17 Apr 07
The original Elise's 1.8-litre K-series engine had a humble 118bhp, but it could be hustled along at a shocking pace. Lotus noticed that although buyers admired the concept they actually ordered their cars loaded with options, so over the years Lotus has made the Elise ever more plush and costly. But Lotus recently reintroduced a 'basic' model, the Elise S. It uses a slightly different 1.8-litre Toyota engine and has a modest 134bhp, and it's arguably the most enjoyable car in the line-up. It opens your mind to the pleasures of good steering, ride and handling. Besides which, 0-60mph in 5.8 seconds can hardly be considered shabby.
Priced at £23,995, the Elise S puts the secondhand prices of other Elises into perspective. There are various options packs you can add - Touring, Super Touring, Sport and Super Sport - but their cost makes a mockery of the notion of a bargain Elise. One option we would recommend, though, is air conditioning for demisting during the winter.
New prices for the 189bhp Elise R start at £29,945, but by the time you've added an option pack or two your Elise could cost a great deal more. If you're going to start adding options you might as well go the whole hog and plump for the £31,995 Sports Racer; it combines the Touring and Sports option packs and throws in a hardtop for good measure. The Elise R is manically quick, with a 0-60mph time of 4.9 seconds and a 150mph top speed. However, it has two levels of power delivery - robust, up to 6,200rpm, then frantic from there until the power curve peaks at 7800rpm. That sounds appealing, but finding enough road to trigger the frantic stage can be frustrating. When you do, though, it's fabulous.
Secondhand prices of Elises tend to be seasonal, so while you might be able to pick up a 16,000-mile 2004 Elise R for as little as £18,500 during the gloom of the winter, the first ray of spring sunshine added a grand to that price.
