[jjb]

(this is a cross-post)

I am a track guy and definitely want the other two options, but I am unsure about the Touring Package. I know it does not offer much but I have been used to Porsches where leather is the norm (as is carpet).

I am eager to hear you opinions. Also, who has actually seen and touched a standard interior? The seats look somewhat cheap in the pictures I have seen.

TIA,

jjb

 

[zvezdah1]

Personally, I think the touring package is a good idea, think the touring package with it's albeit slight luxuries will make the car have a broader appeal should you want to sell it later.

Chris

 

[TimMullen]

Also, who has actually seen and touched a standard interior? The seats look somewhat cheap in the pictures I have seen.

They feel and look fine to me. I prefer the cloth. I didn't want the carpet. I don't intend to have the top on much at all (so the extra lining on the top is useless to me). I tend to listen to the radio stations, so the MP3 player is useless. I didn't want power windows. My "standard" interior works just fine for me.

 

[shinoo]

If your car will see mostly track time then forget the Touring Pack

If your car will see more street time then get it. The weight penalty is minimal. If modern Porsches are your benchmark then get it since it finishes off the interior to a more 'luxurious' level.

 

[zvezdah1]

I do love the mp3 cd, never thought I would but having 6-8 hours of favorite music is great on trips and came in handy on my 300 or so mile drive to B'ham via Atlanta.

I'm with Tim on the top, sadly parking in a hospital garage I have to keep the top on for security purposes.

Chris

 

[atyclb]

the non-touring pack still comes with a good deal of carpet

 

[perryeyges]

The question is do you want a PURE sports car or an americanized version. If you are alright with the "americanized version" then get the touring. I only ordered the sport pak but now wish I had gone with a standard car w-hardtop only.
I do quite a few track events per year and I'm sure I will eventually modify the sport suspension anyway...
Personally I think it just takes away from the purity of the original design to get the touring. I do like the fact that Lotus is letting us decide for ourselves unlike say Audi which makes the base models available in GDR but will only sell the "luxo" versions here in the states.
A friend of mine in Austria has an Allroad TDI stick that gets 30+ mpg and has cloth sport seats!

 

[atyclb]

The question is do you want a PURE sports car or an americanized version. If you are alright with the "americanized version" then get the touring. I only ordered the sport pak but now wish I had gone with a standard car w-hardtop only.
I do quite a few track events per year and I'm sure I will eventually modify the sport suspension anyway...
Personally I think it just takes away from the purity of the original design to get the touring. I do like the fact that Lotus is letting us decide for ourselves unlike say Audi which makes the base models available in GDR but will only sell the "luxo" versions here in the states.
A friend of mine in Austria has an Allroad TDI stick that gets 30+ mpg and has cloth sport seats!

BS--Nick Adams told me that most europeans were getting the touring pack and that he himself would not get an elise without it.

 

[MattG]

The touring pack hardly detracts from the purity of the design. A very small weight increase, that's really all.

I chose the touring pack mainly because I did not want a black interior.

 

[JonOrangeElise]

BS--Nick Adams told me that most europeans were getting the touring pack and that he himself would not get an elise without it.

Exactly. The "Americans want it soft/Brits want it pure" argument doesn't hold any weight once you reach the driving enthusiast-level. At this level, preferences even out, and drivers begin sharing the same mindset.

The fact of the matter is that the touring pack offers some nice touches for a nice price, and very, very little weight penalty.

Now, if you want to talk about the broad spectrum of Americans and Brits, they I will concede that big, fat Caddies and SUVs will probably do better in the US, and "equivalent" drivers in the UK might be more interested in smaller, sensible family sedans and wagons. That comes down to national personalities. We like big, showy, spectacular material objects. Brits err toward delicate, precious, reserved material objects.

But, seriously, in the sports car/coupe arena, Yanks and Brits are cut from the same cloth.

 

[TimMullen]

the non-touring pack still comes with a good deal of carpet

Okay, sorry...

I didn't want the extra carpet on the side sills - I like the bare aluminum.

To me, the basic differences between the touring and standard is the choice of interior colors and leather or not. With standard, you get a black interior - which is what I wanted with the Chrome Orange. With the touring, you get your choice of colors in leather. If you want, say red seats, then you need to get the touring. If you want "plain" black interior, you get to choose cloth (standard) of leather (touring). That really seems to be the biggest difference to me...

 

[Randy Chase]

I love my cargo net.

If I did not get the Touring, I would upgrade the CD player to allow MP3s. In fact, I just did in my other car now that I have the Elise. I want all my cars to play MP3s.

If I had to do it all over again, I would not have gotten touring based on a value. I like it. I just think I could have installed the cargo net and upgraded radio for less. The rest I don't care about.

I think for long trips, cloth seats would have been more comfortable. Probably not an issue though if the AC works. But without working AC, the leather became hot.

 

[kbob]

(this is a cross-post)

I am a track guy and definitely want the other two options, but I am unsure about the Touring Package. I know it does not offer much but I have been used to Porsches where leather is the norm (as is carpet).

I am eager to hear you opinions. Also, who has actually seen and touched a standard interior? The seats look somewhat cheap in the pictures I have seen.

TIA,

jjb

I intend to get the base interior. Here's my reasoning.

I don't really care for leather, cloth is more comfy when it's hot or cold, and should dry out easier if/when the seats get rained on. (I also think sitting on dead animal parts is fairly disgusting, but I know that's a minority opinion.)

If I want to play mp3's, I'll get an iPod mount. Life's too short to spend time burning CD-ROMs.

