Lotus Elise S

Woo hoo another 'Lotus' for me to test drive... This time is non other than the famous 'Lotus Elise S'!!! The 'Lotus Elise' is a car that change the rules on low kerb weight sports car... With a bonded extruded aluminium chassis and a body made from fiberglass, the 'Lotus Elise' managed to keep weight as minimal as possible... This is a 'Lotus' so obviously the handling is what made this car so special and it won numerous awards for its handling ability... Some even called the 'Elise' as a overgrown go-kart!!!

The 'Lotus Elise S' that I'm testing is actually a second generation of 'Lotus Elise'... Much nicer to look at and definitely a little bit more habitable... 

 'S'

In terms of looks, the 'Elise' is a much better looking car as compared to the 'Lotus Evora IPS' that I had the privileged of testing a few weeks ago... It looks more butch although it is not as wide as the 'Evora IPS'... Overall it just looks meaner compare to the 'Evora IPS' which in my opinion is a very docile looking car whereas the 'Elise S' looks more like a track day refugee to me...

Much bigger air intake as compare to the first generation of 'Elise'...

 Very nice looking rear light arrangement... 

The whole backside is so much nicer compared to the 'Evora IPS'!!! Nice looking diffuser that managed to make the car so much meaner...

Puny twin exit exhaust... Although it is much smaller compare to the one found on the 'Evora IPS', the sound that it makes will actually made the 'Evora IPS' weep in terror!!! 

 In order to keep weight to the bare minimum, everything is manually operated including the side mirror...

If you are looking for a comfortable car, you can forget about the 'Elise S'... No creature comfort or whatsoever... There is no power steering here and this is a manual only car... You get a very basic sound system and a very basic air conditioning... When they first launch the 'Lotus Elise', air conditioning is an optional item!!! But in Malaysia, all Lotus car came equip with air conditioning... 

As you can see from the picture above, there is no carpeting to cover up the aluminium chassis and you can forget about sound deadening!!! None at all... When you depress the clutch, you will hear a metallic clank because there is nothing to stop the clutch pedal from hitting the chassis... Not even a rubber stopper!!! 

If you are a lady and you own a 'lotus Elise S', you can start throwing away all your skirts... I mean all of it because you can't wear it when you drive the 'Elise S'... You can actually wear if you don't mind those awkward upskirt moment happening!!! Getting into this car require some dexterity and if you are a plus size people, you can also forget about this car... Once you manage to get in, try getting out!!! Much harder if you are not use to it... But luckily I have years of experience climbing in and out from full bucket seat!!! 

Once your in the car, the car feels really claustrophobic and the view out is something I need to get use to... 

 The gear change is really nice... One of the best manual that I've ever tried... 

Front twin pot brake is more than enough to stop this car... The 'Elise S' weight only 895kg!!! My 'FrankenBenz' is around one tonne heavier!!!

The 'Elise S' uses a 1.8 liter four banger from 'Toyota' with VVT-i that can be found on cars like 'Toyota Celica' and also 'Toyota Wish'!!! The engine produces around 140bhp and 170Nm of torque... Very small numbers but on an 'Elise S', this means that the car is capable of sprinting from 0 - 100km/h in a mere 5.8 seconds!!!

If you are going on a road trip, you can also forget about this car because the maximum allowable mass in the luggage compartment is not more than 50kg!!!

Just look at the space they provide for your luggage!!! I don't blame them because this car is not designed for carrying things!!! It is design to devour the roads!!! That is the main purpose of this car!!!

Once you drove the 'Elise S', the driving experience will stuck in your mind for days and even weeks for my case!!! I'm still thinking about it till now!!! This is the most raw car that I've ever driven... Something like a track car if you must know... Once on the move, you can actually feels all the road imperfection with your butt and your hand... You will feel every surface and camber changes!!! The steering is full of feel and there is absolutely no slack at all... The steering is also very direct and quick...  

The driving experience is completely different compare to the 'Evora IPS'!!! The 'Elise S' is very noisy and when you hit 100km/h, you can actually forget about talking to your occupant... Road noise, engine noise, induction and also exhaust noise to be precise!!! Actually can but you will need to shout... So you know why they install a very normal sound system in this car... And when you are gunning this car, the induction sound is really intoxicating!!! You will purposely change down a gear just to hear the induction noise... I can't imagine if this car came equip with individual throttle bodies!!! 

The ride is firmer compare to the 'Evora IPS' and definitely not as comfortable... But who cares about comfort when you are in a car like this... In my opinion, few car come close to the 'Elise S' ability in terms of handling and bringing joy to the driver... For me, this is the car that I will choose over the 'Evora IPS'... I really won't mind driving it everyday but I know a lot of people bought the 'Elise S' as their weekend car... But I guess I can live with it in a daily basis... I really hope more car manufacturers can come out with cars like this... Very basic without all the electronic to spoil the driving experience...

If I struck lottery one day, I know what car I'm getting for myself and it definitely won't stay standard for long!!! In fact, I already came out with a list of modification that I'm planning to do to it...