Best Sports Car on the Market?
The Lotus Elise isn’t exactly brand new. In fact the sports car that was first released in Europe in 1995 is getting pretty dated. But for those of us that live in the US the car is still a new face. Because of strict safety standards it took until the 2005 model year before the little Lotus made its way across the pond; but now that its here many Americans are in love.
The Elise is everything a sports car is supposed to be, and nothing that it isn’t. Spartan, minimalist, lacking in creature comforts; these are just some of the terms I’ve heard used to describe the Elise. Call it what you will the car is just plane simple. The cockpit has seats, seat belts a steering wheel, gauges, pedals and hardly anything else. This may seem crude, but the driving controls are really all that you will need to enjoy yourself in this Lotus.
The motor in the Americanized Elise is a Toyota 1.8 liter 4 cylinder that puts out a hefty 190 horsepower at a revvy 7,800 rpm. This may not seem like a lot of power for an exotic car, but the extruded-aluminum chassis and composite fiberglass body keep the weight down to a scant 1984 lbs. With this power to weight ratio the car can make the dash to 60mph in less than 5 seconds.
Driving the Elise in the twisties is simply heavenly. The car really feels like a go-kart. Steering input (non-power steering) is light and more responsive than anything else I’ve driven. The track-package suspension that came on my test car provided amazing grip, and although a little bumpy on rough freeways due to the short wheel-base, was overall quite comfy for around town driving.
Driving the Elise was by far the most fun I’ve had in a new car, including cars with much more horsepower. Congratulations should be given to the Elise designers for sticking to Lotus founder Colin Chapman’s “low-weight” philosophy that made Lotus successful in the past.
-Bill Mertz
