Okay, I was taking a look at the Lotus Elise, and it seems like a slick, fast car with (from what a dealer told me [grain of salt]) has an EPA of ~20/25. He said its a daily driver and its fast for its weight. He already warned me of the interior but I am flexible on interior since a lot of custom installer can do magic on this type of "empty cavas" interior (per se).

So, looking at the present, RX8, it should be arriving "soon". The Lotus, another 6-8 months for the pre-orders. The dealer is pushy to sell, he said he had 54 slots already taken.

I just need some slappin' around so I don't get a Lotus off an impulse.

alex

 

if you don't need the 4 seats get the lotus!!

 

I think it is a bit unusual to be cross shopping these two vehicles. Anyways, the Lotus will be about 500 times more fun to drive since it is as near a race car that can be driven on the street as there is. However, it is has made so many concessions to performance that the car can not really be considered a daily driver. It is very noisy and cramped and the ride is spleen splitting. In addition, the quality is quite poor. Higher purchase cost, repair costs and insurance costs also.

Since you are unsure you need a 4 seater maybe you should also consider the Miata. Half the price of the Elise, comfortable & roomy enough to be a daily driver (barely), dead solid reliable, low insurance costs and about 85% as fun as an Elise.

Good luck in your decision.

 

how much are the lotus' going for?

 

If there's one Lotus to get, it's the Esprit.

 

I'd take the Elise over the Esprit. First because I can afford it, and second because it's more fun to drive.

The Elise should run ~40k when it's in the states... which is signifigantly less than the Z4s and Boxsters that will PALE in comparison to it

 

5.5 seconds from 0-60, great handling, stunning looks even at a stand-still, but the interior is very minimalistic. No radio/cassette(a good thing since there is nowhere to put your cassettes anyway),no carpets, power windows and passenger seat can't even move! But the driving is sensational, you can feel the bumps through driver's seat but not the steering wheel! Very reponsive steering! The Elise is light weight, at approx. 700 kilograms! And the hood is hell, it's like the designers didn't know what fasteners to use, so they used them all!:o By the time you're done putting up the hood, the sun's probably come out again! Very nice little roadster, if you're looking for just fun fun and more fun! But if you want something more practical, i'd go for the RX-8! Hope this helps, all facts obtained from Top Gear, so you won't think that i'm making it up! :D