Review: 2005 Lotus Elise

Whether or not you think the Elise is pretty (I think it's gorgeous), it's unmistakable, and it looks like it costs four or five times what it does. Given that, I was expecting to be the subject of a fair number of dirty looks when I rented one for three days in south Florida. Quite the opposite: I couldn't stop at a gas station, pharmacy, or anywhere else without getting people running up to ask what it was, admiring it and taking cell phone photos. Valets at my grandmother's country club fought each other for the keys, even though they drive much more expensive exotica on a daily basis. Nobody had ever seen a Lotus around, and the few people who knew what it was were pretty much all highly complementary. Even though it's exotic looking, it manages to look extraordinarily friendly. When I go for a drive in a mid-90s BMW, I get glares, but when I went out in the Elise, I got smiles and admiring glances

The Elise is powered by Toyota's 1.8 liter 2ZZ-GE engine, which was used in the final-generation Celica GT-S, among other cars. Lotus adds new cams and an ECU that boosts the engine's power to 190 bhp and the redline to an impressive 8500 rpm. According to Lotus, this can get the rollerskate-cum-automobile to 60 mph from a standstill in just 4.9 seconds. It's worth noting that when it was designing the 2ZZ-GE, Toyota farmed the actual work out to Yamaha, with the objective to essentially design a motorcycle engine for a car. Such an engine is certainly in keeping with the Chapman vision, so that probably explains why Lotus picked it.

Some reviewers have said that this high-revving engine creates a noted lack of torque in the Elise, but I never found that to be the case. Sure, it's not the torque monster my 540i is (it only generates 133 ft-ibs of torque) and most of the torque comes at the high end of the rev range, but the fact that the car weighs only 1984 pounds with fluids compensates for this very well. I certainly never had any problems with passing cars at the lower end of the rev range (i.e. 3000 - 4500 rpm), even during a short jaunt on I-95.

The Elise's unusual powerplant means that it even sounds different from other cars. When it pulls away from a dead stop it immediately jumps to 3000 rpm and goes off with the eager surge and yapping of a dog chasing a tennis ball. Sure, it doesn't sound like a Ferrari or a Lamborghini, but it grew on me, and people definitely hear it coming. But as the revs grow, that little Terrier develops an underlying bass note that's not unpleasant. Then you hit about 6200 rpm -- just when most engines are hitting the top end of their rev range -- the economy cam smoothly switches over to the power cam, and the sound quickly turns to a very satisfying shriek. By the time you hit the redline, it sounds like a flight of banshees going to war with Godzilla directly behind you.

Yet like all of Hethel's products the real test of the Elise lies in its handling, which I'm happy to report is nothing short of sublime. Naturally, the Elise has very sensitive, delicate, precise handling, which makes it an exercise in pure joy to chuck through any kind of corner. But paradoxically, there's so much traction from the gigantic tires that come with the Sport Package equipped on my rental that I never really felt out of control. I will concede that I didn't have time or insurance to take this on the track or to an autocross circuit, but even from what I felt I am confident saying that as sports car handling goes I couldn't think of better. And yet the steering had just enough play to make cruising around the highways and interstates of south Florida quite relaxing. That is, I didn't feel like I was in a twitchy sports car until I wanted to feel like I was in a twitchy sports car. Lotus didn't include power steering on the Elise, but it actually isn't hard to drive at low speed, and I even parallel parked it with very little trouble.

Of course, any suspension that provides such sharp handling in a car with so little fancy electronics and kit means that you'd expect the ride to be quite hard. Which it is. But it isn't as uncivilized as one might think. Every time I went over a speed bump, I was expecting to feel like I'd been stabbed, but it wasn't really jarring at all, provided you actually went over it at 25 or 20 mph. And though I certainly felt every little bump and change in the pavement, I never found myself tired or sore after four or five hours of driving.

