to regularly take a small-ish suitcase and a briefcase to work. The missus has a Fiat 500 for practical stuff.

Question: could I live with an Elise all year round and if so is one model particularly well suited to the job? Realistically I'm only interested in S2/2.5 cars.

Depends on you. The cars are fine to live upset but it's not the easiest to get in and out of so again, depends on you. Lots have them as the only car, lots dont mind, lots are fortunate and have other cars.

[Platinum]

Mine was okay last winter - although the weather was pretty mild compared to the few before.

The most annoying thing is misting up in the morning and occasionally ice on the inside of the windscreen too...a cover usually stops this happening overnight. I found the heater to be very good and it gets warms quickly (on a Rover car - no experience of a Toyota one i'm afraid.)

It's not much fun driving on busy roads at night due to the low driving position, as most headlights dazzle you and the Elise's dipped beam lights are pretty poor (so you can't see where you're going ).

Some say they're fine on standard tyres, some say they are much better on winter tyres.

[scatty72]

i use my exige s2 everyday. ive found its brilliant on dry days and just a bit of a pain when its raining. i think i just dont like getting her wet if that makes sense...

getting in it every morning in the garage is a bit of a pain. but thats about it....im suited and booted everyday with a bag/case.

the positives most definatey outweigh the negatives!!!! by a country mile!!!!

[otolith]

Mine isn't our only car, but it is my default car and the one I drive most. Just lack of seats and luggage space really.

[Tyrewrecker]

Platinum said:

Some say they're fine on standard tyres, some say they are much better on winter tyres.

Winter tyres are just much better full stop.

[Captain Muppet]

Platinum said:

The most annoying thing is misting up in the morning and occasionally ice on the inside of the windscreen too...a cover usually stops this happening overnight.

AC fixes the interior misting issue (I've driven a few Elises with AC), and for those cars without AC a caravan dehumidifier block will stop it too (I commute in my S1 Elise all year and keep it outside).

[kambites]

Not much fun in snow on the standard tyres, but otherwise I enjoy mine as much in the winter as in the summer.

[Lione1 Richie]

I used a VX220 as an everyday car. It really made me fall out of love with it. Using it everyday took the sheen off it and I stopped forgiving the niggles and ended up resenting it.

My past two Elise's have been second cars and much the better for it imo. But I am a bit of a pussy.

Have a look at an Evora or a Europa perhaps?

I'd love and Evora.

[bogie]

I had one for 6 years and did use it daily for first couple of years, doing 20K miles a year

like any compromised sportscar you *can* use it daily and put up with its foibles, just like any other vehicle

the later S2s were better, with luxuries like aircon which can keep it from misting up in the depths of winter

a 2nd set of wheels n tyres is a great option for winter ...and certainly saves compromising the car further by running "regular" tyres all year around ...I mean why buy a fantastic handling sportscar for those sunny drives out, and then cripple it so that you can use it in the depths of winter ...get a spare set of wheels instead

[Platinum]

Captain Muppet said:

Platinum said:

The most annoying thing is misting up in the morning and occasionally ice on the inside of the windscreen too...a cover usually stops this happening overnight.

AC fixes the interior misting issue (I've driven a few Elises with AC), and for those cars without AC a caravan dehumidifier block will stop it too (I commute in my S1 Elise all year and keep it outside).

The manual suggests that the AC does not work when the ambient temperature is very low single figures/below zero. The AC equipped car I borrowed was as useless as my non-AC one for clearing the droplets that had formed on the inside of the 'screen after a cold night. I've not found misting up while driving to be too much of a problem (the blower is brilliant that's probably tempting resistor pack meltdown...!)

[Noe]

Main thing is if you looking for fun ........ Keep or have the roof off all the time, bar raining days, and everything is way better ..... Entry, exit, fun factor .....

If you travelling with two bags try a soft holdall for clothing and that will fit nicely in the rear storage ..... Along with laptop and another small squashy style bag

My first Elise, sept 98 picked up ( at that time the waiting period was 18months !) was used extensively and I use to commute in 'well trimmed suits' most days thru London to the city ..... The drive every morning was great ..... Only issued was 'the outdoor smell' you get from driving open topped .... And when the rain came otherwise I refused to use the roof but insisted on making each drive 'fun'

If you are thinking to do it, are able to do it, then stop 'thinking' about it and just get it ....... And if after a time it don't work out then so be it, you tried and can then do something else !

[Rakoosh]

When you drive to the golf course is it just you?

In which case you'll be fine...

but if you need to give a mate a lift then an Elise is a no go I am afraid.

