A&Q about Lotus
Q:
I LOVE IT! (as you knew I would...)
I'm 43 years old, a lifelong Mopar guy, with three high-horsepower muscle cars in the garage (70 Cuda convert 440, 70 Charger R/T 440, 06 Magnum SRT8 6.1hemi), and I've, ahem, been "through" some cars. I've only ever had big-block, torquey monsters, except for the legendary "parts runner", which was a 1995 Ford Aspire that I bought for $2k. That thing was a blast! Covered in stickers and dents, you could drive it at the absolute limits of its performance and still be under the speed limit!
Anyway, I picked up the Elise from Beverly Hills Rent-A-Car, because I knew that no test drive would show me what I needed to know.
TEST ONE = afternoon westside LA traffic, surface streets to the I-10 to the PCH (gnarly, in other words). - - - - The Elise was just like my legendary parts runner, but obviously tighter and newer and less smelly. Not quiet inside at all, even with the softtop on and the windows up, with a stereo about as good as the one in the parts runner, and AC that was like something from the Sharper Image catalog (not good, in other words...). People on the other end of a cell phone call could hear the gearshift linkage making that nice "snick-snick" sound... It drove nicely enough, but nothing to write home about. Certainly it was agile and quick and all that, but none of its qualities make it a great street car.
TEST TWO = PCH and Starbucks - - - Ahhh, that's better. On the PCH, with the top off, less traffic, and the ocean right over there. Smoother pavement, and now isn't this nice? Okay, I'll use the Magnum for sitting in traffic with, so I can watch a movie or get a backrub or whatever, but this is way better for a beach drive! Stop at Starbucks in Malibu, and a doctor in a copper-colored Plymouth Prowler pulls up, says he's been following me for a couple miles, wanting to talk, and proceeds to grill me on the Elise... do I like it, how's the power, how much does it weigh again? Since I've had it for all of an hour, I don't have much to tell him, but I give him the rental company's number, and I know he'll be next in line when I return it! Even in Malibu, where everybody's daughter drives BMW's that cost more than the Elise, it still got more than a few stares, and one shouted, "Euro-Fags Rule!" (?).
TEST THREE = Yerba Buena, Decker, Mulholland Highway (utterly gnarly canyon roads with no traffic and no houses)
Holy.
Crap.
This.
Car.
Rocks.
The.
Twisties.
I mean jeeeeeezus. Jeeeeeezus Keeeerist!
I get it now. I totally, totally, TOTALLY get it.
Talk about point and shoot! I am so used to driving torquey, heavy PIGS that you slang around, a$$-out most of the time, just hoggin' it, trying to make a corner without swapping ends. The Elise had so little understeer, and recovered so quickly, that it was like having an instructor there. Jeez, if I ran over a coin, I could tell if it was a nickel or a dime! Now, I'm NOT a track driver, and every one of y'all could probably school me at the track, but that little car made me pretty darn fearless. It did just what I told it to, with no surprises.
I wouldn't have minded being surprised by the acceleration, which was, shall we say, not scary at all, in fact, not even really thrilling in and of itself; although the car definitely provides many thrills, the ol' kick in the pants was not one of them.... No matter, the thing is so well balanced and precise that I felt like the only guy on the ice who was actually wearing ice skates. Grip? Uhhhh.... yeah. I did get the a$$ out a few times, but only when I randomly was in the power band at the right moment. Practice, practice... I know, but I'm used to having enough juice under my right foot to cause all sorts of problems on demand, even if the revs aren't 'right'.
Anyway, by the second lap around the loop, I was tossing that lil' guy around just like I knew what I was doing! Man, he didn't fight me at all. What a champ! Lil' dude seemed like he was ready to get scrappy with that road all day long, too.... Felt great. I guess that's what a sports car is supposed to feel like, right?
TEST FOUR = The Female Test - - - Of course my woman will want a ride, so off we go. She gets in with a giggle, she loves it. "Doesn't it come in orange?" This is, of course, a VERY different reaction than she had to the Ford GT, which was (literally), "Sitting in the passenger seat of the GT made me so freakin horny!" I am not lying about this, children.... Anyway, away we go for a twilight lap around Yerba Buena and the Mulholland Raceway (sorry, Mulholland HIGHway....), and by the third turn, she's giggling and shouting, "punch it!" and loving every minute. Bottom line, the car's precision inspired enough confidence in my passenger for her to encourage higher angles of attack, instead of her usual pleas for me to slow down and lighten up when brody-ing in one of the big Mopars. She (like me) thought the Elise made you feel like you were going faster than you really were, but we realized later this is only true on straight-ish roads. In the twisties, it's the opposite; it feels like you're travelling at an average speed when you're really wailing around those corners. Deceptive. Oh, and getting stuck behind a 10mph-under-the-limit SUV driver in the canyons sucks way worse in the Elise than in most cars.....
