Final farewell: A last ride for the Elise
The Lotus Elise has been around since 1996, making it only three years younger than me, which is weird. It’s not the exact same car, now the Series 3, but the formula hasn’t really changed since last century. Sadly, after more than 25 years, the Elise is finally on its way out for good, as Lotus prepares to become an all-electric carmaker.
OUTSIDE
Aside from the yellow stripes and white dot on the door, this is pretty much a regular Lotus Elise.
For starters, it’s tiny. Like, really really tiny. It’s smaller than a Mazda MX-5, which is already a little car. The wheels are pushed out to the corners as far as possible, while keeping overhangs to a minimum.
The Series 3 update ditched the quartet of headlights in favour of two single pods, which gives the car a more modern front end, if less tied to the Elise’s origins.
From the side, the Elise is seriously pretty. It looks bigger, too. Front arches rise over the bonnet line and curve back down beneath the hilariously dated wing mirrors, before that C-shaped side intake and the rear haunch morphs into the small spoiler. A single exhaust pipe is nestled in the middle of the rear diffuser, while the round tail lights are continued from older models. Just one pair this time.
The roof is cloth, and can be stored in the boot.
INSIDE
If you thought the outside of the Elise was small, wait until you see the interior. It has about as much space as a small bathtub, with about as much contact if you’ve got a passenger.
Crash your way in and you’re presented with . . . not much.
In between the thin bucket seats is a gorgeous manual shifter, tall with a billet aluminium knob.
Not much else to report, other than it’s surprisingly comfy when you’re in. Getting out sucks, though, you sort of need to roll out. If you’re over six foot, or that beer belly is creeping up on you, good luck.
UNDER THE BONNET
The engine, mounted in the middle of the car, is a Toyotasourced 1.8-litre inline-four with a supercharger bolted on, offering 179kW/244Nm. Meagre, you might say, but then remember the Elise weighs 930kg.
The engine is paired with a close-ratio six-speed manual, which would have knocked the Honda Civic Type R off the throne for ‘‘best manual on the market right now’’ if the CTR wasn’t perpetually sold out.
ON THE ROAD
Let me say this, before anything else – the Elise is, objectively, quite a bad car. On the road it’s loud, uncomfortable, cramped, there isn’t much storage, you can’t fit if you’re too tall, and there’s no power steering.
But, when you do manage to get yourself in and the roads open up, there is nothing quite as good.
The engine’s powerband is wide and sweeping, supercharged torque kicking in at 3000rpm and holding until 7000, while peak power registers at 7200rpm.
I said the transmission is better than the Civic Type R, and I meant it. It’s so refined, so crisp. The whole package is addictive enough to switch between second, third and fourth just for the hell of it.
No power steering sucks at low speeds but at faster clips it’s appreciated, as it offers superb precision. A twitch of the wheel changes direction quite radically, but the car never feels out of sorts. On the contrary, everything feels perfectly in control.
I feel like everyone should drive an Elise, or at least be a passenger in one. They show how heavy modern cars are, despite being propped by bigger power figures, and how much better sports cars can be when they’re stripped back.
VERDICT
So, a bad car by most metrics, but one of, if not the best by the driving standard. Where does that leave the Elise?
It leaves it at the top of your ‘‘Cars I want after I already have a Porsche Macan’’ list. Simply put, the Elise is a toy. It’s not a daily, far from it, it’s a sunny Sunday belter.