RiMo

Seriously tempted about getting an Elise SII 135R as a weekend toy. Anybody own or have an opinion on these sweet looking motors?

Cheers,

Rich

RiMo

Come on guys! Somebody out there must have an opinion?!

Ta,

Rich

Johnny50

I've got an opinion, but no advice !

Think they're great little cars, a few of my mates work at a Lotus dealership, they love them!

If i had the cash i'd take one!

what would scooby do

Good on circuits, not enough power to worry performance cars on A roads and duals, stick to twisty B's for best affect.

Mossman

Funnily enough, drove one on Monday, LOVED it!
Looks awesome, very quick (this was a "basic" model and not the 135R) and great fun. The 135R is supposed to be VERY track orientated.

GO FOR IT!

Mossman

Dapster

If you are getting one for track or weekend use only, get the most extremem one you can afford. I have driven a 1-11S on the road and was very disappointed. It sounded like a haidryer and the change was very sloppy (the car was about 6mths old). The handling was very balanced but it didn't make me go "yeeeeooowww" like I did when I had a Caterham. I have a Boxster now and it FEELS like it covers ground more quickley than the 1-11 just because of all that mid range torque.

SO.... get one with lots of power, competition/sports exhaust, harnesses, upgraded brakes and short gear lever and you'll have done well.

wilf

For road use what about the VXT?

Loved the S2 handling, steering. K series is a bit top endy though and sound a bit lame and the gearbox is vague.
I hope the brakes are better on the 135R than the std S2 also.

VXT is supposed to have better engine/gearbox/brakes so worth a look also I reckon - unless you are a badge snob. Snobbery can cost dear though a new VX n/a can be had for 19k whereas a lotus will set you back 3-4k more.

All IMHO

Mungo

Interesting how Autocar chose the VXT for this week's A-B test. I know Autoacar aren't always that objective, blah-de-blah, but the car actually faired pretty well. Nice to see the RS was pretty slow.

Ross Taylor

Hmmm - Haven't driven the 135R yet, but I've put in plenty of miles behind the wheel of my S2 Elise ST during the past year of ownership...

For the money it's the best car I've owned - And I sold a 315bhp STi Type R to buy it!

It's been reasonably reliable, mixed it with the Scoob/Evo brigade on trackdays and at the Nurburgring, turns more heads than the likes of a Boxster and makes you grin every time you're behind the wheel...

The only question is what to get next...And it's looking like it'll take a 996 GT3 to make me chop it in!

From what I've heard the 135R is a hoot on track - The 048 Yoko's are very sticky, and the S2 LSS / Uprated ARB stiffen things up no end...The only downside is that on icy/wet roads the semi-slick yokos might get interesting!

The VX220/VXT are great cars too - But if you look at the residuals, it doesn't seem a good idea to buy one new...Early VX's are coming in at 15k for a 2001 car! (Vs 18.5k for the same age Elise).

Test drive one and see if you like it - It's not a Caterham, but then it's faaaaar more usable in bad weather, and a fair bit more reliable to boot...

Instead of spending 28k on a new 135R, buy an early, low mileage S2 for 18.5k, Spend 1k on Nitron suspension, few hundred on an adjustable M sport ARB, and 1.5k on the DVA conversion for 155bhp...Save 7k, and handles just as well/has more poke!

Cheers,

Ross.

RiMo

Cheers Guys!

All very interesting reads.

Rich

Type R

www.seloc.org

Couple of owners of the 135-R on there friendly bunch with loads of meets and discounted trackdays for the members.

I bought a standard S2 begining of May awesome, and nothing wrong with the brakes just takes a while to get used to non servo.

I looked at getting a 135-R which is awesome but figured get a standard car and mod, got an 02 with A/c, Exhaust, ITG, for 22K then add LSS & DVA 160 which is 4K, save 2K and you have a car with the exact same handling and wheels, but an extra 25BHP.

This is the route Im going down.