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My Owners Diary December 2000Previous Entry | Diary Index | Next Entry5th December 2000Still no sign of an Elise at my local dealership. Some Elise 2000's have been seen out on the public roads though. first review appears on-line at 4car .
8th December 2000Evo have the first thorough road review of the new Elise (a good magazine and well worth the subscription). Better still, it's a head to head with the VX220. EVO prefer it's handling, suspension set-up and brake feel. They admit it has less power, which shows at higher speeds and that the front 175's are easy to lock up under hard braking, compared to the VX220 and it's ABS. Both get 5 stars and they reckon it's a big improvement over the out-going model (maybe not stylistically). This seems to match the general opinion in the first round of reviews for the car. Also in this issue is a claimed statement from Lotus that the Elise 2000 Sport 160 will not happen. Bet something very similar does though. The lack of power must be the biggest criticism of the Elise 2000 now. Well that and the fact that new roof still leaks!
14th December 2000Top Gear had a televised review and drive of the Elise 2000 tonight. They like it a lot. Were not too impressed by the new roof though. Most reviews of the VX220 that I've seen have complained that the roof on that leaked. In fact it would appear, based on reviews to date, that the new roof leaks more than the old one! A cunning ply to get us all to buy hardtops?
From the reviews to date it clear that the overall handling has improved. Responsiveness has remained but a new found stability and control appears to have been added to the mix, making the car more forgiving on the limit and more stable at speed. suspension ride and compliance seems to have improved as well, without compromising ride quality. This appears to make the car stick to the road better. The more I see this car, the more I think dark colours suit it better. They help hide some of the additional lines and fussiness that has been added to in the new design. The Calypso Red car featured on Top Gear suited it's Ferrari like features very well. I was tempted by a red one last time but went for New Aluminium. Calypso Red is currently top of my colour choices. Time to call my dealer again and see if his demonstrator is in yet. 15th December 2000Dropped into my local (Ipswich) Lotus dealership today, to see if the Elise mk II has arrived yet. No chance! Now due in January. Lots of Exiges in the forecourt in a wide range of colours. I guess this is all they've got to sell at the moment in terms of new cars. Even had an Esprit in the showroom. Also got a 340R for sale. The Motorshow Elise 2000 is at the Stratton dealership but not for test drives. |
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