SonicHedgeHog said:

and a few trips to the golf course.

[SonicHedgeHog]

Thanks for the replies and the honesty. I think if was going to go this route a set of winter tyres would be sensible as would a hard top. I only ever drive myself to the golf course and could borrow the missus' Fiat 500 if I absolutely had to so the practicality element isn't as bad as in a single car household.

The honesty about the front screen misting up in winter (and probably freezing if it is anything like our old MGTF) is useful. When I'm on earlies in the middle of winter I'm unlikely to enjoy thawing out the car before I can drive to work. I'd have to leave it in the garage and probably pop a fan heater in the footwell on a timer so it was all ready to go. Not really a problem. The low level lights and lack of illumination requires some more thought though.

The reason I'm trying to make this work as my main car is that I used to have a TVR which lived in the garage and was seldom used. Shuffling cars around on the drive so I could get the Griff out of the garage was just too much of a faff. Combine that with 20mpg vs 60mpg in the oil burner and a permanent, unfounded dread of it breaking down and it was an itch scratched but nothing more.

I like the Europa, but the fixed roof and lack of choice on the second hand market is a downside. I wonder how easy they will be to resell too?

I'll pop to the dealer and have a look later this week. A few years ago I tried an Exige with an insane air filter and exhaust and I swear it would have been quieter to have put a metal bucket on my head and employ someone to follow me around hitting the bucket with a mallet. I'd also have to do something about the cam changeover point as it needs to be at least a 1000rpm lower.

Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. Thanks again.

[SeanyD]

I use mine daily, and I've pretty much owned one for 5 or 6 years, with 1 year off.

Aircon is incredibly useful for de-misting, down-side being the added weight

Hardtop useful for during winter months.

Toyota engine has a much better heater from my experience than a K series.

[kambites]

SeanyD said:

Hardtop useful for during winter months.

Out of interest, why? I put my hard top on for the first winter and couldn't actually detect any difference at all, so it's been in the garage ever since.

I've never seen why people complain about the heater either - mine (K-series) is powerful enough to make the cabin uncomfortably hot with the roof on and to keep it pretty warm even with the roof off in sub-zero temperatures.

[SeanyD]

kambites said:

Out of interest, why? I put my hard top on for the first winter and couldn't actually detect any difference at all, so it's been in the garage ever since.

I've never seen why people complain about the heater either - mine (K-series) is powerful enough to make the cabin uncomfortably hot with the roof on and to keep it pretty warm even with the roof off in sub-zero temperatures.

Fair do's, my last k series the heater was barely enough to take the chill off, compared to my current 1zz which is toasty hot. Could be the revised position of the vents I guess (forward facing rather than upward windscreen facing). Not knocking the k series, just my experience comparing the two.

[kambites]

SeanyD said:

Fair do's, my last k series the heater was barely enough to take the chill off, compared to my current 1zz which is toasty hot. Could be the revised position of the vents I guess (forward facing rather than upward windscreen facing). Not knocking the k series, just my experience comparing the two.

Ah yes, that might be it. Mine has forward facing vents (although I find driving with the roof off that pointing the hot air up the windscreen is, for some strange reason, the best way to keep the cabin warm).

[Platinum]

kambites said:

SeanyD said:

Fair do's, my last k series the heater was barely enough to take the chill off, compared to my current 1zz which is toasty hot. Could be the revised position of the vents I guess (forward facing rather than upward windscreen facing). Not knocking the k series, just my experience comparing the two.

Ah yes, that might be it. Mine has forward facing vents (although I find driving with the roof off that pointing the hot air up the windscreen is, for some strange reason, the best way to keep the cabin warm).

Didn't the later K-series cars also get a different heating and ventilation system (same as the Toyota cars?)?

[SeanyD]

Platinum said:

kambites said:

SeanyD said:

Fair do's, my last k series the heater was barely enough to take the chill off, compared to my current 1zz which is toasty hot. Could be the revised position of the vents I guess (forward facing rather than upward windscreen facing). Not knocking the k series, just my experience comparing the two.

Ah yes, that might be it. Mine has forward facing vents (although I find driving with the roof off that pointing the hot air up the windscreen is, for some strange reason, the best way to keep the cabin warm).

Didn't the later K-series cars also get a different heating and ventilation system (same as the Toyota cars?)?

That maybe what kambites is referring to. My 2002 k series had vents pointing up at the windscreen only, and they didn't do that much other than take the sting out of sub zero temps, granted it was warmish air, but not hot by any means