Similarly, the clutch is light enough to not be exhausting in dense traffic, and the shift action is magnificent -- I never missed a gear once, and each one somehow managed to feel both delicate and solid. The pedals are closely arranged and I was in wide shoes, but I never pressed the wrong pedal. It helps that the gas pedal is a tiny sliver, while the clutch and brake are more standard in shape, though all are diminutive.

However, the Elise also has some touches that make it not wholly impractical. You cannot start the ignition without the doors being unlocked using the key fob, which means you don't have to worry about theft. It's very low slung, but you need not worry about potholes and such, since the suspension is so stiff. The mirrors are slightly convex and thus provide excellent visibility, which is good because the Elise's shape means that you cannot see to the driver's side rear. The radiator is up front for better weight distribution, and the shape of the car pulls cool air into the rear-mounted engine as it goes along. But if you're stuck in traffic for too long and the engine gets too hot, a little fan comes on to blow air on to the radiator and keep the engine from overheating.

There's even better news when it comes to the really mundane stuff. Despite its small opening, the boot is actually pretty spacious – I managed to get two grocery bags, the targa top and a pretty full messenger bag in it, with room to spare. Because the engine is only a four cylinder and it hauls around so little mass, you get 21 mpg in the city and 27 on the highway with a 10-gallon fuel tank. As for reliability, just remember that it's fundamentally a Toyota engine, and it's only a four-cylinder. I've done a fair amount of searching on the Interwebs, and I've heard literally no horror stories at all. Indeed, the Elise I rented had about 14,000 miles on it, and the company has another Elise with 30,000 miles on it, both of which were bought with about 10,000 miles on the road. When I asked him, the owner of the company said that they have had no problems with either car: they just change the oil every 3000 miles with full synthetic. (Lotus themselves dictate oil changes at every year or 7500 miles.) Granted, I imagine that when something does go wrong it won't be cheap to repair, but there's really not all that much to go wrong. And then there's the price: in the current environment and given the massive depreciation that English cars suffer, I am seeing Elises with only 10,000 or 15,000 miles going for about $25,000 and I'd bet you can get an even better deal if you're willing to haggle.

Yet aside from an engine, transmission, and body, what else do you get? Well even the base model that I drove is actually pretty well equipped for a glorified go-kart: you get two airbags, a stereo, carpet, small sun visors (sans vanity mirrors), a cargo net and small storage space behind the seats that has room for a small handbag or somesuch thing, and air conditioning/heating that works very well. The stock stereo is apparently absolute crap, but it's a standard single DIN unit so it can be swapped out easily. The targa top comes on and off quickly and easily, but if you're going to drive this in the winter or in heavy rain you'll want to order the optional insulated hardtop that fastens to the targa. The seats are basically racing buckets with a little better padding, and you can slide them forward but not adjust height or angle. There's also a really neat lumbar support function (available only on 2005 models) that works using a little hand pump like you get on a blood pressure cuff. You even get an electrical socket for a radar detector and a cupholder, though it's poorly shaped and awkwardly positioned.

The lunatic in me wants to say that I wish Lotus could have left some of these features out for the U.S. Elise. But ultimately I was thankful for the air conditioning, stereo and other amenities after four hours of driving in 90-degree weather. And I absolutely adore the gauge cluster -- tachometer and speedometer, with everything else in a tiny digital display like a race car. My only real complaint is that there is a shelf where the air conditioning controls are mounted, but there's no glovebox, so your registration will have to go... somewhere. Stamped on your forehead, perhaps. Yet paradoxically, the Elise's flaws actually seem to place even more emphasis on just how much there is to like about it.

All of these different qualities come togeather to create a sort of simplicity in the Lotus that is somehow both elegant and brutal. That in turn imbues the Elise with something that is extraordinarily rare: character. It's like a cute, cuddly, Welsh Corgi that carries Rambo's machine gun; it looks a bit absurd, but it simultaneously manages to be adorable and vaguely menacing. And if nothing else it is absolutely distinctive. Sure, it lacks the thunderous pull of my BMW, but it's also a much less severe, much less arrogant car. It's an eager, happy little car that goes tearing along roads, yapping the whole way. And in doing so it makes you and the people who see it feel happy as well. I found myself wanting to bring it upstairs with me at night and let it curl up at the foot of my bed like a faithful pet.

