Elise in the Top Gear Survey

[MattyB]

43: Lotus Elise (pre-Dec 01) - 83.8

~

75: Lotus Elise (new) - 79.8

 

Interesting stuff...I'd have expected it to be the other way around. Thoughts?

 

Edited to say, was out of 137 cars, top (Jag XJ) having 90.9, bottom (VW Sharan) 67.1

[Kris H]

Not a total surprise if you look at the categories for the voting. Not many lotus owners are likely to say:

 

mmmmn, really impressed with the build quality

it's packed with clever options and great for the family

it's great in all road conditions

dealer service was absolutely belting (some exceptions)

great, you can hardly hear the engine

storage and practicality is fantastic

 

etc etc which tend to be some of the types of questions asked in these surveys. Think it's designed for people with different expectations and requirements in vehicles. You are likely to get a different set of results if you ask questions a certain way or with certain criteria in mind. My wife has an XJ and it's a belting car but not much of a laugh for the cat and fiddle on a Sunday I reckon.

 

Not surprised about the S1 finishing higher. Maybe S1 owners go into it with their eyes open to the pros and cons a little more, and people buying S2s probably expect a little more from the dealers if they're buying new, IMO anyway.

 

Kristian

[Scott_Mac]

Fair point actually the S1 is more likely to be bought by a tosser and crashed quickly, or by the enthusiast for the original and best model.

 

The S2 was designed to try and steal sales from the mass car market, such as the Boxster etc and in doing so the buyers are probably more critical of its flaws.

[Kris H]

Hmmmn. Not biting there.

 

What I was meaning though really was if you spend a while searching for the right S1, which could take a while if you were specifically after a black low mileage S160 for example, and then you get HGF, it's kind of easier to accept that it's had a few years wear and tear etc and you're going into it with your eyes open. If you buy a brand new 135R and you get HGF after a few months because you just do and 'TADTS', I can imagine it would get on your wick a bit, particularly if you've just spent £25k or whatever they cost. Personally I had a 306 a few years back, bought from new, which broke down 14 times I think, and that really did start to become irritating...

[Scott_Mac]

I see your point, shame you didn't bite though..

 

I also reckon the buyers of the car are slightly different, many still buy the cars because of what they are, but I reckon there are now more people buying them instead of Boxsters etc

[Kris H]

Scott

 

Think you broke the forum there for a minute with your anti S2 nonsense. Now just remember, it's not big and it's not clever. I nearly waved at a smart roadster this morning because I thought it was an S1 though.

 

I think we should both apologise to Matty for ruining his thread.

 

Back on topic I am glad to see a sodding people carrier finishing bottom. My particular (non) favourite is that vaneo thing - I know - if we add an 'e' and an 'o' to the end, they'll never realise what this was meant for...

 

Kristian

[Scott_Mac]

I'll never apologise to Matty.. i've known him too long for that!

 

As for your SMART Roadster waving... at night i frequently mistake Peugeot 206's for S2's, so

[MattyB]

You've got a lot to apologise for Scott, especially your over-zealous use of the word "asshat"

 

If you want the full list of the cars, they're on the TG website. Of particular interest, the other Roadsters were placed...

 

5. Honda S2000 (89.8)

6. Mazda MX-5 (88.9)

~

8. Z3 (88.3)

~

19. MMC Smart (86.9)

20. Boxster (86.7)

~

33. New MR2 (85.0)

 

 

And I *know* I own an S1, but I do agree with Scott - S1's seem to be bought more by the enthusiast, but the S2's tend to be bought more by the "poseurs" (spelling?) which shows though the fact that they made it more user friendly (understeer dialed in, more livable)

 

And the enthusiasts are more likely to put up with/accept or, as Kris says, be a bit more open minded/aware of the fact that its a Lotus and it breaks

 

Just like mine! Mine's just broken, yet I'm not moaning. Well, not much

[Steve J]

Why do most threads degenerate into S1 vs S2 bashing?

 

Surely there are enough crap cars out there to have a go at instead of picking on other Lotus enthusiasts!

 

The S2 is still a great elise and don't tell me that those who drive S1s don't do a bit of posing too

 

Big Up all types of lotus

 

 

Steve

[Black Swan]

Have to say we are quite good at having a go at each other and we should be more grown up and sensible and caring and .... no that's not going to work is it?

 

[Kris H]

Have to say we are quite good at having a go at each other and we should be more grown up and sensible and caring and .... no that's not going to work is it?

No, basically. Just good humoured though and therefore harmless. Actually I must admit that I like the S2 and the S1 but both are different and my S2 suits me for the number of motorway miles etc that I have to do, but any idea that it's a boxter alternative is well wide of the mark. I would have thought that someone who wanted a car to pose would want one with loads of flash gadgets and so on, not one with basic carpet mats as a luxury item and 'self extracting' indicators and HGF as standard... anyway, each to their own. I am sure plenty of S1 owners have changed for S2s and plenty of S2 owners have changed for S1s, so presumably there is some merit in both.

[Scott_Mac]

I'm not having a go at any S2, its kind of a long standing thing really isn't it? As Kris says, both are great, I love both.

 

We were discussing the reasons why people may be one rather than the other and also compared to other roadsters

[Kris H]

we should be more grown up and sensible

Why? I don't want to be grown up and sensible. I have to do that at work all the time and it's very, very dull. But you may have a point on the S2 vs S1 thing, and even Scott and I agree that both are great cars. Actually I bought my S2 because I saw a few S1s quite regularly, often Mark A's (I have since realised), when driving about in my boring peugeot, and thought they looked and sounded fantastic, so it was S1s that really started my interest in all things lotus.

 

(Scott - we're going to have to start the S1 vs S2 thing by private messaging when they're not looking or we're going to get done )

[MattyB]

Since we're all doing this "group-hugging" thing, and being all nice - I will admit that I always wanted an S2 instead of an S1...*

 

 

 

 

 

 

*and then I came to my senses

[Bramble111s]

I've ALWAYS wanted a lotus, since I was 8, so it could've been any lotus!

 

I do love my S1 one though, but the reason I bought an S1 was I could just afford it! I certainly couldn't afford an S2. (I hear they aren't as good anyhow )

 

(group hug)