Lotus Elise v Mazda MX5

cherrypicker555

Got 15k to spend on a used sportscar, looking at the above, pros/cons.

Lotus Elise, headturner, v fast, v light fibregass body alluminium chasis, 0-60 mph 5 secs,small light, unbeatable on windy, twisty roads. Down side, engine known for head problems, hoods a nightmare, 4 shocks cost 2k sterling, service expensive. But totally awsome car in terms of handling/performance.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8woGjKDSpSU



Mazda MX5, v dependable, better interior then the Elise,good looks, fairly quick, but not in the same driving class as the Elise, both hold their value well. Can be chipped up to 250 plus bhp, but still not in Elise class.
I already have a Mk 1.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eZNnVrVUAQ

Wossack

dont think you'd get a MK2 elise (as per the vid) for 15k... or am I wrong?

hows the pricing of the vx220?

Neilw

I'd go for an elise, much better drivers car although the mx5 would still be good.

One question, since when can an mx5 be chipped to 250bhp? Thought they were a na engine, surely chipping/remapping would only see around 10bhp extra?

cherrypicker555

Wossack wrote: »

dont think you'd get a MK2 elise (as per the vid) for 15k... or am I wrong?

hows the pricing of the vx220?

They're now on the Mk III, the mk II was only 16k sterling new.

Saw a 7 yr old one yesterday, service history, tan interior, 45k miles,1 yr warranty, metalic blue..7 k

The Vx 22O is a supurb car, handling was done by Lotus....Problem is Vauxhall badge and not a nice on the eye.


I like the idea of having a car, ie the Elise which can kick the ass of all the boys racers out there

Problem is its a pure racing car, v uncomfortable. But a joy to drive....And it is getting near Christmas, ha.


Lotus Elise.

cherrypicker555

Neilw wrote: »

I'd go for an elise, much better drivers car although the mx5 would still be good.

One question, since when can an mx5 be chipped to 250bhp? Thought they were a na engine, surely chipping/remapping would only see around 10bhp extra?

Well , the Mk II is 130-150bhp, been told by a dealer you can't chip the Mk1 cause the engine is "mapped" but you can the Mk II. considerably.

Wossack

hmm!

go for the toyota lump in them to avoid the head issues present in the k series rover


you'd want to be doing alot of track days to justify buying one imo. Cant agree with your reasons for wanting one above, but to each their own

Neilw

cherrypicker555 wrote: »

Well , the Mk II is 130-150bhp, been told by a dealer you can't chip the Mk1 cause the engine is "mapped" but you can the Mk II. considerably.

Well your dealer is wrong, whats the bhp standard from one of these 160ish bhp, the most you would see is 10bhp extra from a remap or "chip" as he wants to call it. Normally asperated engines do not gain very much from remaps.
Turbo charged engines both petrol and diesel can see some good increases in power, up to 50+ bhp in some cases.

Chipping is old school at this stage, it involves opening the ecu and replacing a chip or adding a piggy back chip to it.
Remapping is mostly done through the cars diagnostic port, no physical change but the ecu sofware is reflashed.

cherrypicker555

Wossack wrote: »

hmm!

go for the toyota lump in them to avoid the head issues present in the k series rover


you'd want to be doing alot of track days to justify buying one imo. Cant agree with your reasons for wanting one above, but to each their own

Problem is I think the Jap engine is in post 2004 models, out of my price range.

Also the MX5 is v popular and easy to sell if you want/need to.


But if power cant be boosted thats a problem.

galwaytt

well if you're buying a Lotus for 'power' reasons, you've missed the entire point of it. Lotus are quick for reasons of weight and dynamic ability. As Colin Chapman (founder of Lotus once said), ...."if you add power, you go fast on the straights. If you add lightness, you go fast everywhere..."

Back to your question, though. I drove a Lotus a few years ago in the quest for sports car, but didn't buy it because:
No PAS, no creature comforts, no ABS. All very well in a track day, but I live in the real world. There's also the issue of ingress/egress. I test drove one on a rainy day in Birmingham (like it is likely to be, here...), and I found it impossible to get in/out with the roof on, without virtually reaching out and resting my hands on the footpath, first.......:p And, if you have an SO, you better make sure they're 'on board' with it before you buy it..........you mightn't mind clambering in/out 4 times/day, 5days a week - but I can guarantee you........they will ! Esp with heels on !! Oh, and skirts !!:D I haven't mentioned that when they find it has no carpets, radio or a/c, that you're going to be living The Single Life !!............Oh, and you can't recline the pass seat, either............

If you can buy one just for you, and none of these factors come into it - it's a lovely car, and I'd dearly love to have a white one............a neighbour bought a span new one last year - actually an Exige - and it's gorgeous.

Oh, and Sideways/rear/threequarter vision in Birmingham city on a wet Saturday made it, tbh, frustrating to drive.

Whilst it the Lotus is a lovely car, my MK1 '5 is much nicer - and as an owner of one of those yourself, you'd find it a step backwards in that respect.

The '5 btw, will never reach 250bhp without a turbo. I have two friends who drive highly modified '5's - one with 192bhp, and one with 230bhp. They're like being inside a PS2 game, what with all the noise'n'whistles, etc !

Oh, fwiw, what did I buy instead of the Lotus, (I already had the '5, at the time...)............see my username !

[EDIT] - forgot - did you price insurance yet...........??

