Went for a test drive: Supercharged Elise

[renmure]

My g/f and I had a test drive of the Lotus Elise SC yesterday. It was either that of wandering around the Garden Centre. In a way I was trying to be a hard-to-please potential customer since I really like my 111R and most of the time I quite enjoy the need to keep the revs up in the power band to "make progress". However in the two and a bit years I have had the car I think Wendy can count the number of times she has got up to the cam-change point on the 111R of 6250 rpm on the fingers of one hand, nevermind keeping it bubbling between there and the 8500 red line.

I know the Dealer fairly well and when they both came back from the test drive I could sense trouble. Wendy was beaming with a broad grin and saying that it felt so much easier to drive and make it go fast. The Dealer had one of those "gotcha" glints in his eye. My turn was next and I have to say it really is a different experience to the 111R. The power just seemed to be available on tap whenever it was needed and it really did subjectively feel faster. The official stats are 0-60 in 4.4 and 0-100 in 10.7. I can appreciate some Lotus enthusiasts concerns about the car getting lardy tho. I certainly aint a hardcore racer but the idea of a cup holder in any lotus seems perverse. On the other hand it still seemed a nice sporty place to be sitting and felt well screwed (or should that be glued) together. Compared to my s1 Exige it actually feels semi-civilised. I thought it was interesting that there were 2 Boxter owners in for test drives. It beats me tho why Lotus fit a standard exhaust to demo cars, it makes them sound soooo tame. maybe thats for the boxter owners benefit.

I had mentally been prepared to finish the day by acknowledging it was a good car but then kill 2 birds with one stone and keep the 111R plus go ahead with having the Motorsport ECU reflash done to lower the cam-change point for the benefit SWMBO. In the end I heard myself agreeing to go back tomorrow for another drive and, all-being-well, with the intent of specing one with the Performance Pack and a decently LOUD Lotus Stage 2 exhaust for March delivery.

Would have been cheaper had I agreed to go to the Garden Centre in the first place!!

ps. anyone fancy a mint Lotus Elise 111R ???

 

[A210AMG]

Glad you had fun. not my cupa but a nice way to spend a few hours

 

[Madeira Jon]

Being a 15 stone bodybuilder I managed to get into one of those but had one hell of a job getting out. I had to crawl out of the passenger seat on my hands and knees; the dealer was far from pleased as other customers were watching and I saw the negative looks on the faces of wives who had come with their hopeful menfolk!

 

[renmure]

..... I had to crawl out of the passenger seat on my hands and knees

Hope that wasn't after getting in the Drivers side

It is an aquired skill. One of my mates is about 6ft 4ins and he appears to do an oragami style fold in the middle of his spine to get in and out of his exige.

 

[prprandall51]

Go for it! I had an Elise 130 and it is the best sports car I ever owned. It completely mystifies me why people buy "sports" cars that weigh 1500KG plus. Even the Boxter is heavy and cumbersome in comparison. But then, you know all that!

If I could justify a second car, I would have a top-spec Elise. It's the boy.

PHilip

 

[verytalldave]

I think I know exactly what you mean about feeling the extra urge. Back in the day when I was a free spirit I had an Elan. That is to say a REAL Elan. From the 1970's. I had a 1970 S4SE fixed head. It had twin Strombergs and yet with only about 105bhp it had wings. The only other vehicles worth a pop were the larger motorbikes.
Then while driving one day in a particularily spirited fashion the engine decided to drop a valve and that was the end of that. The car limped back to the local Lotus dealer on 3 rather lumpy cylinders and fearing the worse enquired about how much it would cost to fix. It was actually my lucky day. A few weeks earlier they had a Europa trailered in that had been involved in very nasty crash which was declared a write-off. I was offered an engine swap plus a charge of £400 as a solution. As the Europa was 1972 it was a big valve head and twin D'ellortos. The deal was done and my old engine was out and the new 124bhp lump was in and running.
It was a revelation. It may have had wings before but now it was indescribable.
I can imagine the difference I felt must have been the same as you experienced in your test. I therefore fully understand how you cannot fail to be seduced into buying one. A Lotus on song is a driving experience like no other. I have yet to be driven - or drive - ANY car which comes close to the excitement factor that Elan could muster. Slow by todays standards maybe, but what it may have lacked in 0-100 times it made up for in other departments.
Thats not to say I dont enjoy driving my C200K now. I do. 100%. But its a totally different ball game and now I am approaching the big 6-0, I dont want that aggressive urge that I coveted so much in my youth. I am happy to be wafted along in silent air conditioned luxury and I dont honestly yearn for the "Lotus" punch. Although I do sometimes look at a passing Exige and sigh ever so slightly......................

 

[crockers]

Being a 15 stone bodybuilder I managed to get into one of those but had one hell of a job getting out. I had to crawl out of the passenger seat on my hands and knees; the dealer was far from pleased as other customers were watching and I saw the negative looks on the faces of wives who had come with their hopeful menfolk!

Lucky you weren't wearing a miniskirt.....

 

[BTB 500]

Lucky you weren't wearing a miniskirt.....

Do they sell many in Scotland I wonder?

 

[renmure]

Do they sell many in Scotland I wonder?

All the guys I know have one!!




oops...............
too much info.