Comments on: MF Review: Lotus Elise vs MINI Cooper S

By: Tom

Tom — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 20:40:50 +0000

Great review, I have a mini cooper and a VX220 Turbo (240bhp) (basically an elise) and can agree very much. :-)

The principles are very similar; small, lightweight and fun :D

By: bluezzy

bluezzy — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 15:58:15 +0000

saving up my pennys and nickles… by gosh I’m gonna have an Elise in a few years and thats the end of it!!

By: Brad Kilz

Brad Kilz — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:05:23 +0000

I love the Lotus Elise and will buy one once I get my Pharm. D. Degree and start making enough money.

By: Unusual family sedans - Page 3 - LotusTalk - The Lotus Cars Community

Unusual family sedans - Page 3 - LotusTalk - The Lotus Cars Community — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:01:36 +0000

[...] If you’re looking for something more unusual and planning on keeping the Lotus, how about a Mini? MotoringFile » Archive » MF Review: Lotus Elise vs MINI Cooper S __________________ 07 Elise Type 72D #6 of [...]

By: Tony

Tony — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 07:55:29 +0000

Quite enjoyed you article. Proud Owner of a highly modified 2004 MCS and a 2005 Elise(#62) myself! Love them both and yes, they are radically different. Would love to see more torque in the Elise. I take the MCS to the Lotus dealer sponsored track days (take the Elise too) and get a lot of positive comments about the MINI. It holds it's own on the straights and it's very good in the corners (after massive brake upgrade and tons of HP and suspension add-ons). Can't stay with the Elises in the tight twisties, but everyone loves the whining and willing supercharger.

Even at 6' 4", 235# I find them both relatively comfortable (in 2 hour chunks)! My wife drove the Elise to work everyday for the first 18 months we owned it and loved it (high heeled, skirt-type....yes, I am lucky). You've got to have the DESIRE to drive the car to make the commitment to climb in and out, but it can be done and is so worth the effort. I've found more than one MINI owner who have driven Elises for very short periods that just don't get it (the Elise). My feeling is they never learned to drive the Elise well. It's not great fun if you just test drove one in a downtown area and don't learn the entry/exit tricks. Also, due to its lack of torque, it seems wimpy at first, but once you learn how and where to push, woo-hoo!! NO comparison in the same price range.

Still have my 69 Elan (in the family since new) and my 59 Bugeye Sprite. Pretty good represenation of light and nimble across multiple decades, I think.

Thanks for the article!
Tonywa28 on EliseTalk 06 IS350 05 Elise 04 MCS 69 Elan S4SE 59 AH Bugeye

By: andrew

andrew — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 19:00:29 +0000

rented the lotus in los angeles for a day while getting some stuff done to my mcs jcw. uhh i’m 6’4″ getting in and out of that lotus was unbearable. even my girlfriend 5’8″ also had the hardest time. impractical car and has too much bark but very little bite compared to the jcw. getting back into the jcw felt sooo nice. sorry but the lotus did not impress me actually it did quite the opposite!!!!

By: mark

mark — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 01:25:47 +0000

I love lotus’s but can’t really justify one, so I am building up my cooper and using the elise as a guideline. I’m using the ideas of being quick and responsive rather then just pure horsepower.

By: abdelaziz

abdelaziz — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 20:15:39 +0000

i like the way u compared these cars, specially that i love the mcs works and the elise, both r indeed very fun, fast thrillig to drive, altaugh i think the elise in performance is better than the mcs works, but the mcs is more suitable in a city, and i am right now between buying one of them, i just d.k what to choose!!

