Have to +1 what swinglo has to say because I just turned 25, and bought picked up my elise this past year.
Insurance can be very difficult depending on your location and availability
I had a hell of a time getting insurance during my purchase and most companies will not insure outright to anyone under 25, so if you are <25 years old, you may want to make a lot of phone calls and quotes before even shopping around for the car.
agreed with the affordability of the cars.
The first thing I did was look up the value of a new smartcar and based on the 08 year also assumed a 60 month payment which is less than 40% of what I am paying monthly for my Elise. That is not including the insurance, but for example, my jetta is about half the cost insurance wise as my elise and i drive it less than 1/3 of the mileage of my daily driver.
Granted, I am just guessing and assuming a lot of about your finances, but I am not trying to judge you or insult you. I actually thought owning a lotus would be an impossibility to own at such a young age, but really, you just need to get a better idea of what you can manage.
If you need financing for your vehicle, you may also need to check with your financial institution to see if they will finance a lotus, as my bank would not and I needed to join a credit union.
if you have any other questions, please ask!
-edit also agree on the price.
Unless you are specifically buying a lotus for offroad use (track only) 30k is the price point average you are going to find for an elise.
and also since you seem to be trading in your smart car? It will be a difficult to own as a daily driver. There are users here that do, but I personally could not (winter weather, limited storage capacity, can only have 1 passenger)