This weeks Autocar
Discussion
Following on from my thread in early August, the result from my cars Autocar shoot came out today.
Really happy with the photos although he does pick up on a few niggles with my car during the test drive.
If anyone has a chance to have a browse let me know what you think, I'm enjoying my 15 minutes of fame!
Really happy with the photos although he does pick up on a few niggles with my car during the test drive.
If anyone has a chance to have a browse let me know what you think, I'm enjoying my 15 minutes of fame!
The exterior shots of your car look superb Chris but I'm afraid that interior is a bit OTT for my tastes (for those that haven't seen it, the car is a Type 49 S1 and the interior has been painted red (lots of red) to match the exterior red).
The niggles Autocar had were a bit of dead travel at the top of the throttle pedal (sortable) and bagginess in the gear shift (have you got the Eliseparts shortshift kit Chris?).
Other then the niggles, they heaped praise on the Elise but in the end chose a Z350 as their choice. They also gave future projected values and said the Elise (which they reckoned would be £9k today - about right for a goody) would be worth £6k in three years. I reckon they've missed that good S1s have probably bottomed out.
Out of curiousity have you got the S2 Billies upgrade Chris?
The niggles Autocar had were a bit of dead travel at the top of the throttle pedal (sortable) and bagginess in the gear shift (have you got the Eliseparts shortshift kit Chris?).
Other then the niggles, they heaped praise on the Elise but in the end chose a Z350 as their choice. They also gave future projected values and said the Elise (which they reckoned would be £9k today - about right for a goody) would be worth £6k in three years. I reckon they've missed that good S1s have probably bottomed out.
Out of curiousity have you got the S2 Billies upgrade Chris?
TIPPER said:
The exterior shots of your car look superb Chris but I'm afraid that interior is a bit OTT for my tastes (for those that haven't seen it, the car is a Type 49 S1 and the interior has been painted red (lots of red) to match the exterior red).
The niggles Autocar had were a bit of dead travel at the top of the throttle pedal (sortable) and bagginess in the gear shift (have you got the Eliseparts shortshift kit Chris?).
Other then the niggles, they heaped praise on the Elise but in the end chose a Z350 as their choice. They also gave future projected values and said the Elise (which they reckoned would be £9k today - about right for a goody) would be worth £6k in three years. I reckon they've missed that good S1s have probably bottomed out.
Out of curiousity have you got the S2 Billies upgrade Chris?
Hey Tipper,The niggles Autocar had were a bit of dead travel at the top of the throttle pedal (sortable) and bagginess in the gear shift (have you got the Eliseparts shortshift kit Chris?).
Other then the niggles, they heaped praise on the Elise but in the end chose a Z350 as their choice. They also gave future projected values and said the Elise (which they reckoned would be £9k today - about right for a goody) would be worth £6k in three years. I reckon they've missed that good S1s have probably bottomed out.
Out of curiousity have you got the S2 Billies upgrade Chris?
I agree the interior is ott, choice of a previous owner sadly.
S2 Bilies are on but the gearing has always been like that so doesn't bother me overly but the play in the throttle needs to be sorted.
Promised Land said:
bogie said:
yeah, they are flying out the door...bargain at 1/2 price 
I must admit though if i had a spare £70k then a gallardo is the one i'd buy first, then after 12 months sell it for a 360 spyder. 
TIPPER said:
The exterior shots of your car look superb Chris but I'm afraid that interior is a bit OTT for my tastes (for those that haven't seen it, the car is a Type 49 S1 and the interior has been painted red (lots of red) to match the exterior red).
The niggles Autocar had were a bit of dead travel at the top of the throttle pedal (sortable) and bagginess in the gear shift (have you got the Eliseparts shortshift kit Chris?).
Other then the niggles, they heaped praise on the Elise but in the end chose a Z350 as their choice. They also gave future projected values and said the Elise (which they reckoned would be £9k today - about right for a goody) would be worth £6k in three years. I reckon they've missed that good S1s have probably bottomed out.