CONCLUSION = The best-handling car I have ever driven (duh). They've found an ideal middle ground between raw aluminum racecar, exotic plastic sculpture, and spartan fun road car. I'd love more power, but I wouldn't mess with that motor for anything. I'm sure it's about as dialed-in as it can be without screwing something up. If they offered an Elise S, or there was an obvious crate-motor swap, then maybe.... but this place seems to be full of horror stories about people searching for more HP via SC or TT or whatever, and.... ouch. Plus, the balance is exquisite. Someone expressed the opinion that the higher-HP variants "lose something", some aspect of balance or control, that the 190hp cars have. Whatever.
WILL I BUY ONE? = Heck yeah. Three things that would make me NOT buy a 2006 Elise ASAP:
1 - Pending availability of an Elise S with 50 more HP and more torque.
2 - Pending availability of an Esprit with mid-engine V8. The Esprit can't feel like the Elise, though, can it?
3 - Someone tells me, "Dude, check the Noble/Atom/Radical/Trabant before you commit..."
Noble looks like trouble to get built, Atom could be "a little much", and are the Radicals even legal on the street? A Trabant, however.....
Even if I go through with a Ford GT purchase, which, as it turns out, is being done for, basically, entirely different reasons than I thought at first, I would still lust after an Elise and want to get one! The GT is almost more fun to look at than it is to drive, and a car with the performance envelope of the GT can rarely be driven anywhere near its limits... The GT would be bored plodding along at a mere 160mph (while the driver is petrified!). In the Elise, it feels like you are really pushing it, even when you are only at semi-lethal speeds. Maybe not as much fun (for me) to look at as the GT, but the Elise looks great. Exotic, but happy, lighthearted, fun.
The GT says, "Stand back, respect me. I might be 40 years old, but I will kick your ass, punk. I am LETHAL."
The Elise says, "Hey bud, let's party! Hop in!"
So.... If you're still on the fence, and in L.A., call up Ali at bhrentacar.com and Git Sum!
A:
Nice review!
What was the rate? What color? I didn't see it on the website. Good to see they are open on Sunday! I want to rent one on Saturday and return on a Sunday. The place I tried to rent from is closed on Sundays so I would be forced to rent it for 2 days.
A:
The Elise 'S' will use the Toyota 1ZZ-FE engine incorportaing VVT-i and produces less hp than the current issue 'Federal Elise (aka Type 111-R)' with its 2ZZ-GE powerplant.
My guess is you drove the 111R.
I took this off of a technical paper:
The 1ZZ-FE produces 107 kW (145 hp) at 6400 rpm and 170 N•m (125 lb•ft) torque at 4200 rpm on a 10.0:1 compression ratio with regular-grade unleaded gasoline. The 2ZZ-GE is a new-generation engine used in the Celica GT-S and is equipped with a two-stage variable valve lift/timing system called VVT-L on both the intake and exhaust sides, combined with the VVT-i continuously variable intake-valve timing. The 2ZZ-GE puts out 140 kW (190 bhp) at 7600 rpm and 180 N•m (133 lb•ft) at 6800 rpm on a raised 11.5:1 CR with premium unleaded fuel.
IMHO - Toyota and Lotus went through lots of trouble to extract performance out of the 2ZZGE. I wouldn't touch it either except for the air filter and that's about it.
Glad you like the handling - the light Normally Aspirated engine contributes to that overall feel of the Elise.
I think I should mention that the '06 Elise is known to have a not so abrupt change in power delivery than the '05 because they lowered the cam switchover in the '06.
A:
Very nice review. Most of us did not have the luxury of renting before buying.
Let us know when you pull the trigger!
Originally Posted by cudacharlie
WILL I BUY ONE? = Heck yeah. Three things that would make me NOT buy a 2006 Elise ASAP:
1 - Pending availability of an Elise S with 50 more HP and more torque...
I think it is the EXIGE S that has a supercharger and more HP.
A:
Glad you had a pleasant rental experience. Most of my customers have felt the same excitement when returning the car.
A:
Cool review
As said above, to clarify, the Exige S (more powerful than the regular Exige) is what you were thinking of, the Elise S (less powerful than then regular Elise) is not coming to the US. You will be able to get more low end and a lower cam crossover with the Stage 3 (+ the other bits) in the Elise soon that Lotus will offer.
Goelise, did they lower the cam crossover in the 06? I didn't know about that if they did.
A:
Originally Posted by cudacharlie
She gets in with a giggle, she loves it. "Doesn't it come in orange?"
Ahh, warming the hearts of the Chrome Orange Mafia. Make her an honorary member.
A:
I have a 93 Esprit. Good car. NOT AT ALL LIKE AN ELISE. I don't know what the new Esprit will handle like, but I suspect it will be over 3000 lbs and while a good handler, just will not be the same as the Exige/Elise.
