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Lotus in the Peak
28th - 30th June 2024

Lotus Elise Ownership ... The Reality?


catman

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Hello Everyone

 

I am currently a Mazda 6 MPS owner, having had a Subaru Impreza WRX, and prior to that a Subaru Impreza Turbo 2000. I am now looking at a car to replace the MPS.

 

Having grown up with a grandad who owned a Lotus Elan S3 SE, I have a built-in love for all things Lotus. However, it's only now that I can consider owning one, from a price perspective. I am looking at the base model Lotus Elise - I fancy a change (total change), moving to something light weight and more fun.

 

My questions:

 

1) I have now got used to permanent 4WD, and have never owned a RWD or rear-engined car. WIll the transition be smooth, or do people recommend any tuition?

 

2) What is the Elise like to live with as a day-to-day car (daily commute of 10 miles each way on an A-road), odd runs here and there at the weekend?

 

3) Does the convertible roof cause problems (winter time, during rain, misting up, leaks, drafts, etc)?

 

4) Is the car an ice-box in the winter? How do they cope in snow / ice (see comment about being used to 4WD)?

 

5) Does the Elise use 95-RON or 97-RON fuel? I've currently use 97/98/99 RON (depending on dealer), and the cost is now hitting me (£60+ a time, with low MPG on the MPS (lucky if I get 20 MPG)).

 

6) Are there any luggage racks (etc) available to hold more stuff (thinking of holidays, touring, etc)?

 

7) Living in Plymouth, the nearest dealer (and therefore service centre) is in Bristol. Does anyone on here use non-franchise servicing?

 

8) What tyres does the basic model use, and do they wear well (I'm guessing the lightweight nature of the car means they last a reasonable amount of time).

 

9) A bit of repetition, but my annual mileage is ~10K. The Elise will be my 7 day-a-week car. Do the two go together?

 

That's probably enough for now. No doubt I'll think of something else in a minute.

 

Cheers for now

 

Simon

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Hi Simon

 

I'm not as techincal as most on here but here's my answers to your questions as I used mine as a dialy driver so I hope my comments help:

 

1. You would probably need a bit of practise. Most people crash their Elise quiet early on, I spun in the wet and hit a kerb after a couple of weeks and I have RWD experience from an RX-8. There are plenty of courses out there but to be honest I don't know any in your area or what costs would be. Or you can do what I did after and drive carefully until you get used to the car but this can take a while if you are used to 'throwing cars' about.

 

2. Day to Day, the Elise is fine. It's a bit uncomfortable for some people with dodgy backs but I've never had any trouble, apart from a bruised arm while I was working out how to get in and out of the thing! This becomes an art form but be prepared to look a bit stupid at first as you kind of just fall in and out of them.

 

3. Mine doesn't leak, but it will do from time to time. It's easy to sort the seals out to stop it leaking though. They dry up a bit and shrink so you just 'knead' them back into shape. (not the right wording but I know what I mean!) Only time I have trouble is with a power wash but not in heavy rain. Unless it's been a several months since I sorted the seals out. Misting is about the same as any other car as far as I have noticed.

 

4. The car can be cold in winter. I drive in my coat and that is fine for me although my hands do get cold sometimes. I've not got used to the driving gloves idea yet! The grip in snow and ice is pretty poor. They have thick tyres and no weight so they pretty much just spin the wheels.

 

5. Mine drives on the standard unleaded. I guess people will say that the high end stuff is better but it doesn't matter.

 

6. You can get luggage racks that go on the back engine compartment. Not had an experience but I have heard of people using them to good effect.

 

7. I use a none franchise garage. Just look on the forums and see who people recommend. I found mine from here and they were a local garage but a Lotus enthusiast and he did a great job. They are usually nicer than most garage's too as they love working on the cars and won't rip you off and may even do the little jobs for free.

 

8. I've had my tyres for 2 year and there is still plenty of tread on them. Obviously, the more 'spirited' your driving is then the more they wear out. The problem I find with the cheaper tyre's is the poor grip in the wet. I think I would go with Bridgestone's as the cheapest but everyone has their own opinion on tyres.

 

9. 10k would be fine for a day to day. I've always been tempted to get a veyr cheap second car for winter but I can walk/bus it in the snow to and from work so never have done.

