Get some miles on it, it calms down very noticeably once you get about 1,000 miles on it. The soot loads up on the internal fibers and increases their muffling effect.
Also, any of the exhausts will be louder from the inside when you use a hard top. This is due to the cabin gain effect which is low with the top off or when the top is flexible like the soft top.
Ever put a speaker near a corner and notice much more bass? Well with the hard top on any bassey sounds are effectively near ALL of the car's corners. Due to the small interior of the Elise, this will tend to occur below some higher than usual bass frequency.
Also, any of the exhausts will be louder from the inside when you use a hard top. This is due to the cabin gain effect which is low with the top off or when the top is flexible like the soft top.
Ever put a speaker near a corner and notice much more bass? Well with the hard top on any bassey sounds are effectively near ALL of the car's corners. Due to the small interior of the Elise, this will tend to occur below some higher than usual bass frequency.