Which would you go for?

[M5Fan]

I love this colour:
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...




or more spec:
http://classifieds.pistonheads.com/classifieds/use...



I think I read somewhere the CR weight savings don't really make much difference, is there any real point of going for a CR? What are those seats like too, are they as good as the Probax?

[400SE Dave]

I wouldn't go for a 1.6!! If I had to though I would go for the CR

[wevster]

400SE Dave said:

I wouldn't go for a 1.6!! If I had to though I would go for the CR

Eh? The CR is a 1.6?

[GTRene]

I like black cars...
also the 2010 model elise
the CR is more special me thinks, although not such blue fan this one looks ok.

[400SE Dave]

wevster said:

400SE Dave said:

I wouldn't go for a 1.6!! If I had to though I would go for the CR

Eh? The CR is a 1.6?

Original CR's were 1.8, a good friend of mine had one. It went to a 1.6 when the facelift was done and the Eu5 regs came in.

What I was meaning is I would go for a 1.8 engined car as it has been reported on many forums that the 1.6 is a bit flat. I know this would mean a used car (or perhaps there are still some 1.8's in the dealer netwotk somewhere??) but that is the way I would go.

[Thorburn]

The CR has the Comfort Pack and air-con, so the weight saving over a standard 1.6 is basically negligible.

[bebee]

Top one, put some Gulf transfers on it.

If you like to clean and polish a lot, get the black.

[ad111s]

Those CR seats dont look very comfortable at all

[kambites]

Wouldn't be surprised if the darker coloured far is lighter than the CR, since it doesn't appear to have air con.

[rfoster]

ad111s said:

Those CR seats dont look very comfortable at all

You'd be surprised - I tried one out thinking the same thing, but in fact they just have padding in the places that you need it.

[anonymous-user]

The black on is a bit poverty spec, even for £25K. Others have paid a bit less (relatively) for a higher spec.

The CR is much better spec with aircon, comfort pack and it gets the black style pack as standard, switchable DPM and is a CR-only colour if that makes any difference.

I would imagine that the CR would hold its value better and be easier to sell too.

[anonymous-user]

400SE Dave said:

I wouldn't go for a 1.6!!

Have you driven one?

[Exige77]

slooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow.

Ex77

[Thorburn]

milesr3 said:

400SE Dave said:

I wouldn't go for a 1.6!!

Have you driven one?

I've driven them on track and on the road - I quite like them but, on track it felt too long geared particularly in third, but on the road it was quick enough. In most cases the biggest difference between Elises becomes the risks the driver is willing to take as opposed to the actual performance of the car.

It's hard to make an argument for them when for similar money you could be in a 2009 R or SC, unless you're doing a lot of miles and need the improved fuel economy.

[anonymous-user]

I've read your review. I own a 1.6 and have obviously driven it a lot on the road and will track it this year. Have to say that I've never noticed the taller gearing of 3rd and 4th, but then I've not back to back compared it with a 1.8. I find 4th to be perfect for fast A/B-road driving when you just want to modulate the throttle a little through sweeping bends.

One thing I have noticed with mine is (despite what the handbook says) it does run better on V-Power. When I first got it I found it very flat on the motorway in 6th and it was pinking a little on light acceleration. I tried the higher octane fuel to see if it would stop the pinking and was pleasantly surprised in that it felt like it fattened up the mid-range where there was previously a flat-spot.

As an every day and weekend car for the road you'll get as much enjoyment from the connection of driving a 1.6 as anything else.

It's hard to justify any new car over a greater performing, cheaper used one. Mine is my daily-driver, so I appreciate the 3 year warranty and as I intend keeping it then in theory things should need replacing 3 years later than a 2009 car. Fuel economy is bad man maths considering depreciation, although it's nice to have along with £130 tax and ~£200 for insurance.

Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 17th January 15:13

[Thorburn]

milesr3 said:

I've read your review. I own a 1.6 and have obviously driven it a lot on the road and will track it this year. Have to say that I've never noticed the taller gearing of 3rd and 4th, but then I've not back to back compared it with a 1.8. I find 4th to be perfect for fast A/B-road driving when you just want to modulate the throttle a little through sweeping bends.

As I say I only really noticed it on track, first drove one on the road in May 2011, drove another on an LDA day last March. We did the North Circuit and only really noticed it coming out the Rindt Hairpin (http://www.lotusdrivingacademy.com/hethel/track) where you take a late apex and you were just a few hundred rpm outside the real power band so you just had this moment or two where it felt a little flat. Never really noticed it on the road though.

Not a bad car in any way, but I think most peoples frustration is that it doesn't move the Elise on in terms of performance vs. older models at less money.

[anonymous-user]

I can understand it's hard to justify if you already own one that does largely the same thing.

I guess closer ratios or a bit more power might make it more appealing to some potential buyers, but I do think it's a bit sad when people write it off because it only has a 1.6 with the same power as the last one.

The only reason I can think of not to choose a 1.6 is that the options for upgrading the power are limited compared to (say) a factory supercharger kit on a 1.8.

[400SE Dave]

milesr3 said:

400SE Dave said:

I wouldn't go for a 1.6!!

Have you driven one?

No I haven't hence the reason I said that it is commented on many forums it was a tad slow.

I have an Exige S so haven't considered trying one but I am sure that it is satisfying in many ways as the handling will still be as you would expect from a Lotus.

[M5Fan]

Thorburn said:

The CR has the Comfort Pack and air-con, so the weight saving over a standard 1.6 is basically negligible.

I don't quite get the logic of choosing a CR (which I thought was meant to be a stripped to the bones racer) and speccing it up so it's as, if not more heavy than a standard Elise, seems a bit bonkers, I suppose if that's the only way to get that colour though that's what you have to do !

[JM5]

I've got a Cr on order in solar yellow. I drove one back to back with a 2009 1.8 and although you need to work it harder it certainly doesn't feel slower than its aging brother. I did drive a SC also and although its more exiting on the straights the cr was the most raw and enjoyable experience out of the trio for me.