Lotus; where to start
Discussion
Always fancied having a Lotus; in fact I even named my first daughter Elise
If you were a relative novice in all things Lotus, which would be the best car to buy. For me the most important factors are:
-Must sound good (probably rules out any supercharged versions???)
-Lightweight with phenomenal handling (I guess this covers the whole model range)
-Reliable (not sure how possible this is given the acronym 'lot of trouble....')
-Something that holds its value
-Must be quick
-Cost up to £30k (doesn't mean I want to spent this much as you guys might suggest a 10k car is all I need)
Many thanks for your time
If you were a relative novice in all things Lotus, which would be the best car to buy. For me the most important factors are:
-Must sound good (probably rules out any supercharged versions???)
-Lightweight with phenomenal handling (I guess this covers the whole model range)
-Reliable (not sure how possible this is given the acronym 'lot of trouble....')
-Something that holds its value
-Must be quick
-Cost up to £30k (doesn't mean I want to spent this much as you guys might suggest a 10k car is all I need)
Many thanks for your time
I would suggests a second hand Elise with a sports exhaust. I had a 111r for four years and have an Evora for 2 so far.
Would go back to the 111r in a heartbeat. Great cars. I never had any major problems. Only let down once in 6 years. Depreciation has been a pleasant surprise- makes them really cheap to own.
Would go back to the 111r in a heartbeat. Great cars. I never had any major problems. Only let down once in 6 years. Depreciation has been a pleasant surprise- makes them really cheap to own.
Bought my first lotus this year. Lots of different models/versions to think about. I went for a 111R with induction system and Stage 2 exhaust.
Absolutely love it. My experience so far is a very reliable car with low running costs and minimal depreciation. I really don't know what I would replace it with. 4.8 to 60 and 30MPG too.
I wouldn't disregard supercharged. I have a ride in a charged 111R with TRD airbox and it sounded great. The TRD airbox is a fairly cheap mod and lots of cars already have it.
Absolutely love it. My experience so far is a very reliable car with low running costs and minimal depreciation. I really don't know what I would replace it with. 4.8 to 60 and 30MPG too.
I wouldn't disregard supercharged. I have a ride in a charged 111R with TRD airbox and it sounded great. The TRD airbox is a fairly cheap mod and lots of cars already have it.
I've had 2 S2 elises, an S and an SC. Wish I'd bought the supercharged one first time around. Had a sports exhaust on the S and the TRD airbox on the S/C. Sports exhaust would have been the next upgrade if I hadn't got rid of it.
Be prepared for breakdowns and niggles, worth it though
Be prepared for breakdowns and niggles, worth it though
lj04 said:
I would buy another 118 hp s1 , just for the grin factor. Had one as a daily driver for 5 years , before changing to a s2 111s, which was very good . Now have a cayman and think I have been making backward steps in terms of grin factor.
This entirely - a well fettled basic elise is a fantastic thing to drive. I had one, bought a 911 instead and much as I enjoyed that it never made me smile like the lotus. Since bought another s1 and absolutely love it... They do go wrong from time to time but aren't complicated - I even managed to change the radiator on mine - and aren't huge money to fix...You don't say whether it's to be a daily driver etc - if so I'd suggest an s2 is a more liveable proposition. If not, I'd buy a Sport 160.
Edited by AndyD360 on Saturday 20th December 22:38
I bought my first Lotus 3 months ago. It's an S1 Elise and basically chose that because of how it looks. I think it's one of the most beautiful and timeless car designs.
I found interesting that you named your daughter Eiise. My daughter was born earlier this year and thought Elise would be such a nice name too. In fact I almost managed to persuade my wife too. But in the end we gave her the name of my mother in law....
I found interesting that you named your daughter Eiise. My daughter was born earlier this year and thought Elise would be such a nice name too. In fact I almost managed to persuade my wife too. But in the end we gave her the name of my mother in law....
QI've just bought a black 03 plate 111s after owning a CBR fireblade powered Toniq kitcar.
I managed to pick it up for just under 10k and I'm chuffed to bits with it. The only fault I can pick with it is the stupid sized front wheels which are a nightmare to get really decent rubber for them.
I could of spent more on an elise but i had a 10k budget, which I stuck to because I couldn't justify more spend on something I would only use a couple of times a month as a weekend car.
I managed to pick it up for just under 10k and I'm chuffed to bits with it. The only fault I can pick with it is the stupid sized front wheels which are a nightmare to get really decent rubber for them.
I could of spent more on an elise but i had a 10k budget, which I stuck to because I couldn't justify more spend on something I would only use a couple of times a month as a weekend car.
van cleef said:
QI've just bought a black 03 plate 111s after owning a CBR fireblade powered Toniq kitcar.
I managed to pick it up for just under 10k and I'm chuffed to bits with it. The only fault I can pick with it is the stupid sized front wheels which are a nightmare to get really decent rubber for them.
I could of spent more on an elise but i had a 10k budget, which I stuck to because I couldn't justify more spend on something I would only use a couple of times a month as a weekend car.
Yoko AD07 R were made specifically for the s2 elise and can be found for pretty cheap online.I managed to pick it up for just under 10k and I'm chuffed to bits with it. The only fault I can pick with it is the stupid sized front wheels which are a nightmare to get really decent rubber for them.
I could of spent more on an elise but i had a 10k budget, which I stuck to because I couldn't justify more spend on something I would only use a couple of times a month as a weekend car.
van cleef said:
QI've just bought a black 03 plate 111s after owning a CBR fireblade powered Toniq kitcar.
I managed to pick it up for just under 10k and I'm chuffed to bits with it. The only fault I can pick with it is the stupid sized front wheels which are a nightmare to get really decent rubber for them.
I could of spent more on an elise but i had a 10k budget, which I stuck to because I couldn't justify more spend on something I would only use a couple of times a month as a weekend car.
Yoko AD07 R were made specifically for the s2 elise and can be found for pretty cheap online.I managed to pick it up for just under 10k and I'm chuffed to bits with it. The only fault I can pick with it is the stupid sized front wheels which are a nightmare to get really decent rubber for them.
I could of spent more on an elise but i had a 10k budget, which I stuck to because I couldn't justify more spend on something I would only use a couple of times a month as a weekend car.
lee111s said:
van cleef said:
QI've just bought a black 03 plate 111s after owning a CBR fireblade powered Toniq kitcar.
I managed to pick it up for just under 10k and I'm chuffed to bits with it. The only fault I can pick with it is the stupid sized front wheels which are a nightmare to get really decent rubber for them.
I could of spent more on an elise but i had a 10k budget, which I stuck to because I couldn't justify more spend on something I would only use a couple of times a month as a weekend car.
Yoko AD07 R were made specifically for the s2 elise and can be found for pretty cheap online.I managed to pick it up for just under 10k and I'm chuffed to bits with it. The only fault I can pick with it is the stupid sized front wheels which are a nightmare to get really decent rubber for them.
I could of spent more on an elise but i had a 10k budget, which I stuck to because I couldn't justify more spend on something I would only use a couple of times a month as a weekend car.
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