Okay, most of us here have either purchased an Elise or intend to. And none of us kid ourselves that the car is without faults. Various complaints have surfaced in other threads, but I'd like a one-stop thread for the negative things that we will either have to put up with or figure out how to fix.
I drove demos in Austin and in San Antonio, and this is my take:
The demo in Austin had a really bad squeak in it. Neil said the problem had appeared in other cars and that Lotus was looking into it.
The car has plenty of leg room but you better be on good terms with your passenger because riding in the Elise is a contact sport.
The "upgraded" stereo in this touring pack car was the worst car stereo I've heard in any modern vehicle. It may have just needed equalizer adjustment--has anyone been able to get decent sound from this system? Also, it has fussy little buttons that are hard to use in a car that requires so much attention to driving.
The car I drove in San Antonio was LSS--and the ride did not seem that much different from the non-LSS. So I thought I might go ahead and upgrade to LSS. Then I read Randy's post about how loud, "really loud", the tire whine is on his car. It might be the noise--not the ride--that makes an LSS car impractical as a daily driver.
The damage already documented on steep driveways already shows that it's a dangerous world for this car.
The shifter being canted away from the driver and having relatively long throws is just weird. Come on Lotus, I thought this was supposed to be a driver's car. Do the shifts become quick and smooth when you get used to it?
The shifter boot may have improved since the car shows, but it still looks & feels cheap.
Is anyone working on a cupholder for this machine?
Finally, and lets get real here--a lot of us like driving a car that is different--a head turner. When I did my test drives it didn't exactly stop traffic: what kind or reactions are you getting from people not familiar with the car? Does this look like a 45k car?
Don't get me wrong. I have my deposit up and have not changed my mind (yet), but it seems to me that the car could be/should be better. On the one hand it costs a fraction of exotics cars that barely out-perform it. On the other hand I keep thinking how much more I would like the car if it didn't cost as much as a Corvette C-6.
I just cannot imagine buying this car unless you are going to race it. And even on the track where it will really shine I wonder how much pride one can take in beating competitor's cars that cost 10k to 15k less.
I'd like to hear what those of you that have lived with the car for a while think: are these true shortcomings or am I expecting too much? What do you like most about your Elise? What do you like least?
I drove demos in Austin and in San Antonio, and this is my take:
The demo in Austin had a really bad squeak in it. Neil said the problem had appeared in other cars and that Lotus was looking into it.
The car has plenty of leg room but you better be on good terms with your passenger because riding in the Elise is a contact sport.
The "upgraded" stereo in this touring pack car was the worst car stereo I've heard in any modern vehicle. It may have just needed equalizer adjustment--has anyone been able to get decent sound from this system? Also, it has fussy little buttons that are hard to use in a car that requires so much attention to driving.
The car I drove in San Antonio was LSS--and the ride did not seem that much different from the non-LSS. So I thought I might go ahead and upgrade to LSS. Then I read Randy's post about how loud, "really loud", the tire whine is on his car. It might be the noise--not the ride--that makes an LSS car impractical as a daily driver.
The damage already documented on steep driveways already shows that it's a dangerous world for this car.
The shifter being canted away from the driver and having relatively long throws is just weird. Come on Lotus, I thought this was supposed to be a driver's car. Do the shifts become quick and smooth when you get used to it?
The shifter boot may have improved since the car shows, but it still looks & feels cheap.
Is anyone working on a cupholder for this machine?
Finally, and lets get real here--a lot of us like driving a car that is different--a head turner. When I did my test drives it didn't exactly stop traffic: what kind or reactions are you getting from people not familiar with the car? Does this look like a 45k car?
Don't get me wrong. I have my deposit up and have not changed my mind (yet), but it seems to me that the car could be/should be better. On the one hand it costs a fraction of exotics cars that barely out-perform it. On the other hand I keep thinking how much more I would like the car if it didn't cost as much as a Corvette C-6.
I just cannot imagine buying this car unless you are going to race it. And even on the track where it will really shine I wonder how much pride one can take in beating competitor's cars that cost 10k to 15k less.
I'd like to hear what those of you that have lived with the car for a while think: are these true shortcomings or am I expecting too much? What do you like most about your Elise? What do you like least?
If you are looking for characteristics that make the Elise a good "cruising" vehicle, you aren't going to find many. That is because the car was not built with the intention of it being a cruiser. It is all about the pleasure of the driving experience, either on a twisty road or the track. In these pursuits the competition with other drivers or with the road itself is the focus, rather than listening to the stereo, sipping beverages, or having a pleasant low-decibel conversation with your passenger. The car just isn't designed with this in mind.
