Picked up my new Elise R in red with touring pack, air con and traction control from Andy at Stratstone in Leicester, on New Year's Eve. Goodbye to my Audi TT, hello Lotus. Both Andy and Mark at Stratstone know their stuff.

One problem though, the traction control does not work....the car will have to go back to Leicester in a few days when a new switch arrives.

First impression.... it looks fabulous. But 600 miles of running in!! I need to get that out of the way ASAP.

Compared to the Audi, another fantastic car, but just too efficient to love, the Lotus is so totally different. It drives like a massively powerful kart and every journey is fun.

New Year's Day and 130 miles clocked up. The weather is very cold, so perhaps the bit of damp in the boot should be expected, especially as the boot is almost open to the elements. Quite a lot of wind noise from rear of the drivers window - I think either the door or the roof are not sealing properly.

I'm finding it really hard to keep to 4500rpm, but there is a lot of fun to be had even at low speeds.