Lotus Elise (2010)
by Tim Barnes-Clay, the man behind the wheel.
Date: 23 August 2010
THE 2010 Lotus Elise has fun written all the way through it like a piece of rock. It’s a gorgeous little number, stripped right down - perfect as a weekend pleasure-machine or, if you’re not bothered about space or luxury, it’s an economical enough everyday car.
The third-generation 2010-spec Lotus Elise’s basic chassis, brakes and dimensions remain unchanged, but the styling is delicately tweaked and the base model now has a 1.6-litre Toyota-sourced engine and a six-speed gearbox to replace the outgoing 1.8 lump that mated up to a five-speed box.
The 1.6-litre engine has very comparable performance to the old, lower-power 1.8-litre; it has 9lb ft more torque, does the same top speed, but takes 0.4sec longer to get to 62mph.
The fresh, ecologically aware engine and new gearbox also improves fuel economy from 37.2mpg to 45mpg, while C02 falls from 179 to 149g/km.
On the move, the Elise talks to the road – there is loads of feedback through the non-power assisted steering and a rigid direct sense to everything.
The seats are stiff yet comfortable, the throttle and brake pedals are easy to reach and the ride is bone-shakingly hard – but that’s what you want and expect from a true sports car.
Plenty of 'Oomph'
There’s plenty of 'oomph' from the Lotus to give you an adrenaline rush, but it won’t ‘whale-tail’ all over the place without warning, unless you’re driving insanely on a greasy road.
The 6800rpm rev limit can feel a little miserly, but other than that, the Norfolk based sports car maker offers a revised Elise which will give you years of unadulterated driving pleasure, along with a sense that you haven’t quite conformed to the ways of the world completely.
PROS ‘N’ CONS
PROS
- Looks
- Fun
- Economy
CONS
- Space
FAST FACTS
- Max speed: 127 mph
- 0-62 mph: 6.5 seconds
- Combined mpg: 45
- Engine layout: 1598cc 16v 4-cylinder
- Max. power (bhp): 134 at 6700 rpm
- Max. torque (lb.ft): 118 at 4300 rpm
- CO2: 149 g/km
- Price: £27,450
