Overview & Reviews

After years of letting Europeans have all the fun, the lightweight Lotus Elise sports car finally makes it to the States.

• Ultralightweight chassis, free-revving four-cylinder, uninhibited steering, supercar performance without the supercar price.

• Spartan interior, engine still a bit peaky for U.S. tastes, ride quality more Formula One than grand touring, limited dealer network.

User Reviews:

Showing 11 through 20 of 73.00

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  Lotus Elise - 2005 Lotus Elise
  By Les Albin - November 15 - 5:10 pm

  The Elise has been absolutely reliable in all types of driving. It has looks and performance that compare favorably to the most exotic cars around, but at a fraction of the cost to purchase and operate. Handling and responsiveness are better than any other car regardless of price. On the track or on the street the Elise gets more smiles per gallon than anything else around.

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  Track this car... please! - 2005 Lotus Elise
  By lotus racer - November 3 - 2:46 am

  Unbelievable, but my wife bought this car because it looks great and she lets me take it to the track. Drives like a race car because thats what it was built to do. Take a racing class if youve never done such a thing. Then take the car out and have some fun on the track. But dont try this on the street. Youll get squashed like a bug when you move fast into the blind spot of just about any car and every truck. Hold on to your seat because youve never had a ride like this before.

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  Best sports car, period. - 2005 Lotus Elise
  By rbalboa - October 26 - 2:10 am

  This is a pure sports car, no frills just raw power in a small package that will shake you up with a great smile.

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  This car begs you to drive it HARD - 2005 Lotus Elise
  By Mike C - September 14 - 5:40 pm

  I cannot state how happy I am with this car. It rewards the driver at every level. This is my first high performance sports car, and initially behind the wheel I didnt know what to expect and drove it very conservatively. It rewarded me at this level and drove very easily. As my sports driving skills have grown, I find there is continuously more ability in this car. As I learn to exploit its performance more, it shows me it has more to give. So far I have not found the bottom of this tall glass of fast and agile! My wife loves driving it too, and she was previously not a car enthusiast. That has all changed. You will fall in love with this car!

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  best car - 2005 Lotus Elise
  By benthebest - August 4 - 10:00 am

  definetly the car to buy

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  Best Car Ever - 2005 Lotus Elise
  By Seraph - June 17 - 10:00 am

  no word to describe

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  The Drivers Masterpiece - 2005 Lotus Elise
  By Eliseiak - December 22 - 10:00 am

  How can the Elise be described other than as the best handling, most fun piece of art on the roads. Not only is it one of the most beautiful cars available, it cant be beat for smiles per mile. It hugs the road in the curvy bits and settles right down on the straights. It is surprisingly comfortable to drive for long days, after three 500+ mile days, I still wanted to get right back in her and on the road again. This car is worth every penny it costs and every day you wait for it to arrive.

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  Dream Come True - 2005 Lotus Elise
  By Tom - December 3 - 5:46 pm

  I had anticipated a great car, but was unprepared for how wonderful the Elise is to drive. Ive driven a Fiat Spider for 15 years, so Im already used to the usual array of sports car quirks. This car has none of those. Aside from the way you have to enter the car (sliding in backwards and swinging your legs over the high door sill), its a pure joy. As I say, "Its a little hard to get in. Its impossible to get out." Things like a reliable starter and 29.5 mpg combined so far make this car the perfect way to go for me. Its my every day driver -- in two months, Ive put 2000 miles on her already!

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  Unbelievable Ride - 2005 Lotus Elise
  By RedElise - November 19 - 8:46 pm

  Clearly this car is not for everyone, but if you are under 60" tall, 200 lbs, and have a size 10 or smaller foot then this is a tremendous amount of fun. It is extremely difficult to get in and out of (words cant describe it), but there is nothing out there that handles like it. The stereo is poor, but usually you have the top off and you are listening to the purr of the engine behind your head. This car really lives up to all the great magazine reviews it has accumulated over the last year.

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  2005 Lotus Elise - 2005 Lotus Elise
  By mark Greenblatt - October 31 - 11:46 am

  Anyone who is serious about sports cars should put this car on your short list of cars to test drive. I have had 4 Porsches, much more expensive than this car, but I will never go back to Porsche again. They are so boring and bland compared to this car. A purchaser of this car should be aware that it is one of the most raw cars for sale. Raw meaning it has a loud engine (1/3 of my reason to buy a car is the sound it makes), the interior is spartan with a lot of exposed chassis metal (which I think looks so cool), it is a simple car designed to have balanced handling and performance, low weight, and will give you grins every time you get in it. It has a Toyota drivetrain to boot.