For those of you who have trouble getting test drives.....

rG-tom

rG-tom

rG-tom

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Joined
27 Nov 2004
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10,344
Location
North Beds
.....why?

I'm 19, and after recently accepting a new job where i've got half the commute on all B roads and not far off double my wages im considering something a little more....inpractical, and on the way home from covering at another branch I spotted a nice dealership with a row full of Lotus Elise out front.

Walked in, chatted to the sales guy for 30 minutes or so, had a quick look at the europa and the elise before deciding that i wanted a soft top....and after a quick demo on how to get in and out, we were out on the open road in a 111R.

Do you guys who try getting test drives on things considerably less potent than this walk in and just straight out ask for a test drive? I've NEVER had a problem and i've driven a fair few things.


Anyway, to the test drive.

111R.jpg


same as that but an 05 plate,

Lotus Elise 111R

1.8 VVTi with Camlift, 190bhp

0-60 in 4.9 seconds and it even has electric windows!



WOW.

That's all there is to say. Except maybe **** ME too. in May when i roll over to 20 and my 2nd NCB is there, an elise is DEFINITELY a serious contender if i can find a decent broker who'll insure me on it. Probably have to settle for an s1 or a 111S as the 111R seems even harder to insure, but jesus they're a nice drive. So sharp, crisp and just constant grins :)

I've driven some fairly nice cars, 285bhp wolfrace focus ST, RX8 prodrive, bmw 325Ci, new Civic Type R, celica GT190 (same engine but in a MUCH heavier body than the elise), new Leon cupra and all have left me feeling a bit underwhelmed and make me ask how on earth it's worth 17k more than my mondeo.

The elise has left me figuring out how the hell i'm gonna wangle one as soon as possible :D COMPLETELY different level of car.

Tom.

PS Camlift through tunnel at over 7k RPM sounds sublime!
 
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I really wish I could have a less practical car as a daily :(

I've wanted an elise for years, nearly bought one on impulse earlier in the year, but I got sensible and bought the iS instead. I should have got the elise...
 
Not tried the Elise, but have been out a few times in an Exige, now they are a fun car. When i went for the test drive the guy was throwing cars at me to try, we tried the Exige, Boxster S & SLK350 (i think?). It's probably more about how you come over when you walk into the showroom than anything else.
 
i've decided that by far the easiest method of entry is to just peel the roof back a bit which is a 2 second job :)

I fit ok, the wheel is very close to my legs though. When driving normally it's not an issue at all, but when manouvring i'd have to go back to the driving lesson shuffle stylee instead of the use of the whole wheel with one hand that i've fallen into the habit of doing. If i was an inch taller though i'd be screwed!
 
Lovely cars, but as said, I couldn't deal with it as an only car... After Mark having his MX5, with me as "pace" car on damn near every outing, its become far too obvious that they are too impractical, even if your commute is fun B roads. There will be a time you need the practicality and it just isn't there.

As a second car, they are just about perfect!

Oh and for the record, I've never had an issue getting test drives except once when I was 20, and BMW said I had to be 24 to take out ANY of their cars.
 
I love my 111R, it's so fun to drive. Chuck it down a back road and it practically steers the car for you - it's like telepathic steering! But you can "feel" when you've just gone over some gravel or something. I've not put mine on the limit but I've got near it and the steering gives you all the feedback you need to know that.

It's my daily driver and only car but it hasn't caused me any problems. The Toyota engine is pretty reliable so you don't have to worry about it 'not starting' in the morning.

The only faults I've had with mine are non-serious... the safety latch to engaged reverse gear broke. The alloy handle for it basically came unstuck from the hidden bit underneath the leather. So they reglued it and problem was solved. (I could still engage reverse whilst waiting for them to fix it by just going direct to the blob under the leather). Also my ARB drop links are completely shot (the Elise is very very hard wearing on its suspension) and it's booked in next Friday to have those replaced.

It's a really good car and much more practical than some reviews or popular opinions would make you believe. As long as you are "fit" enough to get in and out of the thing on a daily basis, that is the hardest bit over! I'm not exactly the fittest guy and don't have any problems.

I drove to Donnington last weekend in it which is a couple hundred miles of motorway round trip for me and the car was faultless. It really eats up the motorways like a BMW or something. The ride is superbly smooth and it absorbs almost all of the bumps you're likely to encountered on a British motorway. The 6th gear really pulls above 4000rpm. It also sits in traffic just fine, I was in traffic at Donnington for over an hour (both arrival and leaving) and the car got up to 99c but no higher. You could see the heat rippling from the radiator out front and the engine bay behind, pretty neat :o Only downer is that idling like this really soaks heat into the chassis so you can get a bit warm in there (mine doesn't have A/C) but removing the roof only takes 30 secs.

It's funny because after a few months of owning an Elise when you finally come to drive or even just ride in a "normal" car they all just feel like glorified arm chairs. Seriously. Even a Civic Type R or something will feel like a motorway barge.

The 2nd cam is a bit marmite for some but luckily I love it :D It's like two cars in one. A fairly subdued performance whilst off-cam, but when on-cam it's a silly quick rampaging beast... It was scary for the first couple months. I don't know any other car that can produce such a "kick in the pants" that the 2nd cam gives when it comes on at 6000rpm. Problem is when that cam comes on everything happens twice as fast - the revs climb at twice the speed and before you know it you're doing 120MPH... So you really need to think about what you're doing or you'll be bouncing off the limiter!

As quick as this car is, there is still plenty of cars out there that are quicker. It's easy to think you're driving the fastest thing on earth just from the way it accelerates and how it handles - but the engine quickly starts running out of momentum at about 120MPH. Yes it will go onto about 140 but it will take a long time getting there I think. I wrongly engaged in a 'play' with a M5 the other month and I would have lost but luckily a bend in the road appeared and he slowed down to NSL. I won't say what speed I took that bend at but it was very fun and satisfying to 'fend off' a car worth 4x more than my own :D

Brakes are ****-hot as well. I test drove a 111S before buying the R and I couldn't get on with the unservo'd brakes. It was just so dangerous I thought :confused: If you needed to do an emergency stop - or even just get a bit more bite like is often needed due to numpties on motorways, you would be stuffed. The pedal is like pressing on a brick. It has no movement what so ever. Luckily the R's brake pedal is actually the softest one of all three which is very reassuring knowing that you can get 100% braking force if you needed it. And considering this car is most at home blasting down country lanes that are also occurpied by horse riders and farm machinery it is a good thing to be able to get as much braking force as you can.

Only downer with the R is the crap stock silencer. It sounds like you're driving around in a borefest Toyota Celica or something. So if you buy one Tom I would seriously recommend getting an aftermarket silencer. Don't get the Lotus Stage II as that is cheap quality apparantly and also it has a very droney boring sound. For a car like this you need a rather exotic exhaust note, so take a look at the Larini, Quicksilver or a 2bular. I've got a 2bular sitting at home - just need to find the time to fit it!
 
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