160 - 190 - 120?

[MattyB_]

Owned a S160 (160bhp). Loved it.
Owned an S1 Exige (190bhp). Wasn't so keen.

But considering an Elise again in the coming months, and I feel like I've had a few S1's, so I'd like an S2. Unfortunately, as I'd like to keep a (reasonable) daily runner, this limits my budget to about £12k tops.

Question is, after the previous two....would I find a 120bhp S2 a little bit lacking? As that's all that seems to fall within the budget without looking at leggy/untidy 111S.

[Moospeed]

MattyB_ said:

Owned an S1 Exige (190bhp). Wasn't so keen.
.

Burn him! Burn him!

[danwebster]

Shame you didn't say something sooner...i've just agreed a deal to sell my sisters sport 135 for much less than your budget...

I think you'd be disappointed with a standard car after owning a 160, but thats just my opinion. You need to try one and see what you think!

[Captain Muppet]

danwebster said:

I think you'd be disappointed with a standard car after owning a 160, but thats just my opinion. You need to try one and see what you think!

I've got an S1 160 and I really enjoyed borrowing a 136bhp Toyota Elise. It was slower but more relaxing. I didn't find it too slow or any less involving, just different. This sort of thing is hugely driver dependant though.

I've never driven a base k-series S2, so I've no idea where they fall in the Elise spectrum.

[ad260S]

I had an S2 111s absolutely loved it, great as a daily driver especially if you NSS suspension on

[MattyB_]

The S1 Exige I've mentioned before, it was my most-wanted car for 10 years, and I think it was largely a 'meeting your hero' situation, plus I bought it at the wrong time, plus it was unreliable for me. Bad timing combined with bad luck. Awesome car though, I enjoyed looking at it more than I enjoyed driving it I think


Dan, it won't be until June/July, need to sort the house first. And I'm not 100% sure it's the way to go, as I'm not sure I can get an Elise I want for the money I've actually got.

S2 111S a bit pricey.

[kambites]

IMO, it's probably worth sticking it out to find an S2 111/111S. They're significantly quicker than the 120bhp car but also have a much more linear, flexible feeling engine.

Might be worth looking at VX220s, too. They offer a lot of car for the money.

[MattyB_]

kambites said:

IMO, it's probably worth sticking it out to find an S2 111/111S. They're significantly quicker than the 120bhp car but also have a much more linear, flexible feeling engine.

Might be worth looking at VX220s, too. They offer a lot of car for the money.

VX220's are bargains, loads of NA's around (not a turbo engine fan). However, I'm just a big Lotus fan...so I'm not sure I could live with it.

[Mr E]

ad260S said:

I had an S2 111s absolutely loved it, great as a daily driver especially if you NSS suspension on

I have a s2 111s on nitron streets and it's a very amusing thing indeed. I don't drive it enough.

[moretonslumber]

How about an S2 135R? I went from S1 118 to S1 Sport 135 to the 135R which I still have after seven years. Each one was better than the earlier one. Great car which I use most days. Don't believe all the nonsense you may read about it being too harsh for daily road use - with A048s it's the grippiest, best handling car I've ever driven. Just try to find one without blistering bodywork! If it has less than 50k miles then budget for a head gasket - I've had three K series Elise and they all popped between 45-55k miles. Not too expensive if you spot the early signs and fix it immediately.

[kambites]

MattyB_ said:

kambites said:

IMO, it's probably worth sticking it out to find an S2 111/111S. They're significantly quicker than the 120bhp car but also have a much more linear, flexible feeling engine.

Might be worth looking at VX220s, too. They offer a lot of car for the money.

VX220's are bargains, loads of NA's around (not a turbo engine fan). However, I'm just a big Lotus fan...so I'm not sure I could live with it.

It was designed and built by Lotus - it is a Lotus, albeit one with a Vauxhall/Opel badge on the nose. IIRC you can even swap the body panels between the two cars without a great deal of effort.