As the title says' what handles better, a New Lotus Elise or an Impreza.? The impreza is known for its good hanlding abilities but how does it compare to a mid engined car like the Lotus, or Toyota MR2? Never driven a Lotus or MR2!

Stuart :D

scoob all the way, comments Richard? :)

Dont know cant fit in an elise!
which impreza and which elise, what conditions and how many people in car?

I went on a training day recently in the elise i have
and there were two Suburus present - wrx and a something else ?

Four wheel drive will go consistently and safely, much better than an elise. BUT elise is sharper handling - more driver information will hang out better - ie will drive,steer on the throttle easier and will go faster round the corners in the right hands.

rwd mid engine is a tricky combination - on the roads its a foolish elise drive who goes for 9/10 ths as it leads to lift off oversteer spins and stuff.

Elise is probably the best for driver feedback around - no pas for a start - but your cars are huge beasts compared with what is basically a go kart.

Good points.
The original question came from one of my friends, adamant in thinking that of course the handling would be better in a Elise, after all it is a 'Go-Kart'. Funny all these go-kart comments. I expect an Elise driver would not be impressed with calling his car a go-kart. I would state that I think that the handling in the Impreza is far better, although I have never driven a Elise! A few people say that the Impreza handling is very 'un-forgiving'. I would not really not agree, although it is very different to a rear or front wheel car. I think that is more the problem where people are not used to the handling of a four wheel drive car. I have had both front and rear wheel drive cars and have driven them hard and found their limits (too far on one occassion). My experience is that the in front wheel drive cars, they are very forgiving, and it is easy to know there limits, go over their limits and correct. Some rear wheel drive cars are less forgiving, and I find sometimes suddenly snap especially in the wet, without much warning. The subaru for me gives the correct combination of these and all the plus points.
I have a rather wooly set up uk car, but again feel this is better for me as it does give me that its about to reach its limit. Having said all this, I hardley ever push my car round corners anymore as I dont want to run the risk of crashing it.
I also think that the power steering is too easy and I would like to 'turn it off' a bit to get a bit more feeling through the wheel.

Sorry to bore you with this woffle, but you always have the option of not reading it :D

Comments Please

Stuart :D

Say for comparison sake the cars have driver only, uk spec, not modyified.

That's an impossible question to answer as the two layouts are offering you two entirely different driving experiences - ie it's entirely down to your personal preferences and the particular aspects you like most out of your driving.

If you like driving a car that's difficult to unstick, easy to drive in damp conditions and quick with a minimum of effort, 4wd is the way forward. On the other hand, if you really enjoy the sensations of controlling a car that demands complete concentration, and rewards you with extremely rapid reactions then mid-engine rear drive is by far the best (one of the many reasons why practically every Ferrari, Lotus, Lamborghini and F1 car uses this layout). I like this layout because of the sheer immediacy and positivity of the response you get from even the smallest of inputs - ie it's not easy to drive, it's fun to drive.

Here's a link that explains it better than I can....

http://bbs.scoobynet.co.uk/Forum22/HTML/001650.html

Agree with Letteridge (to an extent)
I have to say that any one who admits to having no experience of a particular, then in the same sentence judging it as inferior to another is probably popping more pills than the collective youth of Peterborough :D

I have no experience of Elise yet I firmly believe it is superior to the Impreza in every way.........."Maureen would you pass the amphetamines please love."

:D

Steve

I have been rumbled !! :rolleyes:

Fair comment Steve (W9GTR)

OK maybe I should have said that 'in my imagination', or 'I would suspect that' the handling would be better in an Impreza!

Stuart :(

i have no problem saying go kart
or indeed rocket powered tupperware

the elise will snap the back end round very quickly if you get it wrong - ask chrisl - he has been for a 'spin' in my elise
but thhats when you get it badly wrong. in the wet clearly the imprezza has a huge advantage - for fun and games though - all at relatively low speeds - the elise is the one for me.

handling is very subjective and many off us are still learning about how cars perform right on the limit - I am keen to go back to the airfield to learn more....

Having owned and tracked extensively an Impreza MY98 (modified), STI MY00 (modified) and Elise 111S (as standard bigger wheels, bigger hp, cross-drill brakes), in the dry and smooth surface (eg track) the Elise will outhandle any Impreza if driven competently. In the wet or very bumpy conditions, it will demand a lot more respect. The Impreza is actually a car with great grip but average handling, it's real strenghts being traction and forgiveness, both which are magnified in wet/rough conditions.

Wall

Wall is spot on I think.

With a competant driver, an Elise is a far better handling car than a Scoob.

a Scoob will need uprated suspension, APs/Brembos etc and stiky tyres to match an Elise on circuit if driven properly.

Scoobs have great grip and ok handling.

Elises have ok grip and great handling.

Big difference.

Driven both very hard on tracks... Scoob without a shadow of a doubt. IMO :D

Driven both also, very hard. The Scoob would be my choice but the Elise is great fun. In the wet the Elise is downright scary, but really big fun, you just need fast hands ! Definitely not something i'd choose for quick progress on a wet road !



AllanB

Old mistake of confusing grip with handling.

The impreza isn't a great 'handler'. The Elise is a stunning handler and will run rings round anything other than a (suspension) modified and engine tuned impreza.

Grip is a different issue altogether, and is what makes the impreza so much fun, and so good in the twisties.

You go to any twisty 'handling biased' track and the elise will have the edge. Take Knockhill - Elises with 50% lower PWR will keep up with STi's, and catch them through the corners.

The Imprezas dominanting pace and perfromance are through PWR and grip - not handling. Try driving a Leda modified car and spot the enormous difference!

Bentwaters in the wet.

Elises fish-tailing & 360-ing (several diff.cars & drivers)

Imprezas,Evos & Skylines no probs.

Caterhams also v. good.

Flat eric - you prove my point. Wet/slippy conditions is all about grip. I bet the Caterhams were no where near as dominating as the would normally be either!

Try the same course in the dry! ;)

Grip is all about tyre size relative to weight. 4 wheel drive gives plenty of traction and in my opinion makes the car duller and easier to drive when on throttle. An elise can corner arguably faster than an inpreza due to its weight. What we really need is Richard to give his opinion as he just sold his Impreza for an elise! Where are you!!!?

Having bought an S2 Elise to go with my MY99 Scoob, I have subsequently changed the Scoob because it felt like a tractor in comparison (and cost a fortune in diesel too ;)). The Elise is just so nimble, has so little inertia, and the steering is completely confidence inspiring (even in the wet). Fantastic. The Scoob is a compromise, and although it works well, it is more a triumph of honing from an imperfect starting point. Compare the two back to back and you can feel that.