coop1018

My TL will be coming up on its lease in about 9 months. I have started research on new cars. The TL was too big for me. I want something smaller and different and looked into the Lotus line. What do you know about them.. More specifically, my following questions:

1. Is there any cargo space at all?
2. Anyone know what monthly lease payments run...can I do it for under $600 month?
3. Can this be a daily driver?

I just got sick of seeing a TL all over the place, and I really want to go with that sporty coupe next that is very hard to find....

Thanks

CLpower

no space, no DD unless you are hardcore

Laxplaya11385

1. There is absolutely NO cargo space, unless you don't want a passenger.
2. No idea. I don't know why you'd want to lease a Lotus though. Different strokes for different folks
3. Definitely not a daily driver. I test drove one, and it's fun as hell to drive, but I would definitely not consider it a daily driver. For one thing, it's very hard to get in to and out of.

einsatz

These cars are not daily drivers.
Check out the Elisetalk forums for Elise and Exige stuff. They've got lots of great info there:
http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/index.php?

kurt_bradley

I go for a spin in one about once a month. In no way would I consider those seats worthy of being a daily driver. They're basically a folded piece of aluminum with a little leather wrapped around them. Don't get me wrong, the car is fun as hell. Just not for daily use.

GreenMonster

If you don't mind an elise w/ a couple miles on it, used ones are starting to pop up in the low 30's...

http://www.elisetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20833

There are alot of 2005 leftovers out there, so you should be able to get a decent price on one...

Make mine a AR,CO, or SY one w/ hardtop, touring, sport, LSD and TC, and starshield...

iTimmy

I came real close to getting one last year, but I decided to use the money towards a new house

There is a smallish trunk, you could fit groceries in it, but not golf clubs. I have one customer who is using his as a daily driver and its suprisingly not bad in snow with snow tires(there are more snow tire choices with the LSS package then summer/performance tires), its very reliable and servicing it is a piece of cake. It does seam to wear tires out faster then most cars, it also looks like it will need rear brakes in under 20k miles with the fronts not far behind.

The AR color is a problematic color, if your going to get a no charge color get the SY, its a better more reliable paint. Also starshield is a MUST, if you tend to get in a lot of minor accidents do NOT get this car. The front clip of that car is known as a "clam" and its structural and is not safe to repair, so if you bump someone at 5mph you've just done over $8k in damage - ouch! Same with the rear clam, but its less common to have that damaged.

If you are ever sore, don't get this car as a daily driver, getting in and out may be impossible if you have a "bad back" or other health problems that are common for you.

I was keeping my eyes out for a SY, touring and starshield - hell if prices drop much more I may still buy one!

PixelHarmony

I was thinking about picking up a Elise for a 2nd car. I would definately say with all the research I've been doing that this is not a daily driver. First off I don't know what your weather is like where you're from but in Chicago I would never want to take this thing around the snow. It is insanely small in size with no cargo space. The car runs about low to mid $40's from what I was looking into around the dealers, so you can figure out the leasing with them.

Honestly IMO I believe an Elise is built for and meant for enthusiasts who want to have a fun toy to drive on the weekends. People describe the Elise as a affordable Supercar...

Not to mention Forcefed has two Turbo Kits out for this car already.



Full boost at 2,500 RPM!!!

Anyway, in short just don't pick it up as a daily driver.

GreenMonster

I'm wondering what prices are going to be like in a couple years on the 05's...

If these things get down into the 20's w/ 50K miles on 'em, it will be a great bang for the buck...

I've been looking at early 911's (2200lbs, 140hp). Prices are getting up there for decent examples, and they are a 30 year old car (maintenance concerns). A used elise @ 2000lbs and 190hp w/ toyota reliablity (for the engine at least), looks very attractive when compared to other lightweight RWD sportscars out there...

F23A4

I lost interest in the Elise when they went from the B18C5 to the 2ZZ (rather than the K20A2). The 2ZZ-GE is a great motor but doesnt have the aftermarket performance support and upgrade possibilities of the K20A.

IMHO, the K-series is the best NA 4 cylinder motor EVER produced; Lotus (No so coincidentally, Sun International provides a K20A swap conversion for the Elise. )

iTimmy

Lotus would have messed with the engine managment making it just as expensive to tune. With companies like forcefed tuning the current engines I don't see much problem or need to have a different engine. Sure the K20A2 would have been better, in my opinion I think the F20C(possibly the F22C) would have been a gem of an engine for that car - coulda woulda shoulda.

I was a little upset when I first found out they were using the yamaha made, Toyota engines, but having driven them on plenty of occassions it works just fine - the car is still one of the most enjoyable "drivers" cars available at any price

iTimmy

at $20k in good condition with normal miles it would be hard to say no.

GreenMonster

http://www.prototyperacing.com/ makes a k20a and a B18c kit too...

F23A4

IMHO and aside from peak hp ratings, K20A2 > F20C (I havent tried the F22C). In my experience behind the wheel the K20A2 is a more refined motor than the F20C. (Maybe if the F20C posessed cam phasing --iVTEC-- then I might feel differently.)

However, I wasnt knocking on the 2ZZ. Rather, I extolled the K20A2. That said, noteable is the fact that K20A2 swaps (and B18C5 swaps, thank you Green) are offered for the Elise/Exige.

1killercls

Your dentist bill will go up...why? Fillings will vibrate out.

PixelHarmony

Yeah, I have to agree that a K series engine in a Lotus would be awesome! The tuning available for that application would result in a more powerful car. But the 2zz is a solid engine as well. My friends NA GT-S was nothing short of fast after all his tuning.



That's a crazy header those guys at prototype built!!!!

iTimmy

I agree the K20A2 is more refined then either of the F series motors, however, the elise is not a refined car and the raw 9k redline of the F20C would be just plain fun.

F23A4

Either motor would be a blast in the Elise/Exige.

But, I initially questioned why Lotus jumped ship from Honda to Toyota when it came to the Elise's motor. With a little Google help, I think I now know why: it looks like Lotus was focused on a US-certified 1.8L motor for the Elise, in keeping to it's traditional 1.8L Rover K-series motor (NOT the same as the Honda K series). As such, the original Rover motors were never US certified so Lotus opted for a pre-existing US certified 1.8L motor: the B18C5 (a very good choice). But Honda's migration of the 1.8L B18C to the 2.0L K20A2 disqualified the K-series leaving the 2ZZ-GE as the only viable alternative.

MarbleGT

i went on an exotic car rally this past weekend, i can tell you there is 0 storage and they are probably the smallest car ive seen in a while. here are some pics from the drive. from the owners i talked to, you DO NOT want this for a daily driver. They break a lot, according to 10+ lotus drivers a talked with.

iTimmy

There is not zero storage there is a small trunk that would be large enough to pick up groceries, but not from Sam's or BJ's wholesale clubs.

MarbleGT

2 sacks, tops!!