Advice On The Lotus Elise R

[a7esk]

Just a little update they loved the car but my 111R is to extreme with all the Lotus upgrades so no sale .

Eddie.

Chatsworth here I come .

[Lucy Jane Sharpe]

Sadly today is the day my dream died :-(

 

Unexpectedly we put the Seven on the market and the same evening it was bought (we thought it would take a while) - so my other half said it was time to look for the Elise!

 

Finally managed to track down a dealership which had a 111R, 111S, etc for us to have a tasting experience to work out which one was for us.  Drove a 111S, and a 111R and oddly and unexpectedly loved the 111S more than the 111R.  I loved it - from the minute I got into the car it was totally living the dream and it handled superbly, made a lovely burbling noise, and so much less heavy to drive than the Seven had ever been.  I could quite easily have imagined road trips in it, and basically driving it on a regular basis (even to Uni) as it was that easy to fall in love with and handle.  However despite my other half having said he was impressed with it when we were at the dealership - halfway home on the motorway he announced that he didn't feel excited about owning one and it didn't really have anything he was interested in.

 

I'm at Uni as a mature student, and have 2 more years left plus an MA to complete before I can start earning adequately to fund a car of my own, so my dream bites the dust.  Sad as it sounds I'm quite tearful about it - today I thought I was getting close to my childhood dream and ambition and now, at the other end of the day, it's all gone and in tatters.

 

Thanks for the advice though guys.  Maybe when I've qualified and I'm earning enough I'll be able to go and buy myself a 111S and start enjoying a piece of motoring history with a great big grin on my face. :-(

[handbag]

Your dream hasn't died, it'll just remain a dream a little longer than you'd planned that's all.  On the bright side, it's a good goal to help keep you motivated through your studies.  Just think how special the day will be when you finally pick it up, having worked so hard to earn it   Best of luck with your studies.

[chris_h]

Has he tried a supercharged version or an exige??

[Lucy Jane Sharpe]

Has he tried a supercharged version or an exige??

 

No, we phoned up about a supercharged version but it had gone already and it's the third in a row which has sold almost instantly meaning we haven't been able to try one.  The guy at the garage today said that the Exige would feel much the same as the Elises we tried other than it being a firmer ride as it was set up for track use.  I suggested we try the Exige but apparently there was no point.

 

I think what it comes down to is that he just doesn't like Lotuses other than the seven he had and has just sold, so will have to wait 5 to 6 years so that I can fund my own.  I admit the Elises didn't have the acceleration that the Seven had, but then nothing will.  That was ridiculously quick but also a completely different driving proposition.  I wouldn't have wanted to drive that any distance because it was so heavy to handle and manouvre.  As long as I can find a job after graduating, I'll start the search again for myself then......:-/

Your dream hasn't died, it'll just remain a dream a little longer than you'd planned that's all.  On the bright side, it's a good goal to help keep you motivated through your studies.  Just think how special the day will be when you finally pick it up, having worked so hard to earn it   Best of luck with your studies.

Thank you.  Feeling a bit disheartened but if I can get a decent job after graduating I should be able to choose and buy my own within a few years......just seems an awfully long time to wait now lol.  :-(

[DeanB]

Feeling your pain Lucy Jane. It might take you a little time to get your head around this new realisation - that you have far superior taste and discernment than your other half - but with effort you will get there!

 

Maybe you should drag him along to a track day. If you both come to a day with plenty of MLOCers there you can have some pax laps and he might see that cars aren't all about acceleration.

 

I don't think all is lost - if you marshall your arguments and use all your powers of persuasion you might still succeed in talking him round. After all he's wrong and you're right!

[Alex B]

bring him along to the cahtsworth event!
it'll be a great day out and a chance to chat to owners of various lotus models.

[Chris_edeson]

Other idea.... Bin your fella off.

 

Take a big loan and buy one now!

[Meister]

"Feeling your pain Lucy Jane". It might take you a little time to get your head around this new realisation - that you have far superior taste and discernment than your other half - but with effort you will get there!

 

Maybe you should drag him along to a track day. If you both come to a day with plenty of MLOCers there you can have some pax laps and he might see that cars aren't all about acceleration.

 

I don't think all is lost - if you marshall your arguments and use all your powers of persuasion you might still succeed in talking him round. After all he's wrong and you're right!

Poetry Dean, true poetry.

[a7esk]

Other idea.... Bin your fella off.

Take a big loan and buy one now!

[chris_h]

I think you'll find an sc elise or exige S especially the 260 version accelerates much harder than a 111s or R.

[Steve J]

There are also plenty of Lotus's that would eat his 7 for breakfast if that's what he was worried about.

Bide your time then get what you want.

[mneil]

Took me over a year to find my Elise slightly less to decide I wanted an Evora . 

[Sundaydriver]

To be honest Lucy, this all sounds a bit like your chap has other ideas. Is the Elise your dream or his ;-)

 

So, he has a Boxster S , they're not cheap to maintain and run are they ? It's a car for engineers, a childhood

dream maker, or ideal for complete posers and traffic light races. Never felt the need to have one myself.

Is he angling for an upgrade ...

 

Straight line speed is easy. You're unlikely to beat that particular 7 experience with an Elise I'd guess, the power to weight ratio

you had with that 7 means you'd end up with a seriously modified Elise costing thousands. I've only owned my Elise for a couple of weeks, So what do I know, but do you really want masses of power when you seem to enjoy the twisties so much ?

Mine cost me just over £9k, and it's a superb but standard 118bhp go kart.

 

You can have masses of twisty B road fun in a modestly powered low kerb weight car, I've had an MX5 for over a year

and enjoyed the very practical and civilised experience ( air con , quick roof , comfy , fab 1.6 TC sounds sweet etc ) matched with amazing value for money. Bang for buck alone you can't beat them.

Mine cost me £1k... I'm not saying it's a Lotus, but it's a fun B road car.

 

Keep the dream alive :-)

[a7esk]

Have you looked at buying the VX great value for the money.

 

 

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/vauxhall/vx220/vauxhall-vx220-16v-------------------2003/2491110

 

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