Evo vs. Elise
the elise and the exige have the exact same chassis and motor/drivetrain. no more power. i think the exige is actually a little heavier than the base elise. most of the stuff on the exige is handling, little bit better airflow and scoops! actually i heard the car does'nt run correctly with the top off! would take a bit of the fun away.
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Evolving Member
Joined: Oct 2005
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From: Denver, CO
^^^true. the exige has same power but a tad more weight. and if you thought the elise was hard to get into, try getting into an exige!!! oh, it also costs more than the elise...the exige is over $50K! the only advantage to an exige is downforce, which you'll only notice in high speed sweepers, if at all.
I considered getting an Elise, but Lotus kept hiking the base price and I had no room for more than one daily driver. I already have a trailer, a truck, a race car. I could not get an Elise and a 4 door daily driver. So I opted for the Evo.
I test drove an Elise at the track; Streets of Willow in CA. The car was a blast to drive. I also chased the car with owner driving with my SE-R race car. I am a better driver than he is. Check out the chase video. The Elise is at the end of the video. The music is Deep Purple's "highway star."
http://www.sr20deracing.com/movies/k...hine_30fps.wmv
I test drove an Elise at the track; Streets of Willow in CA. The car was a blast to drive. I also chased the car with owner driving with my SE-R race car. I am a better driver than he is. Check out the chase video. The Elise is at the end of the video. The music is Deep Purple's "highway star."
http://www.sr20deracing.com/movies/k...hine_30fps.wmv
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From: Herc and Santa Cruz (F,W,S Quarters UCSC)
Originally Posted by Evo442
by all means, keep this thread away from her! How cool would that be to have both cars at your disposal!
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From: Bangkok
Originally Posted by fromWRXtoEVO
I have seen some great points some people brought up to this topic, off course I have seen many Elises and off course I driven one while I was in the UK. A puertorican friend of mine (Carlos Oviedo, TSgt in the USAF) purchased a Elise.
I can only describe his car as a under achiever, he bought the cheapest and less powerful Elise with the Rover/Honda engine with 140hp. The car was simply a joke, I mean it was absolutely nothing special on that car that you could point out other than the looks and the handling, everything else was poor and I mean it.
Some one mentioned the weight factor, yes indeed, the Lotus Elise can suffer from extreme power/weight ratio loses significantly and disproportionally the moment yo add any weight(bigger rims and tires), more weight in the car, etc.
On the same coin, remember, this car has absolutely no torque and anything above 100mph the car has poor acceleration.
He complained of the difficulty of getting in and out, of the lack of power at all the time, the lack of comfort, the lack of equipment, so many things that he ended selling it soon.
My personal point of view you can guess it , it is not a car for me, it is too much of hard core and I couldn't be driving a Elise to work everyday, it would kill my back within minutes. The Elise is a car made for a track and for roll in an avenue to pick ladies but not a car that you want to take for a long trip.
For some of you that know what I am talking about, Opel/Vauxall(GM subsidiary car manufacturer in Germany) makes a car that makes the Elise embaress , I am talking about the Opel VX220, is like the STI/EVO in the USA , this opel is the antitesis of the Lotus Elise.
http://public.fotki.com/DaimoB/modif...alls-1/vx_220/
Here is another example of the fierce competition the Elise has in Europe, the last time I saw one Renault Sport like this I was in Paris accross the street from the Louvre Museum, I saw a F50 Ferrai and this car at the same time(back in 2000)
http://www.swaqvalley.com/Blueprints...ort_Spider.jpg
My .2c
Carlos
I can only describe his car as a under achiever, he bought the cheapest and less powerful Elise with the Rover/Honda engine with 140hp. The car was simply a joke, I mean it was absolutely nothing special on that car that you could point out other than the looks and the handling, everything else was poor and I mean it.
Some one mentioned the weight factor, yes indeed, the Lotus Elise can suffer from extreme power/weight ratio loses significantly and disproportionally the moment yo add any weight(bigger rims and tires), more weight in the car, etc.
On the same coin, remember, this car has absolutely no torque and anything above 100mph the car has poor acceleration.
He complained of the difficulty of getting in and out, of the lack of power at all the time, the lack of comfort, the lack of equipment, so many things that he ended selling it soon.
My personal point of view you can guess it , it is not a car for me, it is too much of hard core and I couldn't be driving a Elise to work everyday, it would kill my back within minutes. The Elise is a car made for a track and for roll in an avenue to pick ladies but not a car that you want to take for a long trip.