By: Ron hudson

Ron hudson — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 04:09:57 +0000

I have a 06 elise I find third gear notchy and the tranny whines the dealer said not to worry it is common in these cars wait for a recall has anybody had this problem.other than that i love the car fairly quick and very nimble. Ron

By: Ron hudson

Ron hudson — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 04:08:06 +0000

By: Jan

Jan — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 11:37:54 +0000

Its eerie how many Elise drivers also own a Mini :-). Found your review very interesting, I always wondered how a “sorted” MCS would compare to an Elise. I love my MC to bits, although handlingwise itÃƒâ€šÃ‚Â´s just not comparable to the Elise; I just think of it as a nice sporty(-ish) runabout. Mind you, I am comparing an unmodded 2003 MC and a mooded to death, very light (1540 lbs) 1997 S1 Elise (with 170 bhp), thus widening the gap between the cars…

By: Mark Hendrie

Mark Hendrie — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 08:07:40 +0000

Dr Bo – my dad’s mate races an Ariel Atom at the Knockhill race circuit in Scotland – absolutely wild machine. The guy who owns it absolutely loves it and reckons it is the best thing he has ever driven, although, for obvious reasons he never drives it on public roads.

By: Dr Bo

Dr Bo — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 02:52:19 +0000

Anyone driven – or own – the Ariel Atom?

By: Frank

Frank — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 22:56:57 +0000

I think the Elise/Exige are fantastic track cars (Which is they real intended purpose in life) and terrible everyday vehicles for most every other situation that involves carrying more than 2-3 grocery bags, more than 2 passengers and having to enter/exit the high and wide door sill.

I enjoyed the review and still be amazed as how to seemingly different cars share so many similar traits in terms of handling dynamics, performance and grin factor.

Someday I would like to experience the "thrills" of Lotus ownership, but right now a 3rd vehicle upwards of $45K and a 2 seater are totally and completely out of the realm of possibilities. I am happy to own 2 MINIs and that satisfies my motoring craving day in and day out.

Lotus just showed in Geneva the upcoming Europa S which is basically an Exige with a few inches longer wheelbase, lower easier to access door sills and an Opel outsourced 2.0L turbocharged four instead of the Elise/Exige 1.8L Toyota powerplant. It seems to me the Europa S is the daily driver version of the Elise/Exige. There are no plans for US importation and some will find certain styling details a bit questionnable.

By: Edge

Edge — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 21:27:31 +0000

Great review, John… although I’d be very curious to hear your updated opinion after driving a 2005 or 2006 MCS, with the revised gearing. I doubt it would change the review a whole lot… but it would be a worthwhile update, I think. :)

By: mtbscott

mtbscott — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 19:49:15 +0000

Back last fall before I ordered my MCS, I toyed with the idea of trading in my E46 M3 for an Elise. Drove both standard and Sportpack cars, just couldn’t rationalize as a primary car (primary for me due to price.) Needs changed and I currently have an Audi A3 2.0 for “practical” purposes and my MINI for fun, but the idea of a Lotus for toy is always in the back of my mind. I imagine in a few years the price for a used one will be within reach for that purpose and it should be pretty durable by English car standards.

By: Mark Hendrie

Mark Hendrie — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 15:41:47 +0000

Great write up – the car which Lotus produced for the American market sounds amazing – it has ABS and a faster Toyota engine – revised bodykit etc. Strangely we can get this car in the UK for a bargain price of Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£29,000 and nothing will touch it for the money. However the old standard Elise which has nothing and an old Rover engine can still be purchased for Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â£22,500 (not specced up)in the UK for a short while – total bargain although everyone still correctly goes for the US version (it is everything the standard car should have been).

John – I love the spec of your Elise the colours make the car look just plain sinister – they really suit the car!

By: fdavid

fdavid — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 13:58:11 +0000

Very nice writeup! This brings to question. Is there a lot of 911 owners who also drive minis? I want a 911 but I live in NYC and can’t see myself driving such a beauty in this conditions. I don’t like much the Elise, perhaps I am still atracted to the older LOTUS. Nice cars though. PS: And I love the new image display interface on the motoringfile website Gabe! good job.

By: Gabe

Gabe — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 13:44:12 +0000

As soon as an owner sends one in or I steal one… which ever comes first ;-)

By: Timothy

Timothy — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 13:35:47 +0000

When do we get the Morgan review? I saw one a few days ago. It was turning left but had to wait while I was crossing the street in the crosswalk. It had to wait a little longer for me to raise my jaw. :-)