Guy:Incognito

My cousin bought himself an 04 elise a few months back. As above, lovely for track days and as a 2nd car but theres no way I could live with it as an everyday car (he does though) The huge sills (air ducts for the engine afaik) make getting in and out very difficult if your not the right side of average build, although I think when you work out a system it gets progressively easier. I also couldn't live with the effective lack of suspension.Personnally I like to have some comfort and toys.

Kamili

OP, I was in a similar dilemma to yourself and did a bit of research on the Lotus.
Aparently Lotus stands for Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious, after speaking to a few mechanics etc, they advised I steer clear as everything apparently goes wrong after 35k. Again the fact that it has no carpets, bad visibility, no airbags, dificult to get in and out of and iirc no radio kinda put me off.

Would you maybe consider a Honda S2000?

Funxy

In my opinion they aren't in the same catagory. The elise is an amazing car and very very easy to deal with daily. Granted i have the toyota 111r version but in 4 years nothing has gone wrong with it only a flat tyre. It's been used daily and has 35k on it. A test drive will never come close to letting you know what it would be like daily. I came from an audi tt but i would never ever go back to anything like that. Once you've driven a true sports car and had as much fun as you can have in an elise then i think it's basically impossible to be without one. Hence why i am in the uk right now and leaving to visit the lotus factory in 20mins and hopefully upgrade myself to an exige If the Elise is in your budget go for it, you'll never look back! :P

2 Espressi

Not wishing to offend anyone here, but for a supposed group of car enthusiasts, there's an awful amount of "keyboard expert" syndrome going on.

Yes, they are tougher to enter and exit than a family saloon, the s1 Elises even more so. Leg, Arse, Head, Leg, and all that.The cill (sill ??) is part of the aluminium tub that forms the chassis of th a car. They're a sportscar, ease of access is not as high a priority as say, grip or cornering ability. Neither is fuel economy (which incidentally isn't as bad as you would think, it's a light car after all).

As for lack of ABS/PAS/Radio, pshaw, these are mere trinkets to distract the owner from the art of driving! You might as well complain that the roof doesn't fold itself.

K Series engines are fine once the correct preventative maintenance has been carried out, gaskets/bolts together. The received wisdom is to buy one where all the necessary bits have been done for you, and stick to the service schedule.

If you want an example of really bad rear visibilty, I refer Sir to the Elise's big brother, the Exige.

I reckon that while both the Elise and the MX5 are both fine sportscars and both would be very rewarding to own and drive, if I had the choice of both and went for the Roadster, there would always a niggling voice in the back of my head every time I saw an Elsie disappear around the corner in front of me...

Would I have either as a daily driver? Not on your life. My commute consist of 3 minutes of local roads, followed by straight National routes, mostly Dual Carraigeway. They'd be wasted, and I'm not mental enough. Would I have either as a second car? In a heartbeat. Ireland is still a great country to go for a drive in.

If PAS/ABS/Radio/ease of access are more important than the driving experience, then maybe the Elise is not the car for you. I hear Nissan are doing great deals on Micra C+Cs at the moment...


@Funxy: First dibs on a Px lap round Mondello!

chickenhawk

I'd go for the elise if it was me. I've heard all the problems with the rover engine and all that but I'd want to track it so it would be my choice. Drive both and see which one suits your needs better.

Funxy - Pics when you get it please!

S.I.R

elise is awkward to get in and out off... im 6'1 and jasus... difficult mainly when curb side...

Graham_B18C

If you want a car that looks good and will piss on most cars that you'll pull up beside, get an s2000, on the straight it's an animal, and you have the jap lump under the bonnet. And i think they're incredibly good looking!

unkel

2 Espressi wrote: »

K Series engines are fine once the correct preventative maintenance has been carried out, gaskets/bolts together. The received wisdom is to buy one where all the necessary bits have been done

This point is not made often enough around here.

Fey!

unkel wrote: »

This point is not made often enough around here.

I've made that point numerous times on here, but everyone still likes to knock rover engines!!!

Prevention is better cheaper than cure! :P

siralfalot

unkel wrote: »

This point is not made often enough around here.

so true, most tend to jump on the "rover engines are rubbish" band wagon

I dont have one (yet;) but I've had the pleasure of driving quite a few of them

If i had to choose? the Lotus would win every time, they are quite simply awesome to drive, I'm 6.0"ft and it took me about 5 mins to master getting in and out with the roof on (sure, the first time i ended up on my hands and knees;):D)
they are quite comfy on long haul journeys (although can be a bit noisy) and can return silly mpg figures, I saw a 1997 S1 return 50mpg last week!

I would even buy one ahead of the fabled S2000, thats how highly I rate them

Ferris

There was a big thread about the same some time back. Some people say the K-series in the Elise is troublesome and others say its fine.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055328445&highlight=elise

Another big problem with Lotus in Ireland is the main dealer. If you can find a good specialist then thats the way to go. They defo need specialist maintenence (which a Honda probably will not) which you will need to account for. In saying that a S1 Elise will hold its value very well.

2 Espressi

This is true, you can drop an S2000 in to a Honda main dealer, but not a Lotus (I don't think Linders are handling them any more? )

That said, there are quite a few people around the country who would quite happily look after a lotus for you. There's a Lotus-specific section on Octane: http://octane.ie/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=39 and an Ireland-Specific section on http://www.seloc.org/