For some of you that know what I am talking about, Opel/Vauxall(GM subsidiary car manufacturer in Germany) makes a car that makes the Elise embaress , I am talking about the Opel VX220, is like the STI/EVO in the USA , this opel is the antitesis of the Lotus Elise.
http://public.fotki.com/DaimoB/modif...alls-1/vx_220/
Here is another example of the fierce competition the Elise has in Europe, the last time I saw one Renault Sport like this I was in Paris accross the street from the Louvre Museum, I saw a F50 Ferrai and this car at the same time(back in 2000)
http://www.swaqvalley.com/Blueprints...ort_Spider.jpg
My .2c
Carlos
I think we feel the same way about the elise. Anyway, the Elise has a Rover K-series engine which IIRC they developed jointly with Honda and it's kind of like a B16 in steel. They also have the same engine in the a whole lot of other cars which include the0 MGF which is like the elise in everyway but a lot more lardy and girly. God knows what they're putting in it (the elise) now. There seems to be so many versions of it with the exige and all.
I didn't know you guys dont' get the VX220 in the States, they're nice cars and I find them easier to get in/out of. Probably looks out of place with a GM badge...
Originally Posted by fromWRXtoEVO
For some of you that know what I am talking about, Opel/Vauxall(GM subsidiary car manufacturer in Germany) makes a car that makes the Elise embaress , I am talking about the Opel VX220, is like the STI/EVO in the USA , this opel is the antitesis of the Lotus Elise.
[edit] I should point out that Lotus also builds the VX220 (or Speedster).
Last edited by UFO; Mar 5, 2006 at 05:43 PM.
Originally Posted by Happy Madison
i test drove an elise today just for the hell of it. the saleman, who saw me pull up in the evo, said i might be disappointed in the elise...and he was right.
Good to see we have a bunch of Lotus Elise experts who have driven an Elise and an Evo around the track. I am totally convinced by your review of taking an Elise around the block and back. 
ok everyone.... I OWN BOTH CARS.... I've done many track events in both.
1. Evo has alot more power to get you down the long straights.
2. Evo has AWD to get you out of the corners faster.
3. Elise is 1950 lbs and YES is changes direction MUCH faster. (evo is as top heavy as a my dually hehe)
4. Elise is hard to get the power down on corner exit (wheels/tires are way too small
5. Elise and evo have the same braking power. (stock for stock) Evo's brakes go away much faster stock... but with SSlines and pads and fluid.... evo is better in the brake zone.
Bottom line..... Throw Toyo RA-1's, SS lines/pads , exhaust... 90% of all drivers will be faster in the Evo. Its a much easier car to drive fast on track.
Now throw a chevy small block 350 in the elise and some 335 rear tires and that = my Ultima GTR.... much much faster than both cars. But old trusty evo is still my fav all arounder and is always there to beat on when the Ultima is broken.
1. Evo has alot more power to get you down the long straights.
2. Evo has AWD to get you out of the corners faster.
3. Elise is 1950 lbs and YES is changes direction MUCH faster. (evo is as top heavy as a my dually hehe)
4. Elise is hard to get the power down on corner exit (wheels/tires are way too small
5. Elise and evo have the same braking power. (stock for stock) Evo's brakes go away much faster stock... but with SSlines and pads and fluid.... evo is better in the brake zone.
Bottom line..... Throw Toyo RA-1's, SS lines/pads , exhaust... 90% of all drivers will be faster in the Evo. Its a much easier car to drive fast on track.
Now throw a chevy small block 350 in the elise and some 335 rear tires and that = my Ultima GTR.... much much faster than both cars. But old trusty evo is still my fav all arounder and is always there to beat on when the Ultima is broken.
I talked to an Elise owner at the Joliet, Autobahn course in IL and his opinion on his Elise was that it is a fantastic car to drive. But it's actually really hard to get everything from the car, unlike the Evo where many can drive the car to its real limits. But then he told me that when he can drive it well, the car is VERY rewarding.
Two different cars with two different tastes. It's like choosing to eat dessert or the main course. Both are delicious but have different ways of presenting it.
Two different cars with two different tastes. It's like choosing to eat dessert or the main course. Both are delicious but have different ways of presenting it.
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Lotus Elise S http://www.newtiburon.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64497
A small lightweight sportscar weighing just 935 kg (2057 lbs),
powered by a 162.5 kW (218 hp, 221 PS) high revving supercharged engine,
giving a zero to 100 km/h time of just 4.3 seconds (0 - 60 mph in 4.1
seconds). It comes straight off the production line and isn't an
"aftermarket special".
A small lightweight sportscar weighing just 935 kg (2057 lbs),
powered by a 162.5 kW (218 hp, 221 PS) high revving supercharged engine,
giving a zero to 100 km/h time of just 4.3 seconds (0 - 60 mph in 4.1
seconds). It comes straight off the production line and isn't an
"aftermarket special".