Returning to Lotus....maybe

[FROSTIE]

Hi all

I have been a member here since 2006 when I had a 2002 Elise sports tourer which was my every day drive for 3 years before I moved on in 2008.

I now find myself, 12 years on, looking at Lotus Elise's again, thanks to my wife really as I was looking at Mercs, Audis and BMW's......

I appreciate that I have not been an active member, even back then (just lurking in the background) but hopefully you won't mind me asking a few Elise related questions 🙃

The first dilemma would be 220 or 250 ?

As a man of advancing years (upper part of 40) should I be looking at the 250 with all the splitters and spoilers or the slightly more sedate 220, I know its personal choice but what would people consider to be the pros/cons of each, I am leaning towards the 250 but there is quite a price difference until you spec a 220.....

My previous Elise used to suffer from frozen door locks where I had to heat the key on the hob to get to work some mornings and the heater in the car was useless, have the last 12 years improved on this ?

I have attempted to contact several dealers recently with interesting responses and not in a good way, I thought that dealers would be falling over themselves to sell me a 50k car but it seems not, who is considered to be the best port of call for a new/almost new Elise ?

I have had very positive contact from Oakmere having seen them mentioned on here and I paid them a visit yesterday where I had a drive of a 250 cup.

What do you think 😎

 

[Elisemadray]

I can tell you there is very little difference on the road between a 220 and a cup 250, the 250 in the right hands would be quicker on track, styling is a personal thing I like both the 220 and 250's style but edge towards the simpler lines of the 220 so the question to ask yourself is do you like the Cup enough to pay the extra for it?  I'm sure you would enjoy either, buy the car you like the most from which ever dealer has it as you can always go to PJS Burton for warranty work and servicing They are an authorised Lotus service centre and will give the best aftercare you could wish for, then there is Gav at unit4 Burton a Mloc renowned specialist. I think go with you gut feeling as to the 220 or 250, hope that helps a little.  Either way it will be Great to see you in your new car  

[Cyph3r]

Personally I prefer the sleeker styling of the 220, I never felt like all the extra bits on the 250 suited the Elise.

I ordered mine from Oakmere, I haven't received mine yet (should be due very soon)

[FROSTIE]

That looks like a +2 for the 220......

I hear what you say about buying the style I prefer and that's my problem, I can't decide 😆

Sounds like I will be ok for servicing in my part of the world which is good. How does that work these days as previously it was A, B and C services, each more expensive than the next 🙁

How long have you been waiting for your 220 Cyph3r  and why the 220 over the 250? I've been quoted Jan/Feb next year.

[martenr1975]

Great problem to have 😎

I was in the same situation a few months back when considering my first Lotus. In the end, I went for a white with black pack 2015 Cup 220. In all aspects of my life I tend to prefer the discreet option and so took some time to decide on the Cup. I ruled out the toxic green Cups and still had a very small element of doubt about going for the Cup I purchased but I absolutely love it and quite like the fact there aren't as many Cups around as non Cup cars. My car also came with Komotec ZR265 upgrade purchased by a previous owner and I would be lying if I said that didn't have some sway on the decision. As others have said, it's a personal decision and one that I think is made easier the more cars you see.

I'm sure you will make the right decision and I look forward to hearing which way you go 👍

[Cyph3r]

2 hours ago, FROSTIE said:

That looks like a +2 for the 220......

I hear what you say about buying the style I prefer and that's my problem, I can't decide 😆

Sounds like I will be ok for servicing in my part of the world which is good. How does that work these days as previously it was A, B and C services, each more expensive than the next 🙁

How long have you been waiting for your 220 Cyph3r  and why the 220 over the 250? I've been quoted Jan/Feb next year.

PJS have a service schedule + costs on their website:

 

I went with the 220 purely because I preferred the looks, maybe I'm an old man at heart but the extra aero bits on the Cup don't do it for me so I wouldn't want to drop the extra cash on it (even if the price was the same I wouldn't be particularly eager to go for the Cup - but that's just me)!

I should be getting it next week, if all goes to plan then it would have been just over a 3 month wait, so Jan/Feb sounds like a safe bet (providing stricter lockdown rules don't slow things down further).

[FROSTIE]

Thanks for posting the service schedule, I will look forward to year 4 🙁 

The end of a long wait for you next week then, it sounds great and I am sure you will post up some pictures for us to see.

I may see you around, I venture your way occasionally and I work around the midlands.