Everyday, my admiration for how much better of a car the Exige I just bought is than the Esprit grows and grows. I am glad I owned the Esprit, but the Exige kicks it in the pants in everyway except balls out top speed.
A:
You, my friend, in my opinion have hit the holy grail of owning an Elise on the head. It's a fun car on the track and autocross but it's in its element on twisty roads and comes to life. Everytime I get to the mountains I thank my lucky stars for having a Elise with me.
Welcome to the gang.
Originally Posted by cudacharlie
TEST THREE = Yerba Buena, Decker, Mulholland Highway (utterly gnarly canyon roads with no traffic and no houses)
Holy.
Crap.
This.
Car.
Rocks.
The.
Twisties.
I mean jeeeeeezus. Jeeeeeezus Keeeerist!
I get it now. I totally, totally, TOTALLY get it.
Talk about point and shoot!
A:
Originally Posted by cudacharlie
Three things that would make me NOT buy a 2006 Elise ASAP:
1 - Pending availability of an Elise S with 50 more HP and more torque.
2 - Pending availability of an Esprit with mid-engine V8. The Esprit can't feel like the Elise, though, can it?
3 - Someone tells me, "Dude, check the Noble/Atom/Radical/Trabant before you commit..."
1. A factory-supercharged Elise doesn't seem likely. The Lotus strategy appears to be to make the Exige the "fast one" from now on. If Lotus does offer an Elise s/c, you can get the parts and slap it on yourself. The Celica guys have been getting more power out of the 2zz for a few years without so much drama. You won't be stuck with 190hp if you want a bit more.
2. Esprit won't be around until 2010. You can't wait that long.
3. Those other cars you mention are hard to register. You'll need to stand in line on January 2, 2007 at 4am to be one of the first 500 to get plates for an Atom, etc. Radical isn't street legal. Also, you really should consider the Lotus Lada if you're into Trabants.
In other states (like mine), forget about it. No Atom.
A:
Originally Posted by Fungezap
Ahh, warming the hearts of the Chrome Orange Mafia. Make her an honorary member.
Beat me to it.
A:
Originally Posted by Crudson
did they lower the cam crossover in the 06? I didn't know about that if they did.
I have an '06. Cam crossover kicks in just north of 6k.
A:
I'll finish your statement for you...
So I rented an Elise and....
"Now I cannot sleep or enjoy life at all until I buy one"
A:
How much was the rental?
Ryan
A:
Best car review I ever read. I'd like to borrow the Ford GT some night if you get it.
Many opinions exist on the Noble. It will certainly put the Elise back on the trailer. But, unless you live near the Noble Dealership (like I do) you are SOL when something breaks, which apparently happens with some frequency.
A:
When you metioned the list of alternate options to an Elise I couldn't help thinking you left the best (at least on paper) one out. The Ultima I think they are 100% street legal as well due to their kit car status in the US.
Watch the video on Google about the Ford "GTTT", basically a GT with a turbo and 1k HP. Looks like a fun car.
A:
Cuda,
Great write-up. I'd say you probably sold a few Elises based on it (not counting the one you surely will be buying). Forget power to weight-the Elise is the most fun per dollar of any car I have ever owned.
Tom
A:
Great review cuda! You're going ot have to do some trackdays when you get one. These cars grip and change direction better than anything else I've driven other than open wheelers. I did a Ferrari Club trackday at Pocono Tuesday and was hanging out with a couple of 360 owners. It was really fun hearing one of them tell me no way could he keep with me in the infield.
A:
Okay, I'm about to take the rental Elise back, after putting 350 miles on it in 24 hours.... at 50 cents a mile after the first hundred.... doh!...but I just couldn't stop driving the darn thing!
I'm an idiot and rented from BHrentacar.com, which cost $399 plus the aforementioned mileage charge, and I know I could have paid half that if I'd driven to Newport Beach or whatever, but.... fukit.
After six hours in the saddle, my bunz is a little stiff, but not bad... not bad at all. Goes down my driveway with no problems, and that's saying something.... 150 yards of chewed-up asphalt, broken places, dirt patches, huge ruts, and a good four-inch drop-off where it meets the road. My Magnum scrapes like heck in about four spots if you don't hit it just right at 1mph... but the Elise just sails right on through. What's up with that?
As to the Ultima GTR... uhhh, that's just... what's the right word.... "a bit much". A little too over the top, like the Radical. The Atom I find charming, but the CA reg. hassles put me right off. Noble sounds like it could be a contender if it had the build quality, "federal" status, and dealer/service network of the Lotus..... So the Elise is a winner for sure.
Now the only problem is... what color? (CO, I think...)
A:
Cuda gets it!
Test Three is what the Elise is all about.
Save some money by just buying a used '05. Great deals are out there and you'll get the most bang-for-the-buck.