New (Or Revised?) Lotus Elise

Moeks · 18 Feb 2010 at 21:29

I thought the old car was better looking and making the engine smaller

...dohh, make it bigger damn it!

Hxc · 18 Feb 2010 at 21:31

Hmm. Can't decide whether I like it or not. no doubt I'll be seeing a fair few of them to judge on the way to sixth form over the next few months, though

Saw an Exige S1 this week; wow, they look purposeful. Nicer than the S2 even?

Ezee84 · 18 Feb 2010 at 21:45

Hxc said:
Saw an Exige S1 this week; wow, they look purposeful. Nicer than the S2 even?

Absolutely love the S1 Exige. It's the only car I'd think about selling my 111S for. Just a shame that you are looking at upwards of £20k for a decent one nowadays.

Zuban · 18 Feb 2010 at 22:16

Ezee84 said:
It has cruise control so thats more weight for a start.
QUOTE]

if its the 1.6 toyota engine i'm thinking of then its got variable cam phasing and lift on both cams, and has no throttle body, so cruise control will be ecu controlled so no extra weight involved other than the buttons on the stalk/steering wheel.

i prefer the new one looks a bit cleaner but not convinced from all angles.

NathanE · 18 Feb 2010 at 22:27

The 1.6L engine is for the Elise S. The R and SC still have 1.8L.

In fact, they're going to putting a 2.0L into these once they run out of Toyota 2ZZ-GE (yes Toyota has now officially stopped production and Lotus bought the last batches).

I really like the new front styling. The rear end is, IMO, not as good in pixels. But I need to see it in the flesh to really decide. The best thing is they've removed the bloody standalone front indicators! No more popping out nightmares at 70mph on the motorway!

PS: Cruise control is optional and it's just some software (zero weight) plus a couple grams for a button on the steering wheel (or dash? .. who knows with Lotus

)

Matmulder · 18 Feb 2010 at 23:27

I'm pretty sure that everyone complaining about the size of the engine and/or power output have never driven an Elise.

Power, or lack of it, is something that never really crosses your mind in these cars. Fair enough, 0-100 in 18secs isn't going to set the world on fire, but at road legal speeds (ie, <60mph) they're still pretty rapid. You're too busy enjoying insane cornering abilities and just how much fun they are at 20mph, 30mph, 40mph...

I remember driving an 118bhp Elise before I bought my S160, and it never feels like it lacks power. EVO also rated the 134bhp 1.8 Toyoya powered EliseS as being one of the best for the everyday driver. It takes *a lot* of ability to fully exploit 134bhp in a car like this before you can start to make use of more...

PermaBanned · 18 Feb 2010 at 23:28

What was wrong with the Exige?

Flibster · 18 Feb 2010 at 23:40

Ezee84 said:
Shame if that is the case as the way things are going it seems as though they are getting further & further away from the point of the car and the Lotus philosophy with each model.

Buy a 2-Eleven then.

666kg and 252bhp.

randal · 18 Feb 2010 at 23:44

Ezee84 said:
Here is a pic I just found comparing old & new.

Happy New Elise is Happy.

I prefer the front end of the S2 and the back end of the new revision, looks much cleaner.

grudas · 19 Feb 2010 at 00:11

her face looks like jap/thai mix ;D ass is the same.. it will grow on me all i know

Flibster · 19 Feb 2010 at 00:38

More I look at it, the more of the Project M250 styling I see - especially in the rear.

I still think Lotus should have made that car. It was very close to being production ready when they canned it.

NathanE · 19 Feb 2010 at 09:11

Flibster said:
More I look at it, the more of the Project M250 styling I see - especially in the rear.

I still think Lotus should have made that car. It was very close to being production ready when they canned it.

It really wasn't anywhere near production. It was just a concept car. A pretty poor one at that too IMO. They had no V6 engine supply for it either, at the time.

No idea why M250 is held in such high regard :confused:

It looked hideous and had huge panel gaps.