I have spent the last three days thinking a lot about just how to describe this shoebox on wheels. First off, it is an exceptionally cool car: though its parts are contemporary, ithas the soul of a proper 1960's British sports car. And it is clearly not for everybody: if I were in my mid-30s or older, I would most likely not even think about buying one as a daily driver, or probably at all. Even many twentysomethings wouldn't consider it. And though the exotic looks might attract a potential mate, the go-kartesque ride height and inelegant ledge blocking entrance and egress will probably scare them away almost immediately. Indeed, if you can get in and out of this gracefully, then I have no doubt that you're a 5'5", 75-pound yoga instructor. And if you're the type to ask why on Earth someone would ever own such an oddball car, then you are probably never going to understand the appeal.

To really enjoy the Elise, you have to be single-minded, a little mad, very quirky, willing to focus on driving while driving, and you have to use your heart and your foot to buy a car. Basically, you have to be like me.

The engineers at Lotus strike me as being much like master chefs: they took some ingredients of good quality -- not the best, but good -- and added spices, garnish, and a great deal of know-how to create something that is much, much greater than the sum of its parts. And that to me is what constitues a truly great car.

To be honest, I had been worried that the Elise wouldn't be as good as I thought it would be; I'd seen multiple reviews hailing it as the best pure sports car ever made, and Lotus is my favorite car company. And in a way, I was right: the Elise isn't as good as I'd thought. It's better.

There is a thin line between "want" and "need," one that all but the wealthiest people are aware of. Before last Friday, I wanted an Elise. By the time I had put two miles on the thing, I knew I absolutely had to have one. As a daily driver. Because yes, I am more than a little infected by the same strain of lunacy that must be in the water at Hethel. And I don't care.

If I'm rambling, don't read too much into it. It's only because I'm in love. Just make mine in British Racing Green or Phantom Black, please.


(Thanks to Xotic Dream Cars for renting me such a great car at such a good rate and delivering it to my door. They got the stock wheels painted, which is why they are black in the photos.)

Review: 2009 Volvo C70

Every time I visit Boca Raton and its surrounding environment I get the impression that I am stranded in the midst of a collection of strip malls that decided they might as well form a government. It's a place that I despise because it seems to embody everything that the rest of the world thinks America is: unsophisticated, gleefully alliterate, and devoid of any sense of history or sincerity. But I go to see my grandmother, whom I love dearly, and I put up with the horrid drivers, the philistines, the senseless development, and all the rest.

In the past I've always gone down during my spring break, when it's starting to get warm in the more civilized climes of the East coast. I've thus missed the only reason why people really spend time in Florida: winter. However, I was fortunate enough to end up in Florida for a few days in February this year, and Hertz was kind enough to give me a free upgrade to a 2009 Volvo C70 with only 40 miles on the odometer. Needless to say, I took it for a long, long drive.

I got the point of Florida on the A-1-A between Boca Raton and Del Ray. It was 75 degrees, I had sunglasses and a t-shirt on, and I was driving along the Florida coast in a convertible. In February. That... that was nice, to say the least, and it didn't hurt that the car I was in was damn good for the scenario.

The C70 is built on Ford's C1 platform, which underpins the second-generation Ford Focus, Mazda3, Mazda5, Volvo S40, and others, which means you get fully-independent suspension. In a compact car like the Focus, this platform creates a nimble, fun little car. But the Volvo is not compact, nor is it lightweight. This should not be a revelation: it's a Volvo, not a Porsche, and it's supposed to be safe and solid and all those other good Sweedish things.

