Elise Advice

[MSR12c]

Hi, I have had many sports cars, 911’s, MP4, 458, 430, Atom etc.

I kind of lost the passion for them, largely due to huge costs, particularly with Ferrari.

The sun is out and suddenly I fancy an Elise, I’ve never owned a Lotus.

I don’t want to spend a fortune, say £25k. There seem to be so many variants available and I wondered if anyone here could advise what I should be considering.

Any help would be hugely appreciated.

[Leggy]

That should get you a nice S2 SC. Sweet spot, plenty of torque, very quick and still light enough to be nimble. 220bhp.
Will be virtually depreciation proof.
Best bang for your buck.

[Darryl247W]

I'll second that. An SC is where I'd be looking with that budget. It's also what I'd be looking for if I upgraded from my 111S.
Prices seems to fall into bands IMO.
Low mileage K-series 111S (up to 2005) : advertised up to £19k,
Good Toyota 111R or R ( 2005-2009ish) :
advertised around £22k,
Good Toyota SC :
Advertised up to around £29k,
After that you're into Series 3 at £30k plus.

Note I say 'advertised'

There are lower-powered variants, but the Elise isn't the most powerful car anyway, so it's generally best to go with the model with best ooomph of its generation. IMO of course.

Edited by Darryl247W on Friday 27th July 17:28

[MSR12c]

Thanks guys - very much appreciated. I was tempted by a reasonably priced Mk3 but it was the 1.6 variant which I feel might become frustrating as it seems to have limited performance.

[itcaptainslow]

MSR12c said:

Thanks guys - very much appreciated. I was tempted by a reasonably priced Mk3 but it was the 1.6 variant which I feel might become frustrating as it seems to have limited performance.

After your car history I think you'd be right-they're very sweet, buzzy and balanced but do lack the ultimate performance hit and feel slow reasonably quickly. Still fun, though!

[gianlu]

The S2 R Toyota is good, at 190hp, but the s/c adds torque which makes it so much easier to enjoy (IMHO, as I've add them all).
I still like the character of a well tuned K series, but the yota S/C is easier.
Get an S2 as it will have the 2ZZ, higher revving engine. There are a few on the nomrla places advertised around 24k/25k.

As said above, you should get away with maintenance as only cost and no depreciation.

Enjoy, if you get clear from the get go that it is NOT a GT car, you will enjoy it for a long time.

[limpsfield]

Sold mine in 2012 ish - 2005 111R, absolutely loved it.

I haven't driven any others (did have an Evora, now have a boxster s). I think you have to drive a couple of variants but I would wholeheartedly endorse the R as a great hooligan of a little car, without losing your licence. I've had the Boxster for a few years and it's very capable but I miss the rawness and the go-kart-iness of the Elise. I'll have another.

[Venisonpie]

It's an interesting place to get to. I went Tuscan, 981 Cayman before a recently purchased S3 supercharged Elise. It knocks the socks off the previous 2 for fun and feel albeit with compromises. Lacking the grunt of the Tuscan is worth the trade off in favour of poise and driveability. The Porsche is an also ran against the Lotus, hugely capable but lacking involvement.
The Lotus probably delivers beyond expectations more than any other car I've had in 30 years. Love mine.

[p4cks]

May I just throw a little curve ball, in the VXR220.

Depreciation proof, quicker than an Elise, cheaper than an Elise and a much more tunable engine

[lj04]

Look out for an early S3 with the earlier 2zz engine. Try a few different models. I still think the S1 Gives the biggest grins