hmm I might be making a right cock up

[crackthatoff]

going to look a europa tomorrow, 225, nice leather, 56 plate, 4500 miles ex demo car so no owners as yet...19.5k which seems somewhat a bit of a bargain.
I do love the 135r though, just been thinking it's not getting any younger and I fancy a change, after reading pages after pages of people slating them I'm feeling slightly edgy although I havn't driven one yet ! thoughts anyone?

[jerrytlr]

Ignore the random noise comments on here and elsewhere, usually from people who have never even seen one in the flesh (let alone driven or owned one) - look at it (does it excite you at all?), drive it and then decide for yourself.

I think mine is fantastic, done about 6K miles in it now and it still puts a smile on my face every time I get in.

I only have two criticisms of the car:

- I miss the fact the roof doesn't come off sometimes (but enjoy the relative quiet the rest of the time)
- the power delivery, even with 225 upgrade, leaves a lot to be desired - it is still far more lumpy than it should be, with quite a large flat spot around 4K rpm.

Mine was a similar age and mileage to yours when I bought it for 2K more that you are looking to pay, and I still think that was a lot of car for the money, so yours looks like an even better deal although a quick look at PH classifieds reveals a number of cars sub-20K now...

Please let us know how you get on

Cheers,

Jerry

[Hollywood Wheels]

Nice cars. If you won't miss topless driving then go for it.

[crackthatoff]

jerrytlr said:

Ignore the random noise comments on here and elsewhere, usually from people who have never even seen one in the flesh (let alone driven or owned one) - look at it (does it excite you at all?), drive it and then decide for yourself.

I think mine is fantastic, done about 6K miles in it now and it still puts a smile on my face every time I get in.

I only have two criticisms of the car:

- I miss the fact the roof doesn't come off sometimes (but enjoy the relative quiet the rest of the time)
- the power delivery, even with 225 upgrade, leaves a lot to be desired - it is still far more lumpy than it should be, with quite a large flat spot around 4K rpm.

Mine was a similar age and mileage to yours when I bought it for 2K more that you are looking to pay, and I still think that was a lot of car for the money, so yours looks like an even better deal although a quick look at PH classifieds reveals a number of cars sub-20K now...

Please let us know how you get on

Cheers,

Jerry

will do

[crackthatoff]

Hollywood Wheels said:

Nice cars. If you won't miss topless driving then go for it.

I'd really miss going topless at every opertunity ( imo the elise roof is only a failsafe to get you home once it starts raining) but I find myself not taking the elise out as much as I'd like because I have a fear of slash and grabbers on multi stories etc and with the yokos its scary as st on a rainy motorway.. this way I'm thinking I could actually go shopping in it.. I know people use elises as a daily drive but my car is my baby and it's just not worth the risk!

my only reservation at the minute is that I intend to do more and more track days and don't know how a europa would stand up against my 135r.

anyway I may as well have a gander and a drive tomorrow, I must admit the looks do it for me !

[fredd1e]

The Europa S has adjustable spring platforms on its stock billies, it runs the middle of 3 settings as std so can be lowered fairly easily. The geo can be set pretty much as per any S2 elise if you have a preference to. The only real downsides of the europa would be the extra weight out the back (cast iron vauxhall engine/vs alloy K series ) and the lack of sticky tyres for the stock rims (only 5.5j front). If the latter are upgraded to say SE spec (18" 245/235? rear and 17" 195 front) then it may be close in the bends and a forgone conclusion on the straights.

Edited by fredd1e on Saturday 18th October 21:09

[F.C.]

I tested back to back with a PP-SP Exige and the only real criticism I had was the brakes were a bit poor given the potential of the car.
I'd HAVE to up-rate them before I used the car in anger.
F.C.

Edited by F.C. on Saturday 18th October 21:40

[Redlake27]

I had a 135 S1 (not a 135R) and now have a Europa 225 hp.


The Europa is around 2 seconds a lap quicker around Donington. In the very tight stuff I miss the lightweight S1 agility, but remember that a Europa is still around 300kgs lighter than a Cayman, and still feels very Elise like in its blend of balance and aglility. However, like any Lotus (IMO) it needs fatter front tyres. I put 195 fronts on both my Elise and Europa.

The Europa is a superb all-weather B road car. I did a blast across Wales in horrible weather last month and it inspired confidence.