You have got me thinking about a 220 again now, just when I thought I had decided........🙃

[FROSTIE]

9 hours ago, martenr1975 said:

Great problem to have 😎

I was in the same situation a few months back when considering my first Lotus. In the end, I went for a white with black pack 2015 Cup 220. In all aspects of my life I tend to prefer the discreet option and so took some time to decide on the Cup. I ruled out the toxic green Cups and still had a very small element of doubt about going for the Cup I purchased but I absolutely love it and quite like the fact there aren't as many Cups around as non Cup cars. My car also came with Komotec ZR265 upgrade purchased by a previous owner and I would be lying if I said that didn't have some sway on the decision. As others have said, it's a personal decision and one that I think is made easier the more cars you see.

I'm sure you will make the right decision and I look forward to hearing which way you go 👍

So yours is a 220 that has all the splitters/spoiler of the 250 with a re map ?

That definitely isn't discreet....

I have been  looking at the vivid colours, I quite like the green to be honest but I am leaning towards Fire Red as I intend to keep it for a long time and not sure how those colours will look in 10 years time.

 

[martenr1975]

9 hours ago, FROSTIE said:

So yours is a 220 that has all the splitters/spoiler of the 250 with a re map ?

That definitely isn't discreet....

I have been  looking at the vivid colours, I quite like the green to be honest but I am leaning towards Fire Red as I intend to keep it for a long time and not sure how those colours will look in 10 years time.

 

Yes, it's a 220 Cup so has splitter, side skirts and rear diffuser, in fact the aero is from the Cup R so is bigger than the aero on the 250 Cup, being referred to a 'big aero' model. 

Mods wise is has upgraded supercharger pulley, manifold, exhaust, air intake, remap to 265bhp and nitron clubsport suspension. It's awesome fun 😁

[Jonathan E]

I had the same dilemma last year. I dropped an email to every Lotus dealer in the UK saying I was in the market for a brand new factory built Elise, I knew which colour I wanted and some of the options but really couldn't make up my mind between a 250 and a 220. Like you I was staggered by the general lack of interest from a large proportion of those I'd contacted, only a few came back with anything positive and some of those were only interested if I took a car from stock, I heard nothing from Oakmere but as they were my nearest Lotus dealer I booked a test drive anyway. I had a S2111s to move on, which I was happy to part ex or sell privately if the figures didn't stack up, all pretty straight forward to be honest.

Oakmere made an offer of 11k on my 23k mile S2111s which was quite honestly laughable I told them so and left. The day I visited Oakmere Chris Evans Carfest was being held just up the road and it seemed almost everyone had gone on a jolly to the event, come Monday I had a call from the Lotus salesman explaining that the lad who had looked at my car was new and he would personally like to see my car so as to be able to give a better price re part ex. I found all this to be a bit unprofessional to be honest, and decided that they were off my list. This left two dealers who were happy to offer what I wanted for my 111s and prepared to work at a deal. Newtown Lotus Cwmbran and Bell and Colvill West Horsley, Sussex, neither were very close to me but I was prepared to travel so thats what I did. Newtown Lotus are a very small set up but extremely friendly and went out of their way to accommodate what I wanted, I walked away with a deal that I was happy with in regards to a 220 and 250, I'd just got to find a 250 to test drive. Bell and Colvill have been a Lotus Dealer for 50 years and their stock and demo cars give them the edge against all others. Having got very competitive figures from Newtown I arranged a test drive in a 220 and a 250 back to back at B&C, being totally honest, it was simply to decide which car I wanted and then I was going to place my order with Cwmbran, however on arrival at B&C I was greeted by Jamie Matthews their Lotus salesman, he explained that he had both cars waiting outside, it was up to me which one I took out first, and how long for, he suggested we(the chancellor was with me😉) should go for a good drive, find somewhere for lunch(it was 10am😳) then come back and take the other car out on the same drive. We took the 220 first, put some good miles on it via town and country roads..loved it!. The discussion over lunch was in regards to cost of the two cars when options had been added ie, you can have a full carbon kit on a 220 for the price of a nicely specced 250 etc then it was back to B&C for the quick change into the 250, same drive, stopped off at the same pub for afternoon tea(🙄buying cars is not good for the waistline) and returned the car around 4:30, by this time I'd made my mind up on the 250, there really isn't anything between them on the road, the 250 looks more aggressive which is a marmite thing performance figures are very similar and I can't honestly tell you why but it was the 250 for me......Sat down with Jamie and discussed options, and as I mentioned before being in cahoots with Lotus for so long gives them a distinct advantage over other dealers. Spec of the 250 was settled(this was last September) We agreed B&C would take my car in part ex in October and Jamie would place the order for my 250 in January and it all went like clockwork until Covid. My car finally arrived end of June 2020, this was simply due to lockdown etc and nothing B&C or anyone else could do about it..... Apologies for the long winded post, its raining outside and you did ask 😀

Colour is subjective!

