CarsandCameras I don't know man. I have a second gen Miata, it weights about a thousand kilos, but it has 146 hp. Thinking about the power to weight ratio, it's not so bad compared to a 1.8 S2 Elise with 136 hp. The difference comes when you start driving the Lotus I guess...
The Toyota 2ZZ-GE is one of the most underrated Japanese motors of all time. It was co-developed with Yamaha and they based it on their championship winning street bike motors resulting in the most rev happy motors from Toyota, ever. The 2ZZ is the first 4cyl. ever to make over 100hp per liter and when the cam engages over on the top end it is savage! The best platform for this motor is by far the ZZT231 chassis / 7th gen. Toyota Celica GT-S. They are a deadly combination with a few simple mods these Celica's are an insane experience to drive and extremely overlooked and underrated
That can be important you know. The shifter in my E46 M3 has plastic chrome starting to peel off it and it has this strange feeling every time you grab it :/
Can't wait to drive one of these. I'm definitely one for the "slingshot" feel of a good and responsive turbo, but to have a high revving NA engine in a light car is something that appeals to me. Great one take, Matt.
@@93mlo Me as welll but don't give up! I have a miata but have been considering an naturally aspirated mr2 for the "raw midengine" experience. Seems to be the next best thing imo...
Great hearing you run through all the gears. A lot of the cars you get to drive up there are so powerful and quick, you only need to use 2 gears most of the time, but this thing really lets you get into the gearbox.
I'd have one of these over any supercar. It must be "cheap" to run and it looks so good and so much fun. One of the cars on my list to drive one day, definitely.
koukicutter Supercharged? All the k swapped lotus and mr2s I see are all turbocharged, and for good reason too. Capable of a measly 700+whp on stock internals.
If you had a passenger you'd be sitting on em! Looks like a really fun car... I've considered these as a second car... really love the simplicity and raw nature of it.
The engine is a Toyota 2zz 1.8 Ltr. with some tweaking & ecu mods etc. from Lotus Engineering , esenttualy bulletproof but without the midrange of the supercharged Elise " S " .
Nice review! Almost identical to my old Elise, same paint and interior combo, and sounds like similar mods.. Did bring back memories! I've traded mine in for the later V6 Exige. If you like the Elise SC, you will love the V6 Roadster to bits. Next time you are in europe you should try one ;) Again all the reliability from a Toyota engine (I just drove 4000 miles to the Arctic Circle in mine, and it didn't miss a beat) but now with the sort of pace to match the looks. Fingers crossed Lotus can get a version that's US compliant in the next few years. You guys are missing out!
Modified: mostly stock but on race brakes and suspension. I was kinda expecting a bit more modifications but either way a beautiful lotus, looking to get one myself in a year or 2
Matt, how come you aren't taking the technical routes as of late? I understand why you wouldn't take them with (for example) the prius, for example..but this?! It deserves to be driven on a tight, twisty road!
Great Review! I have that engine swapped in my 1986 MR2 with quite a few suspension upgrades and a 6-Speed. I call it my poor mans Elise. It is indeed a momentum engine and it is so fun to drive in the 1st generation MR2. Installing a quick ratio Quaife rack next weekend. Maybe I'll finally make a profile and so you can drive it. Such a rewarding little car to drive.
"Nice" (one more use of the word) review Matt! ;) Great car; owned one and now on an Exige S. Hope you get to review one of those sometime! They are stupid fun. Regardless of power configuration, the Elise is as close as you get to a raw street legal formula race car as you get while retaining a top, A/C and don't need a helmet. There are definitely faster cars out there but for better or worse you would be hard pressed to find a more performance focused car at this price point and for the great value that these hold.
If you need that extra head room, but want Exige power, they make a kit for the Elise to swap a K20a Honda motor and with very little mods you have more power than the Exige. Still having amazing reliability and power to weight and you can keep your head room with that top down. Not a bad swap imo.
6'2" and size 12 shoes, so doubting I'll ever get one. Question, is the 2ZZ GE VVTLi lift at the same place as it is in the stock toyota corolla/matrix it was from? My JDM Corolla hatch lifts (enters 'yota VTEC) at 6200RPM, which means you really bog down out of tight 2nd gear hairpins. I was wondering if Lotus has worked it's magic. Also curious as to what Lotus did to the shifter because in the Corolla it's a little agricultural and whether those adjustments can be made to the Corolla. Also heel/toe is so difficult in mine - pedals.
