2008 Lotus Elise S Review
9 Aug, 2008
20 Comments 
You might need a G-suit though, after you re-calibrate your body’s motor neuron system and get used to driving the Elise through bends with your right foot only! The brake pedal seems superfluous at times, as you work the throttle on, off, on, off. Total driver engagement.
It’s not that your driving skills are any better than they were before you hoped in to the Elise but, driving a Lotus seems to rapidly improve your ‘behind the wheel’ skill set.
Adhesion levels are ‘out of this world’ which allows the car to change direction faster than a mongoose in a pit full of cobras. But that’s only if your reflexes can keep up with the car’s prodigious cornering ability. My guess is they can’t, and the Elise’s on road talent exceeds most drivers’ ability. That’s a good thing.
While the steering response is scalpel sharp, let me offer a little bit of advice if you want to get the best out of this car.
If you don’t race karts, Formula Ford or V8 Supercars, you best start squeezing a squash ball every now and again. That will build your wrist strength up enough, to properly enjoy the car as you find yourself going back over the same ‘S’ bend stretch, over and over again or until you run out of fuel.
And Lotus doesn’t prescribe to the school of wide rubber for enhanced traction either. At least, not since the 1992 Esprit V8, which ran 285/35s down the back.
With the Elise S, it’s all down to the super high-tech extruded and bonded aluminium chassis, which weighs almost nothing at 68kg. That’s partly the reason this car is shod with just 225/45 R17’s down the back and 175/55 R16’s up front. But they are Yokohama Advan Neova AD07’s that feature massive tread blocks and rounded edges, which I could not fault, wet or dry.
The Elise S is no rocket ship, at least in a straight line. But when you factor in a power to weight ratio of 116kW/tonne, it’s anything but slow. If we consider the benchmark 0-100km/h sprint, it’s as quick as the V6 supercharged TRD Aurion and a full four tenths faster, than the sizzling V6 engine Golf R32.
Top speed is only 205 km/h but in this country, that’s plenty fast. Damn impressive for a 100kW output and what’s more, there’s plenty of torque right through the rev range in all five forward gear ratios.
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August 9th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
Wow, I never realised that this was only $70,000 I expected it to be much much more expensive, near the $100,000 mark.
Great review! Great car.
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August 9th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
Corolla engine.Better keep that quite.LOL.
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August 9th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
excellent review guys. i too am surprised at the price of this car. looking forward to your exige review.
ps. Realcars, you spelled quiet incorrectly.LOL.
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August 9th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
A lot of engine for the price.LOL
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August 9th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
# 0-100km/h: 6.1 seconds
Does it need much more engine?
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August 9th, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Hi Caradvice team,
I think there’s a little confusion as to the Toyota engine used in this car.
Since the new generation of elises/exiges, the engines theyve used are the 140hp 1ZZ-FE toyota engine (in the celica GT in usa, also in the toyota MR-2 roadster) and the 190hp 2ZZ-GE toyota engine (celica GT-S and Austrlian 7th gen celicas). Both of these are 1.8L engines.
On the other hand, 1.8L engine used in this generation (and the previous generation Corolla i think) is the 2ZR-FE which makes similar power but less torque.
Cheers
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August 9th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
Okay I take back everything I just said about the engine, the previous corolla used the 1ZZ-FE too!
Oops!
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August 10th, 2008 at 8:48 am
word of advice with the elise, Never ever lift off the throttle loaded up through a corner.
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August 10th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Niiice. These shots are taken at Hawkesbury River right… Ive noticed a few which seem to match that area although I thought CarAdvice was based in QLD?
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August 10th, 2008 at 11:50 am
TP, we are based in QLD, NSW, VIC and WA. Our main work force is in VIC followed by NSW than QLD and WA.
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August 10th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
that’s a lot of impracticality for something that doesn’t go as well , nor look as good as a falcon (according to ACA star ratings) and costs 30K more
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August 10th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Hehe yeah those Falcons with GT kits & decals are real head turners compared to this Lotus. Define “go”.
Did I take the bait? I’m normally the one setting the traps :)
Great car review.
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August 10th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
You’d prefer to be driving a Diesel Epica right Anthony?
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August 10th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
This is a car for purists most liekly driven only in the weekends. People who buy a Lotus know what they’re in for. It’s not for everyone but I reckon it looks sensational.
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August 10th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
“how does it go” is one of the rating criteria at the end of the car reviews on this blog. It shows to go that taste is subjective, as I think the Lotus looks better than the Falcon. And I would have thought it would drive at least as well, not worse, though I guess the marks are relative to the competition.
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August 11th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
why would anyone buy the more expensive s2000.
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August 11th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
The s2000 is far overpriced in our market. It should be closer to 50k.
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August 11th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
It makes a good daily for some. My friend has an Exige S and drives it to work and back every day!
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August 16th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
The supercharged engine was the Celica/Corolla Sportivo’s 2ZZ-GE, and could be found in the top model Elise and Exige. The car tested is one of the low-end variants, with the ZZE112 Corolla’s standard 1ZZ-FE engine, the same one found in the MR2 Spyder. The middle-of-the-range Elise and Exige have the non-supercharged 2ZZ-GE.
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August 16th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Okay then Al Jutraj The supercharged engine in the Lotus is a from the Silly-Car.. I mean Celica;
Therefore; If Toyota is a company full of Passion - as we are lead to believe by the handful of Toyo-philes on this site.. then why don’t they add a supercharger for the Corolla instead of being shown how its done by that is compared to Toyota [the worlds wealthiest car company] a lightweight?
Then maybe the Corolla might stop getting its a–e kicked by the Golf
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