I recently had to decide between the s2000 and the lotus. The lotus is a very nice car but has various shortcomings- hard to get in the car (ie forget about wearing a skirt unless yo want to get arrested), harder to get out of the car. I had reservations about the build quality of the lotus. The roof is a hassle. Also the car is pretty uncomfortable.

On the other hand the Lotus is pretty exotic while the S2000 is pretty pedestrian in some ways.

I decided on the S2000 because it is still fun. I felt comfortable buying a 2 year old honda for half the price of the lotus. The S2000 performs at about 80% of the lotus but is much,much more useable.

I am now looking at getting a Ariel Atom for track use. In my opinion it blows the S2000 and the Lotus away for track use.

My advice- save your money and get a 2-3 year old S2000 and upgrade the stereo. You will be very happy.

 

Elise = Awesome weekend track car, with lots of rattles and bumps. Pretty much a dedicated "street legal racecar". Definite head turner in the looks department.

S2000 = Awesome roadster, can be tracked as is, more refined for trips and commuting, more room. Not as "edgy" as the Elise, but still plenty of fun.

I think that you should drive both for sure. It sounds like the S might serve you better unless you are looking for the "total performance" factor in which case the Elise would be the way to go.

Either way...you are sure to end up with a great 2nd ride!

Craig

 

The wind will blow through your hair better in the convertible S2000, but a Lotus Elise is about as pure a sports car you can get for the money, unless you get an Atom

The S2000 will be better for extended road trips - better ride quality, roomier, a trunk, softer suspension, and the top easily raises and lowers. The Lotus Elise is pretty much a topless car - you don't bring the top with you - there's no place to store it unless you put it on the passenger seat, and it is time consuming to put on, take off, etc. The Exige isn't an option for practicality when it comes to removing the top, but the Elise would be first choice for a weekend track-only car imo.

You can live with an S2000 as a daily driver, not so with the Lotus. Either way, you're looking in the right direction, but you didn't like the Vauxhall?

 

Gonna wear a skirt in the Atom?

 

The top fits in the trunk just fine.

And while it's not got the convienience of the S2000's power top, it's pretty quick to put on or take off. Maybe 30 seconds to take it off an stow it, a minute to put it on.

 

then my new vote is Buick!

 

Sorry, brain fart. The "trunk" will hold the top (but not much else), but removing a hard top on a targa is a minor pita, and on a sunny day and a short trip, often times its not worth the effort to go topless.

 

if you care about comfort, S2k.. If you want the car for sheer balls to the wall driving, elise. S2k will give you some of the latter, but the elise is on another level as the price would imply.

 

also something else to think about is maitanance cost and time...as i recall the lotus will require some more maitanance and is much more expensive...something like $400 for the first scheduled maintance...maybe that doesnt matter....but also the nearest dealer to me was 1.5 hours away so having a good place for the maitnance is important also...

 

lotus!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!