Hth

 

[PJT]

That sounds like good service.  Maybe when I look to replace. I’ll take a road trip.

[Elisemadray]

1 hour ago, Jonathan E said:

I had the same dilemma last year. I dropped an email to every Lotus dealer in the UK saying I was in the market for a brand new factory built Elise, I knew which colour I wanted and some of the options but really couldn't make up my mind between a 250 and a 220. Like you I was staggered by the general lack of interest from a large proportion of those I'd contacted, only a few came back with anything positive and some of those were only interested if I took a car from stock, I heard nothing from Oakmere but as they were my nearest Lotus dealer I booked a test drive anyway. I had a S2111s to move on, which I was happy to part ex or sell privately if the figures didn't stack up, all pretty straight forward to be honest.

Oakmere made an offer of 11k on my 23k mile S2111s which was quite honestly laughable I told them so and left. The day I visited Oakmere Chris Evans Carfest was being held just up the road and it seemed almost everyone had gone on a jolly to the event, come Monday I had a call from the Lotus salesman explaining that the lad who had looked at my car was new and he would personally like to see my car so as to be able to give a better price re part ex. I found all this to be a bit unprofessional to be honest, and decided that they were off my list. This left two dealers who were happy to offer what I wanted for my 111s and prepared to work at a deal. Newtown Lotus Cwmbran and Bell and Colvill West Horsley, Sussex, neither were very close to me but I was prepared to travel so thats what I did. Newtown Lotus are a very small set up but extremely friendly and went out of their way to accommodate what I wanted, I walked away with a deal that I was happy with in regards to a 220 and 250, I'd just got to find a 250 to test drive. Bell and Colvill have been a Lotus Dealer for 50 years and their stock and demo cars give them the edge against all others. Having got very competitive figures from Newtown I arranged a test drive in a 220 and a 250 back to back at B&C, being totally honest, it was simply to decide which car I wanted and then I was going to place my order with Cwmbran, however on arrival at B&C I was greeted by Jamie Matthews their Lotus salesman, he explained that he had both cars waiting outside, it was up to me which one I took out first, and how long for, he suggested we(the chancellor was with me😉) should go for a good drive, find somewhere for lunch(it was 10am😳) then come back and take the other car out on the same drive. We took the 220 first, put some good miles on it via town and country roads..loved it!. The discussion over lunch was in regards to cost of the two cars when options had been added ie, you can have a full carbon kit on a 220 for the price of a nicely specced 250 etc then it was back to B&C for the quick change into the 250, same drive, stopped off at the same pub for afternoon tea(🙄buying cars is not good for the waistline) and returned the car around 4:30, by this time I'd made my mind up on the 250, there really isn't anything between them on the road, the 250 looks more aggressive which is a marmite thing performance figures are very similar and I can't honestly tell you why but it was the 250 for me......Sat down with Jamie and discussed options, and as I mentioned before being in cahoots with Lotus for so long gives them a distinct advantage over other dealers. Spec of the 250 was settled(this was last September) We agreed B&C would take my car in part ex in October and Jamie would place the order for my 250 in January and it all went like clockwork until Covid. My car finally arrived end of June 2020, this was simply due to lockdown etc and nothing B&C or anyone else could do about it..... Apologies for the long winded post, its raining outside and you did ask 😀

Colour is subjective!

Hth

 

not seen you for a while Jonathan, you will need to bring this beauty on a Peaks run so we can see it in the flesh  

[duncx]

For me, Cup 250 every time, it just has so much more 'presence' than the 220  Having said that you won't notice any difference on the road, they drive exactly the same. Nobody else has answered your other question - the heater is pretty good, plenty of heat from all of the vents, although the 3 speeds of the fan don't exactly give the finest of control and the highest speed is a bit noisy. Overall the build quality of the S3 Elise has come a long way from an early S2, I love mine ....

EDIT: btw I scoff at your 'advancing years' , I'm over 60 and as long as I can get in the things I'm sticking with Lotus

 

[Jonathan E]

I had the AiM digital dash fitted at the 1k service, really nice bit of kit, it became available after I’d agreed the deal on my car so I had to negotiate a price on it, I’d be looking to have it fitted foc if I was buying a factory spec car now, suspect they will become standard in the near future.

 

[duncx]

That does look great Jonathan, can you say what it cost you?