lotus elise

my son has a friend in tampa that owns two of them...says they both are falling apart...parts just drop off and they are junk....that from an owner.

regards

Need I say more.

I have a friend who has a Lotus Elise. He says it's fun to drive, but expensive to maintain. It always need something worked on, and all the minor work adds up.

You're trying to compare apples and oranges here. The Lotus is a special purpose vehicle, with few creature comforts. It's a loud, hard riding, driving machine, more like a high powered go-kart" with a body on it. Trying to compare it with a sophisticated Porsche Boxster or Carrera is almost impossible.

the 'lightest' car, and "go-kart" feel is a major selling point for me - because of the fun/thrill factor and i like the bare bones interior - all that ultimatley makes you one with the car and feel the road much better than a porsche. right?

Honestly...at my "advanced age", I don't want to feel that close to the road anymore! However, each to his own. That's why there are so many choices.

the user reviews on yahoo car reviews is unanimous - it's a great, fun thrill car - especially for the money 40k, reviews even compare it to ferrari's and lamb's - that alone must say aLot about it.

Then take your $40K down to the dealer and get one. Oh...if you have the name of a good dentist...keep it handy, so when your fillings fall out from that great "feel of the road." (Just kidding...?)

lol...i guess i can't get a neutral perspective this being a 'porsche' newsgroup. i have nothing against porsche, i like porsche - alot...but i've lately just been seriously considering the lotus elise in everything considered against porsche - and by the looks of it, i'm favoring the elise more and more.

"Lawrence L." wrote

What did you expect? In any case, car choice is more about art, passion and style than numbers. Have you read the Exige vs. Cayman comparison test in the March Car and Driver? They liked the Cayman better. Oh, BTW, the Cayman out- performed the Exige in virtually every performance category.

Lotus Exige: Highs: Race-car responses, brakes, grip, soul. Lows: Race-car creature comforts, noise, limited rear view. Verdict: A one-dimensional sports car that's almost irresistible in it's one dimension.

Porsche Cayman: Highs: All-around drivability, Porsche power & sounds. Lows: Nervous at the limit, $$$ Verdict: Think Porsche 911 with better engine placement for less money.

FloydR

sure, i know the cayman will beat out the elise in all-around, especially interior comfort.

but as a pure sportsmans car, the lotus elise is a much funner car to drive. lighter, more responsive, fast - simply fun.

Once again Lawrence, subjective. A Triumph Spitfire is "fun" to drive as well, but, it's not for everyone, hell, there is a contingent out there that prefer to drive 4X4's off road and a Porsche or Lotus couldn't mean any less.While the Lotus may have one or two dimensions, some people prefer to have the whole package. I have had a lot of experience with British cars and for $40K I wouldn't touch one with a 10 foot pole. To me it seems you are baiting or trolling trying to compare numbers much like the Corvette people do when the come into this group, but, (and I don't expect you to understand this) as is proven year in and year out, there are many cars that put up similar numbers or even better numbers than a particular Porsche, but at the end of the article it always says the same thing...Porsche has the whole package which still puts it at an advantage over it's competition.

And finally...pick up any publication in which Ferry Porsche was interviewed...he always said the same thing. "I wanted to build a car not just for the track or for racing, but for everyday travel as well." And that is the difference between the Elise and any Porsche.

Also in my opinion, the Elise is an ugly little car that reminds me of an Opel GT.

I like those old Opels...of course, looks are subjective. Hey, doesn't the Elise have a Toyota engine?

Yep, the British model - which I think is some sort of Ford engine

- won't pass emissions here, ironically. epbrown

-- "Everybody wants a normal life and a cool car; most people will settle for the car." Chris Titus

Well, heck, you could always drop in a Chevy V8............

Jim...that I am not worried about...that 2.5l that BMW has been making for years is next to bulletproof. For the first time in 16 years the words "*cam and countershaft belts" are not uttered in my house as well!

• Still can't wait for those words to return however....

Lawrence L. wrote: : lotus elise is one of the best handling cars.

: lightest sports car (under a ton) vs porsche 3000lbs+. : costs only 40k. : mid-rear engine. : better gas mileage. avg 25 : british, european name. : fun to drive.

: what do you guys make of this, in regards to all sports cars...and in : competition against porsche.

When I was looking for a second porsche, I at first thought I wanted a lotus espirit... the late 80's models were very reasonably priced but one thing I noticed was all of them were low mileage cars... in talking with many owners I realized there was a reason for that and it wasn't good... the owners of the cars told me i'd never be able to afford to put 154k miles on it like I have on my Porsche just because of how often things break.

I know the Elise has the Toyota Celica motor so that might make it a bit more reliable, but I suspect we'll find out in 2 years if they are cars that can be driven as often as a Porsche or if they are Sunday drivers.

My friend's 2001 330i had an auto transmission failure at 60K miles. The trans still shifts gears up and down but for how much longer?