Out of curiousity have you got the S2 Billies upgrade Chris?
I found their reasoning rather curious - they chose the 350Z as they said running costs would be lower, quoting servicing pricing as their 'research'. Only they'd forgotten the VED costs and fuel consumption of a V6 - much as I like the Nissan, this is going to be a hell of a consideration in the coming years...The niggles Autocar had were a bit of dead travel at the top of the throttle pedal (sortable) and bagginess in the gear shift (have you got the Eliseparts shortshift kit Chris?).
Other then the niggles, they heaped praise on the Elise but in the end chose a Z350 as their choice. They also gave future projected values and said the Elise (which they reckoned would be £9k today - about right for a goody) would be worth £6k in three years. I reckon they've missed that good S1s have probably bottomed out.
Out of curiousity have you got the S2 Billies upgrade Chris?
Depends if you decide to have it as an everyday car really, and if you really think £150 a year is material. For most people driving these cars, it's not. Just over a tenner a month?
If it's a daily runner, then yes, fuel will soon rack up as you'll get an average of about 23mpg in the Datsun, vs. 30ish in the Elise I'd guess.
Having said that, running costs for the Datsun apart from that are minimal. We've put nearly 7k on ours this year and it's needed nothing except petrol (and trust me, it's been given some serious stick). The brakes are astonishing, the tyres appear to have plenty of wear in them and apart from a squeak around the cabinet of the Bose subbie behind the drivers seat, and a need to adjust the boot a touch, I can't think of a thing that'll need doing at service time, bar perhaps an oil change (but even that looks in pretty decent nick, all things considered).
Considering that you can pick up a top spec UK supplied 350Z with average miles for around £12-13k now, I reckon it's a pretty compelling choice.
And did I mention the powerslides and the sound from that glorious V6???
Elises are fabulous pointy lightweight sportscars, the S1's being the best of the bunch for purity without a doubt. But I actually think you'll see a lot more people driving cars like the 350 and the Box now, who previously wouldn't have been able to afford them.
As for Lotus prices, I think they will fall a bit more. The whole market will depress, and I don't think Loti will escape that. Price is a factor of demand and supply - demand's falling (and will fall further I'll warrant, as bonues etc. drop over the coming year), and supply seems to be increasing (as more people like me ditch their second car because they're not using it and would rather spend their spare cash on other things).
Still, there's never a bad time to buy a Lotus, is there?
If it's a daily runner, then yes, fuel will soon rack up as you'll get an average of about 23mpg in the Datsun, vs. 30ish in the Elise I'd guess.
Having said that, running costs for the Datsun apart from that are minimal. We've put nearly 7k on ours this year and it's needed nothing except petrol (and trust me, it's been given some serious stick). The brakes are astonishing, the tyres appear to have plenty of wear in them and apart from a squeak around the cabinet of the Bose subbie behind the drivers seat, and a need to adjust the boot a touch, I can't think of a thing that'll need doing at service time, bar perhaps an oil change (but even that looks in pretty decent nick, all things considered).
Considering that you can pick up a top spec UK supplied 350Z with average miles for around £12-13k now, I reckon it's a pretty compelling choice.
And did I mention the powerslides and the sound from that glorious V6???
Elises are fabulous pointy lightweight sportscars, the S1's being the best of the bunch for purity without a doubt. But I actually think you'll see a lot more people driving cars like the 350 and the Box now, who previously wouldn't have been able to afford them.
As for Lotus prices, I think they will fall a bit more. The whole market will depress, and I don't think Loti will escape that. Price is a factor of demand and supply - demand's falling (and will fall further I'll warrant, as bonues etc. drop over the coming year), and supply seems to be increasing (as more people like me ditch their second car because they're not using it and would rather spend their spare cash on other things).
Still, there's never a bad time to buy a Lotus, is there?
Gassing Station | Elise/Exige/Europa/340R | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff