Just got back from my test drive. In short, I put a deposit down. Here is the rest of the story. First off, Mark Starr and Nyman were great. I highy recommend Lotus' newest dealership. These guys are Lotus enthusiast. Mark and Dave each own and track an Exige and Mark Nyman owns an Espirit. They also have a 340R they are willing to sell for a real good price.
Now on to the Elise. I loved the styling. All I can say is wow. It is a real eye catcher. On to the fit. Not too bad to get in and out of. Lucky I'm pretty limber. I don't think I'd want to do it as a daily driver though. Not real happy with the seats. I hope they are different in the Federal. There is no lumbar adjustment. I couldn't get into a comfortable track position. Very little to adjust. I'm sure I can get around that easy enough though. I checked out the roof situation. It is easy to put on, only takes a few minutes. Fortunately there is enough head room for a helmit.
Onto to the test drive. Mark took me for a spin initially. He pushed the car way harder than I would have to show me what it could do. That set the stage. We switched seats and I took it for a spin on Rt 15. The first thing I noticed was the very responsive steering. Just think it at speed and that's enough. The brakes do require a fair amount of pedal pressure but braking was certainly adequate (Sorry again Mark)
I was most surprised by the suspension. It really had a lot of give. I expected a harsher ride. It was preetty forgiving over most road conditions although we got a bigtime jolt from a pot hole. I would have no problem going with a track suspension from the get go. The rover engine was O.K., I'm hoping for more from the Toyota.
We stopped by one of their garages where Mark showed me his yellow Exige, Dave's silver Exige, and a 340R. He jumped in his Exige and I chased, I mean followed, him back to the showroom in the Elise. That was enough for me to sign on the dotted line. If you are still hedging on whether to take the plunge, take a spin down to Lotus of Greenwich and talk to Mark Starr. I have tons of photos of all the cars but I think they are too high resolution to post.
Now on to the Elise. I loved the styling. All I can say is wow. It is a real eye catcher. On to the fit. Not too bad to get in and out of. Lucky I'm pretty limber. I don't think I'd want to do it as a daily driver though. Not real happy with the seats. I hope they are different in the Federal. There is no lumbar adjustment. I couldn't get into a comfortable track position. Very little to adjust. I'm sure I can get around that easy enough though. I checked out the roof situation. It is easy to put on, only takes a few minutes. Fortunately there is enough head room for a helmit.
Onto to the test drive. Mark took me for a spin initially. He pushed the car way harder than I would have to show me what it could do. That set the stage. We switched seats and I took it for a spin on Rt 15. The first thing I noticed was the very responsive steering. Just think it at speed and that's enough. The brakes do require a fair amount of pedal pressure but braking was certainly adequate (Sorry again Mark)
I was most surprised by the suspension. It really had a lot of give. I expected a harsher ride. It was preetty forgiving over most road conditions although we got a bigtime jolt from a pot hole. I would have no problem going with a track suspension from the get go. The rover engine was O.K., I'm hoping for more from the Toyota.We stopped by one of their garages where Mark showed me his yellow Exige, Dave's silver Exige, and a 340R. He jumped in his Exige and I chased, I mean followed, him back to the showroom in the Elise. That was enough for me to sign on the dotted line. If you are still hedging on whether to take the plunge, take a spin down to Lotus of Greenwich and talk to Mark Starr. I have tons of photos of all the cars but I think they are too high resolution to post.