 

Hope that helps :)

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Thanks Chris - much appreciated. Hadn't considered the power wash!

 

A couple more questions (for anyone):

 

10) Are they prone to vandalism (thinking of the soft top mostly)?

 

11) I see a number of relatively low mileage cars for sale (4K / 6K miles). Is this an indication that you need to be committed to own one? i.e.: are these people who decided it was the wrong move to make? Vague question, I know.

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You will see a lot of low mileage cars because they tend to be weekend toys but lots of people do run them all year round with no problems. Some people do buy for a year or two and then sell on don't be put off by multiple owners it doesn't mean the car has issue's some people get in and get out just to tick the box on their list of cars they want to own. If you buy from a reputable dealer you should be safe if you are going private do research on what to lookout for.

 

I don't run mine all year round because I want it to feel special every time i drive it.

 

 

These cars will bite even the lower HP cars because they are so stiff and short (Insert Joke) in the wet if you are heavy handed they WILL snap over steer at ridiculous low speed when the back steps out. Driver training is available from about £200 for a day and is well worth it trust me it's great fun and shows you what it feels like when the car is about to spin in a very safe enviroment.

 

20 Mile commute in an Elise will be a piece of piss as stated unless you have back problems you'll be fine my back starts playing up after about 3 hours but nothing to bad.

 

You will obviously see a MPG improvement small Light car and small capacity engines you will only be seeing 20mpg on track.

 

 

Front tyres will go hard before they need replacing and rears well i haven't gone through a set so 10K sounds about reasonable the most expensive tyres fitted to S2 exiges are about £170 a piece so more normal tyres will be less.

 

 

My car is 3 years old and has been serviced by the dealer network it will be serviced by an Indy next time round I don't think anybody has an issue using the well known specialists and wouldn't put off many people buying it. Most of the specialists probably know more about the cars anyway.

 

 

 

I like your list you've put a lot of thought into it.

 

:tup:

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  1. Car limits or similar is a good start to get to know what an Elise is capable of
  2. 10 mile A road run each way will be a blast
  3. S1 roof not brilliant but can be made pretty well waterproof with a little care, S2 long tail better, short tail probably about the best.
  4. The heater in an S1 is nuclear, S2 made of chocolate, earlier S2 heaters were better. During snow and ice you will be the slowest thing on road maybe except for bicycles
  5. Standard unleaded is fine, and there are those who have started to use their Elise daily to save on petrol costs, driven carefully you can achieve 40mpg + track under 20
  6. luggage racks are available, but, get Tesco to drop your shopping, get a girlfriend/wife who travels light and doesn't need 60 pairs of shoes and 42 frocks for a two week break...tricky I know,and learn to roll all of your holiday clothes you'll be amazed at how much you can get in an Elise.
  7. Williams in Bristol are fine as a major dealer, but depending on where you buy it and what age it is there are lots of indies who are superb, we are lucky enough to have a particularly good one in the Midlands in Top Gear Automotive, who advertise on here. In fact there are those that consider a reputable independent history better than that of a franchised dealer.
  8. Tyres are a whole can of worms and what is one mans meat is another mans poison, There are lots of choices and many price differences
  9. Yep, no problem as long as your prepared to put up with the little ups and downs of Elise ownership,they are the greatest affordable sportscar around but that doesn't mean they suit everyone.Take one out for a test drive, in fact, take a few out. You'll soon know if its what your looking for or not.
  10. They are as prone to vandalism as any other car, if you leave a nice car in a bad area it will sadly get attention in "Big Society Britain" most ofd the attention will be good,prepare yourself for young boys asking how much it cost how fast it goes etc,on the flip side, chav scum will see you as a threat and therefore will not be nice in their actions or comments. I don't know why but in my 13 years of Elise ownership I can only remember two occasions where the softop was attacked. Fortunately most of the great unwashed know little about the Elise security system and therefore they are not often stolen

What kind of budget do you have in mind?. Mileage isn't everything.You can buy a dog with 10k on it,you can buy a minter with 75k on it and vice versa, its a strange world the Elise world, and you'll do well to research alot before parting with your hard earned wedge. Oh, and of course ask as many questions as you like on here,you'll find the Mloc fraternity a simple but kindly bunchsmile.gif

Hth

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The right questions, and I was going to answer in long-hand, but others have said all the important stuff already. Here are my contributions.

