2008 Lotus Elise S Review
9 Aug, 2008
20 Comments 
A typical day with the Elise goes a little like this. Get in (eventually), start the car up, put it into reverse, look in the mirror, see nothing, turn off the car, attempt to get out, hit your knee on the way out (swear), get out of the car, make sure there is nothing behind you, get back in, hit your knee on the way in (swear louder). Go to step 1.
However, the pain will quickly condition you to start by looking behind the Elise before you even think about getting in.
Once you’re on the open road though, the Elise comes to life in more ways than many can imagine. First there is no power steering, which is great if you love go-karting. Then there is the problem of boot space, yes, there is a boot, but it’s good to maybe store your wallet and a small bag. This leads to the passenger seat becoming your storage compartment.
Speaking of passengers, if your lady wants to tag along (and she is lady-like), she’ll need to be wearing jeans to enter or leave without having a “Britney Spears moment”.
Then you’ll have to explain to her why this car costs $70,000+, why her seat doesn’t heat up, why she can’t find anywhere to put her purse, why the stereo sounds ordinary (when you can work out how to turn it on), why there is so much road noise, why it feels like every single bump is transferred directly to her spine and eventually, why you spent $70,000 on a really fast two-seat go-kart.
Alas, there is only so much bad cop I can play. The Elise is a hard car to criticise, because despite all its short falls, I do absolutely love it. It’s brilliant for anyone that has even one drop of motoring blood in them. But, as a daily driver? For who?
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(6 votes, average: 3.83 out of 5)
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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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