Balancing this out, however, is Volvo's turbocharged 2.5-liter, 227 horsepower five-cylinder engine, which is also available in modified form in the Euro-only Focus ST and Focus RS. It's a peach of an engine, one that I'd argue is even better than the 2.0-liter TFSI VW/Audi engine that's in the GTI (among other cars). It's enough to propel the C70 to 60 mph in a not-wholly-unrespectable 7.6 seconds.

Of course, 227 hp and front-wheel drive generates quite a bit of torque steer, which makes rapid launches a bit difficult. Performance through the corners is also perhaps a bit of a yawn, in large part because this car weighs 3800 pounds, or about 100 pounds more than my E39 BMW 540i. But it's also not the point of this car: it's a GT car, not a sports car. That made it a magnificent car for Boca Raton, where the concept of a curve in a road is as alien as reading a book.

Now for some of the more practical stuff. The Volvo's biggest draw is its folding metal hardtop, which goes from fully raised to totally down in about 30 seconds. That said, you have to hold a switch the entire time, and the system is a little finnicky. And like pretty much all of these folding hardtops, the windshield had to be stretched so far back that the A-pillar can obscure your view in left turns. More annoyingly, the hardtop takes up the ENTIRE trunk when it's deployed -- I bought a few books at Borders, and it was tough to get them in the trunk. But there are some clever storage compartments tucked in the rear seats, and one in front of the dash, and some cool covers for the compartments in the door panel, all of which are quite spacious. The doors are also intelligently designed: they're very long so as to make getting into the rear seats easier, which would be a nightmare in parking lots since they'd open so wide. But Volvo fitted them with a neat double-hinge system that allows the door to open wide without taking up lots of space. (The mechanism is basically the same as what's on the Renault Avantime, which Top Gear attempted to modify in its most recent series.)

The rear seats, however, are a different story. Volvo says on their website that the car has room for four adults, which implies that they believe the backseat offers room for two. My cousin is 6'3" or thereabouts, and even though my dad and I are both only 5'8", he couldn't put his feet on the floor when sitting in the back seat. He had to lie down. Indeed, even my dad couldn't sit normally in the back seat when I was driving, and my seat was all the way forward. And at speed, those two rear seat belts? Flapping in the wind in a very annoying manner -- I had to buckle them in to make it stop.

The C70 costs quite a chunk of change as well, starting at $39,800. It comes standard with a six-disc changer and excellent sound system, bluetooth, and so on, as well as a proper six-speed manual. Our rental was equipped with the Premium Package (full leather seating and a couple other [small] goodies), which is a $1570 option, as well as a 5-speed manomatic transmission that adds $1250 to the price. That transmission is abysmal, and does everything it can to disguise just how good the engine is, so forget about the dammed thing and keep the six speed. And the fact that this car costs more than a 328i, but doesn't have full leather as standard, is irksome to me, though I actually found the interior a nicer place to be than the E92 328xi loaner I got from BMW of Towson when my 540i was in the shop once.

I find myself reminded of a breakup I went through a while back, insofar as I was initially heartbroken to see the Volvo go, and I swore it was a magnificent car. But then I got some distance on it, and thought about it, and realized it wasn't nearly as great as I thought it was. It's at least $5000 too expensive, the full leather and other Premium Package options should be standard, and anybody who gets the automatic should be shot in the face. And for the next generation the engineers should really figure out a way to make the hardtop at least a little bit more compact.

Volvo is currently offering this car with $4500 off list, and I'm sure you can get them to toss in the Premium Package gratis in this environment. And if you do that, then you'd have a great car for a dual-income couple with no kids, or other people that have no real need for people in a rear seat at the same time the top's down. So long as you live in Southern Florida, Texas, or other climes with long, flat roads. The hardtop and Sweedish factor also make it a viable four-season car, which is heartening.

Still, I can't help thinking that the MX-5/Miata is ultimately a better, and much more inexpensive, choice if you're looking for something that does what the C70 does. As a rental for Florida in late winter, the C70's a great car, provided you are willing to deal with strange luggage arrangements. But would I buy one? To keep in my own garage? Paid for with money that I'd earned? No.