I also have a S2K and I've been loving it this summer. I've been auto X the S2K instead of the EVO lately (understeer suck, over steer kicks a$$). and yeah 9K RPM is great. THe S2K is like the Elise in the way that its very low to the ground and fells more like a race car then the evo. actully the evo feels so high up after I drive the S2k, so I can feel what the lotus guy was saying.

Also, if you didn't know, our frame on the S2k was designed and/or developed by Lotus.


Umm, yes it will. Trust me.

 

This is very true. The EVO is really easier to drive fast. It take some skills to drive the S2K (and probably the lotus) as fast as the EVO can be drivin with less skill, but it sure is fun.

 

so in other words, all you need to hear is just a piece of a conversation and you instantly turn into a hater? it's that kind of attitude that will get evo owners a bad name.

and that "piece of garbage" is a beast on the track. go drive one and see if your opinion changes.

you do make one valid point though (at least semi valid) - stripping down and building up a miata. but i'm not to sure on your final cost, not to mention the time it would involve, and in the end you'd still have a miata. and i think for most a lotus will always be cooler than a miata.

 

Elise is a nice car and I would love to own one. However, if I was ever in the position to purchase a toy car like an Elise, I'd pass and get an Ariel Atom.

 

Ehhh, a stripped down miata would not be as fast as a lotus elise (and definitely not look as cool). The Miata is FRONT engine rear wheel drive where as the Lotus Elise is mid engine rear wheel drive (like a formula one race car). The Elise is all around just a bad *** car, and it is a steal for only 45k. How can you guys call a car that can go 0-60 in 5 seconds slow? Put on some sticky tires, install some cams, exhaust, and an intake and your looking at lateral grip higher than 1.0 G around turns, and 12'ish second quarter mile. Pretty hard to beat! Oh and another thing, try finding a car that can do this and still get 40mpg on the highway

 

That atom isn't a car its a kart =P

 

In all reality i can see where an Elise owner would come off saying this. It's very true that due to power differences, the amazing boost and exceleration one gets while exiting a turn in an Evo can be much harder to control then a linearly powered NA Celica motor, odviously. Also the Evo gearboxes are very rough and rigid until 3,000 miles or so, everybody knows this.

I believe he gave a very accurate comparison of the two cars.

 

Please show me where this info is documented, Id love to see it since its news to my ears...

 

well put. i've always been a huge fan of the elise, i was just trying to find some common ground with the guy who thinks it's a waste of money. i'm sure there are plenty of cars you could strip down and mod the hell out of for less than elise that might compete fairly well, but again, it wouldn't be a lotus.

 

This is what pisses me off about the sport compact car tuning world. Any Joe Schmo can go out and buy a $1,000 Civic and make it better, faster, and some times prettier for a measly $10k; then they can go around to everyone saying their car is better, and WAY cheaper. Pisses me off.

 

A good friend of mine has a new Elise. It cost him over 50k.... so Im not sure where these 39k numbers are coming from. He absolutley loves my Evo and has given it his stamp of approval.

I should also point out that, while not the definitave athority, TopGear has tested the Elise, the Exige, and the Turbo version of one or the other. None of them were able to match the lap time of the 400bhp Evo VIII. And we all know how crazy easy it is to make over 400bhp in our Evos with very little money..... I think Ive got about 1500 into mine including the tune.

 

true, but people with refined tastes most often appreciate the subtle details that make the car worth the price.

for example, i could probably build a car audio system that is a lot louder than something made by a/d/s/, but the quality and beauty in the engineering (not to mention the subtle detail in sound that many people probably can't even hear) wouldn't be there.

 

good point, but how much is the fq-400 versus the exige?

 

Also very true my friend, but it still pisses me off haha.

 

A lot of people here seem to stick up for the Lotus. IMO it's not a great car. To me it seems people put more stock in the name brand of the car then what the price of the car and what the car gives you. Yeah sure its nice to say '' Hey I drive a Lotus'' Big deal. I have more respect from a civic buyer that put 10k in his car and made it better. He put more than just money, he put his hard work and ingenuity into the car.

There is nothing spectacular about the Lotus other then the look and the ''name'' I AutoX'ed one for a year because I work for a Major communications company and the car gets annoying fast. Try getting in and out of it everyday and driving it for longer than half an hour in traffic and you soon HATE the car. For such a performance car it doesnt perform better than a modded Miata on track. I know because I have a modded Miata and I dont care what people say about a Miata, its a much better car. Sure I put 5k into it but I can be proud I built it, I designed the way it looks and designed the way it handles. Do I have to go in debt just because I want a fast car that handles great? No. Not for a names sake like ''Lotus.''