 

I found mine freezing in the winter. The cooling system is so efficient that there's basically no spare heat for the cockpit except when you are stopped, when it doesn't matter (with the roof off). So wear a thick coat. And gloves. It's great.

 

Weatherwise, there are two issues. Snow is dreadful, as others have mentioned. Also, there are a few tweaks people do to their windscreen wiper to make it work a bit. There's only one, and you are very low in other people's spray, so a main-road drive in the rain can be a bit intense due to the appalling visibility. This I found the most tiring.

 

There are a few places that will rent you one for a day or two. It's expensive, but it's a lot cheaper than buying a car you hate. I did this before purchase, and never looked back.

 

Finally, the advice about driver-training is important. I too broke mine early. www.carlimits.com is definitely a top place to go. I've never heard of anyone who regretted it or begrudged the money. It's not just that it's a rear-wheel drive, small, light car. It's more than that. Most cars are set up to fail gracefully, so that you can have a catchable drift (for example). To do this, the limit of traction is lower, but the failure graceful. The Elise is designed to give large (>1g) cornering forces, so the grip is phenomenal. However, when it goes, there is no leeway. You have to be very skilful to catch it. As others have said, it will bite you hard, and you will reverse at speed to the scene of the accident. The rear-engine ensures that castor action will back you into the accident. With a bit of practice such as at Carlimits, you'll be able to avoid that precipice, and have the best time on four wheels that you can.

 

 

For all this, I had an Elise for a weekend car, did over 10k/yr in it, sold it, and now want another as my daily drag. Nothing I've ever driven comes close to the fun of driving an Elise. Do it.

 

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For all this, I had an Elise for a weekend car, did over 10k/yr in it, sold it, and now want another as my daily drag. Nothing I've ever driven comes close to the fun of driving an Elise. Do it.

 

 

Come on Tim sell the Z :P

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Come on Tim sell the Z :P

 

Paul, I'd love to! The lotus dealer seems not to be able to give me a test drive at less than 6 weeks notice, etc., which is tedious. Difficult to know if they'll stay in business like that. I am trying...

 

Hope all is well with you. I'll be back in Lotus-land soon. I also cracked my head (hard) on the open boot-lid of my wife's Jazz. That's got to go. It tried to kill me. It's got to go.

 

Tim

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My previous car was a scooby turbo wagon with a few tweaks :)

The elise is a totally different animal. The steering... the best way to describe it is go kart, its just so direct. The brakes on an S1 come as a bit of a shock as there is no servo never mind abs. They do work fine, but you have to get used to actually pushing down the pedal rather than just stroking it. But overall the car seems to be alive, its so responsive.

As said above, the car will bite your hand if provoked. I had had mine about 3 weeks and coming off an island, gave it a bit too much of the loud pedal, a slight crest in the road and the back end came out on me. I managed to catch it more through luck than skill, but it taught me an important lesson... i booked some driver training.

I have now had the car for over 6 years and love it to bits. Its only a second car, but i have still managed to clock up 60k miles in her.

Mine is a S1 111s. She has been extremely reliable with just general running costs and a few upgrades that i have had done over the years. When it comes to finding a car for yourself, don't ignore higher mileage cars. Ask any knowledgeable lotus owner and they will all tell you that its better to buy a higher mileage well maintained/upgraded fsh car than a low mileage garage queen thats still on its original tyres and shocks.

 

You also have to make the choice between an original Series 1 (S1) elise or the newer S2. There are loads of arguments for both variations and a fair bit of banter for and against (you need to be aware that all S2 owners are ghey):lol::P

 

Anyway, good luck with the search and welcome to MLOC :clap:

 

Greg

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Wow - thanks for the info folks.

 

As for budget, I have two options. One, limit myself to £22K, and my monthly car "costs" remain as is. Or, push the boat out and look around for a pre-reg deal. Undecided as yet.

 

Ideally, I would like a relatively new car, so this means an S2.

 

Am I right in saying that the S1 uses the Rover K series engine, and the S2 uses a Toyota engine, or is it not that clear cut?