The aluminum window cranks look very cool. The electric window switches look cheap.

Somebody somewhere in these fora quoted an LCU rep. at the LA Auto Show as saying the extra sound deadening is only good for about half a dB lower noise level. Who will miss 1/2 dB?

The insulated soft top takes more room in the trunk. It might be nice in cold weather, but I have a winter/rain car.

I'm ambivalent about a little carpet along the footwell sides, and I'll definitely miss the cargo net. Still, I'd miss $1350 more.

That's why I don't want the touring package. Your priorities may be completely different.

I haven't seen a base interior in person, BTW. Just pictures.

kbob

 

[ChrisB]

... Now, if you want to talk about the broad spectrum of Americans and Brits, they I will concede that big, fat Caddies and SUVs will probably do better in the US, and "equivalent" drivers in the UK might be more interested in smaller, sensible family sedans and wagons. That comes down to national personalities. We like big, showy, spectacular material objects. Brits err toward delicate, precious, reserved material objects. ...

I'll bet that if we had to pay the same price for gasoline that the Brits do, our "personality" would change quite a bit.

 

[NMRJock]

Re: Re: Need your opinion: Touring or not?

I haven't seen a base interior in person, BTW. Just pictures.

kbob

I have seen both in person and prefer the touring. Do I prefer it $1400 more? If I wanted a black interior I don't know. Wanting the tan interior pretty much forces me into the touring package. My big problem is that now that I've seen a couple more colors in person I have very conflicting feelings about my color choice. I need to see more cars and make a decision soon, as I was told my order would be needed.

 

[Surferjer]

Like Chris said, having the Touring might help resell the car, but i don't know that. In hindsight, I would have gotten the LSS but not the touring. Still, It is nice having a quieter ride with the top on, the leather is nice, and the power windows and cargo net are nice. That's a lot of nice, but not $1350 worth. Hell, I could have a 2nd set of wheels for that $1350!!!

 

[Randy Chase]

Re: Re: Need your opinion: Touring or not?

(I also think sitting on dead animal parts is fairly disgusting, but I know that's a minority opinion.)

The base car will only be less digusting as the seats are still leather but with cloth inserts.

If I want to play mp3's, I'll get an iPod mount. Life's too short to spend time burning CD-ROMs.

You don't stare at your computer while it's burning. Really, it only takes a minute to drag and drop some music folders into a program like NERO and then you have enough songs on one CD to play all the way across the country. I doubt I will eject my CD for the next year. That is a lot less time than obtaining and installing the IPOD mount and adapter cable.

Note, using the IPOD would be cool, but I don't see the justification being a time saver.

The aluminum window cranks look very cool. The electric window switches look cheap.

I agree the alum cranks look cool. I don't agree the electric switches look cheap.

Somebody somewhere in these fora quoted an LCU rep. at the LA Auto Show as saying the extra sound deadening is only good for about half a dB lower noise level. Who will miss 1/2 dB?

Well, you know how dBs work... but I agree that this is a not a good reason. The wind noise with the top off trumps all and is the same in both touring and non.

The insulated soft top takes more room in the trunk. It might be nice in cold weather, but I have a winter/rain car.

Agreed 100%. I might be looking to trade tops with a non-touring one. It just does not get that hot or cold in San Diego.

I'm ambivalent about a little carpet along the footwell sides, and I'll definitely miss the cargo net. Still, I'd miss $1350 more.

That's why I don't want the touring package.

Agreed in general about the $1350. Like I said, I would have bought and installed that cargo net afterwards, upgraded the stereo, and been ahead dollar-wise.

 

[JonOrangeElise]

(a) The Ipod might be prone to ricochet around the interior while driving. At least the CD MP3 player is stationary.

(b) You'll have to renember to grab that iPod every time you disembark. Similar situation with the faceplate of the Cd/MP3 player, but the ipod is a greater risk -- it's a fully self-contained player, whereas a thief will need to steal the whole blaupunkt deck to get anything of any worth.

(c) Won't leather dry out much quicker than cloth? Leather certainly must be easier to clean bird **** off of, no?

 

[patavakian]

All this talk about mp3 players...

Do yourselves a favor and buy an ipod and a devise like blitzsafe to convert.

It was the best decision I ever made, plus the coupe doesn't skip regardless of how stiff my suspension is.

PA

 

[Dan]

I like the look and feel of the perforated leather, both on the seats and door panels. I chose LRG, and Biscuit matches/contrasts a lot better than black.

The MP3 player is just ok. You can get better for less on the street. (Crutchfield sells this particular Blaupunkt for $480.) I don't like the LCD character display; it's kind of hard to read, especially when titles not-so-smoothly scroll. The signal to noise ratio isn't great. I like the removable security keycard; it means you don't have to remember/input a code when the battery gets disconnected. I also like the programmable power-on volume. The microphone/auto-EQ is interesting. Built-in vs. external player means no audio & power wires to install, nothing to mount, no ugly mount to install.

A virtually free blank CD holds about 700MB of MP3s. That's more than plenty enough for me, even for a 5-8 hour drive down California to visit relatives. If you need more, a small CD wallet will fit in the storage net, also included in the Touring Pack. I haven't had any problems with skipping.

I thought the power window switches would look cheap, but to me, they don't. The plastic is ok (look at any Ford for cheap looking/feeling switches), are surrounded by solid aluminum (not a coated veneer), and they light up at night. Not as good looking as the manual winders, but not bad either.

The top is pretty thick. It may not do very much in terms of noise insulation (since noise is attacking you from all the other angles), but I would imagine it insulates a lot better.