I traded my 2004 STi for a used 2006 lotus elise. Neither are my daily driver but I still manage to rack up over 15,000 a year on them. I went from the STi for a few reasons, I hated the "young ricer kid" appearance of the huge wing, huge front hood scoop, and gold rims. And went to a more "exotic" mature look of a sports car because I am 30 years old and was tired of that stereotype. I had looked at the S2000, Miata, Corvette, and 350z all of them had good and bad characteristics. Most are faster in a straight line, on most race tracks, and all ride a bit better. Also all have more room both storage, and interior space. But after driving the lotus none were nearly as fun. The road feedback the lotus gives you is incredible. I am an autocrosser, I heavily autocrossed the STi and loved every second of it, I haven't autocrossed the Lotus (YET) but if it handles anything like it feels like it can on the road I am going to love it even more.
I am 6,2" 250 lbs, so I am no small guy and I fit just fine in the elise. I have the Base model elise, so softer sidewalles tires, softer suspension and love it. I drove a Sport version of the elise and questioned it because of the harsh ride. I was looking for a good balance in a car. Something I could drive for 5 hours in and also enjoy at an autocross (I am not a Nationals level autocrosser) so a second or 2 isn't going to bother me at an autocross. I drove it for over 5 hours to maine from Ct, and wasn't ready for the trip to be over. All the other cars I have ever driven are just a means to get from point a to point b some were more fun, the STi was hellish fast and quite fun, but you have to DRIVE the lotus from point a to point b usually going through points d,e,f,and g on the way to make the trip longer.
The attention is definatly different, I sometimes hate it, but sometimes it can be fun. The Lotus is generally is the center of attention for some reason. I drove into a small meet and greet with some Ferrari's, 350 z's and a lambo, everyone stopped looking at the other cars and came over to the Lotus. I have a stock, base $50,000 elise some of the other cars were over $200,000. So be prepared for that, your going to get lots of attention, people take pics and video on the road, ask questions at gas stations, and want to race.
Make sure you look into alll the options before buying a lotus, the different packages make a huge difference in the feel of the car. Like I said I chose the most comfortable package because for what I am going to do with it that is plently for me. The ride has to be decent for your particular butt. The sport package was far to rough for me.
I have had the car for about 7 months, and have loved every second of driving it. I can fit enough stuff in the trunk for a weekend gettaway somewhere, get the grocery's, and do just about everything I need with it. Its not always easy, but it sure is fun.
As far as any draw backs, the only one so far is the cost of the tires. The base tires are odd at the front 175-50-16. The only OEM size option is over 200 per tire which is outrageous. And also the rears wear extremely fast. I have 13,000 miles and am replacing the rears because they are absolutly bald. And not from driving hard, its just the nature of the beast. You have to either replace the tires with off size from OEM or spend lots o money to get the OEM Yokohama's. There are no 175-50-16's out there except for the Yoko's. Other than that its a toyota engine (kinda indestructable) and low horsepower which also makes things last a bit longer.
I would say test drive all the options before you buy, and go get one. They are awesome!