 

I think I definitely need to take one out; sounds like making a decision on comfort will be a key thing. Also need to do some research on Devon/Cornwall specialists. My first scooby was serviced in Parks of Exeter, and I found that a drag! I can't see myself going to Bristol for servicing.

 

Thanks again for the info,

S

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Wow - thanks for the info folks.

 

As for budget, I have two options. One, limit myself to £22K, and my monthly car "costs" remain as is. Or, push the boat out and look around for a pre-reg deal. Undecided as yet.

 

Ideally, I would like a relatively new car, so this means an S2.

 

Am I right in saying that the S1 uses the Rover K series engine, and the S2 uses a Toyota engine, or is it not that clear cut?

 

I think I definitely need to take one out; sounds like making a decision on comfort will be a key thing. Also need to do some research on Devon/Cornwall specialists. My first scooby was serviced in Parks of Exeter, and I found that a drag! I can't see myself going to Bristol for servicing.

 

Thanks again for the info,

S

 

Early S2 had Rover power before they went pop so no not that simple. That kind of money your into R territory at 2-3 years old from a main dealer. Obviously if you go private you'lll get more for your £. Toyota's are rev the nuts off it funny and the K's are more torquey but not by much i'd think with a 4 pot N/A.

 

I've not driven a K powered car so can't really comment but they will obviously be alot under your budget because of the age pre-2005.

 

 

Oh and S1's don't look gay they are gay and my man bits only like the ladies :D

 

Paul, I'd love to! The lotus dealer seems not to be able to give me a test drive at less than 6 weeks notice, etc., which is tedious. Difficult to know if they'll stay in business like that. I am trying...

 

Hope all is well with you. I'll be back in Lotus-land soon. I also cracked my head (hard) on the open boot-lid of my wife's Jazz. That's got to go. It tried to kill me. It's got to go.

 

Tim

 

 

WHAAAAT! 6 weeks who's that then? Think they need a kick up the arse. That's about the only problem with Lotus you have to travel miles to find a decent dealer.

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Well, I've had my elise for coming up to a year now. I use it as my everyday car and, on the whole, it has been fantastic. You do have to realise that it is a much more focussed proposition than the Subaru or Mazda, so, don't expect lots of load space (although there is more than you would think) or long distance comfort. That said, the Elise does have very compliant suspension and does ride exceptionally well.

 

The heater is rubbish in my S2, but it is an old one with the Rover K-Series engine and no face level vents or air con. I can imagine that the newer ones are a much better ownership proposition.

 

Just for the record, we have a MX5 and an Elise and we cope just fine. If we can, anyone can!

 

Chris

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Thanks again for all the info folks.

 

I have found an independent specialist who is very local (http://www.thelotuscentre.com/). They have an interesting claim on their servicing page: "As well as servicing all models of Lotus cars, we also service other makes and models. You no longer have to take your vehicle to an authorised dealer in order to maintain your warranty, as long as manufacturers OE parts are used."

 

Has anyone had experience of using non-Lotus servicing with a car still under warranty?

 

I must admit, their Elise servicing is quite reasonable (compared to the local Mazda dealer).

 

 

 

 

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With that kind of budget I would try and get an 08 on car. They have a much better dashboard and the Toyota engine.

 

I would see if you could get a hardtop included as this is very useful in winter. If you also get a car with air con (de mist in winter), you have a great all year round car.

 

However, if it snows you would be quicker walking to work.

 

Its been my only car now for 4 years and 40k miles. Driven round Europe several times, trackdays, shops, baby carrier and I even take my Mountain Bike out in the Elise, if I cant borrow the family waggon.

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I have had mine for 2 years now and it is my main car and do 14k a year in it, so I service it every 9 months or so. I have taken it back to the dealer that I go it from.

 

The warranty is up now (Extra 2 year not standard) and I may well take it more locally to get serviced now.

 

The roof is fine in my 111R and is 6 years old with the Touring and has not let me down, but the S that I have as temp car does not seem to have the same standard of roof even in a newer car- 18 months old. I re-proof my roof every year and is in need of it now.

 

The RWD took me a while to get used to it after having a FWD hot hatch, but not too long and I love it.:clap:

 

 

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