+tyresmoke The 2ZZ-ge in the Lotus got it's own ECU, but I believe the Lift engagement is still at 6,200 rpm just like in the standard toyota implementation. Plenty of Elise guys fit different cams and map the engine for earlier and smoother lift engagement apparently. I took the engine and gearbox from a Corolla which I'd run around in for 3 months and put it into an MR2 Spyder. The shifter feel is totally different - though I fitted a TRD quick shifter which shortens the throw and makes the shift much more direct and also heavier. The gearstick in the corolla is just really long. You will also find there are bushings on the gearbox end of the shifter cable you can replace, from rubber to solid, and that dramatically changes the feel of the shift. The Lotus shifter is a work of art- it's just very precisely machined to give it a very mechanical feel. Having had the same drivetrain (literally) in 2 different cars, it's night and day. IT's such a weird engine to have in a Corolla, but it makes perfect sense in the Spyder.
e199sigma nothing goes better with driving canyons than good music. I've never driven any car, at any price, in which I was glad to not have the option of playing music.
It’s actually 190 horsepower and the Elise lift cam kicks in earlier than the xrs or gts. Xrs has 170hp and gts has 180hp. Unless you find a rare jdm trd celica m-sport(gts) you will find it that the ecu is more aggressive tuned and has lightweight piston rings and upped the compression producing 200hp and lift kicks in earlier as well. Lot of potential in these cars that many overlook or don’t know about
Wondered if you'd get back around to Lotus. Especially for the canyons--it's pretty much made for them. Your beloved deLorean is about 80% Esprit, after all. Thanks for this.
ZildjianGuy Man imo, low 5 second/mid 13 second 102~ mph trap is decently quick. thats not too too much quicker than a lot of basic luxury sedans now days. it certaintly feels quicker than it is though.
What does "when it comes on cam" mean. I hear it sometimes and can't figure out what it means. Is the camshaft designed so the the optimum air/fuel ratio is achieved at certain rpm?
I sat in one of these and at 6'4" felt the top of the windshield was too close to eye line. I have a '57 Thunderbird that's the same way and it drives me nuts, and that's cruising around slow, I couldn't imagine driving fast with that distraction. Sometimes I wish I was shorter LOL
Sarah Dell I sold mine Elise two month ago, maybe im getting a Toyota GT 86 next, or i replace mine daily truck with a new one and get rid of the thought of having two car can be cool :D I was in love with mine Lotus but i cant drive her so often, like 2-3 time per month, sometimes even less. I was sad to see the car in the parking lane all the time... but now i'm still sad with out the car :/
ODIO POWER Ah so it's still fresh. I haven't had either of mine for a year or so. As much flak as the Evora get's I think it's a wonderful compromise. You could easily daily one. I drove my Elise through one winter, on summer tires... Anything is possible!
It's taken like five years but Matt is finally starting to rub off on me. "It's as if Colin Chapman was grabbing you by the testes and pulling you through the hairpins" was hilarious.
I'm suprised no one has given you an E46 M3 to drive yet, I might just have to enter mine in sometime haha. But then again, I remember how that m3 vs. fiesta review went down. I don't think you're a big fan lol
teh vee teh vee He drove one on the drive channel. It was modified buy a guy named Kameron Baker and it was a beast, you should definitely check it out. and give Kameron a follow, he does awesome work on e30's
Hey Matt, which road is better for someone who is coming out to the canyons in LA for the first time from NY? The Snake or Angeles Crest? I will be going in my brother's SL400 so not going to be driving fast just cruising.
DJ MotoVlogs Angeles Crest is more open. There are fewer hairpins so your brakes and tires won't be working that hard. Malibu is much more tight and technical
Interesting Video. Since they changend from Rover to Toyota Engines, these cars are reliable. You just need to put some road legal Yokohama Semi Slicks (work superb with this car) and add a Bilstein or Öhlins Coilover. This two mods make the car already racetrack ready. Just wondering that they are about 30K in the US. Here you can get a good one from about 12K up. But who is interested in the agility of the car and dont need the Lotus Logo on the Hood, can get an MG TF. They shared lot of components, the TF has more daily driver qualities and you can get it for less than 3K Euro.
you can get it for £500 because its shit. not comparable to a lotus in any way . a fiesta shares alot of components with a Caterham 7 but they not comparable either . The later mgtf trophy 160 is a half decent car but still wobbly joke next to a lotus. if you want a cheep lotus get a opel speedster/vx220 they start at 5g but the turbo ones that you really want are closer to 10. If your straight up broke get a mk3 mr2 for a grand .
TheSmokingTire Great video! Is this in 60fps though? It'd be great to do the road camera in maybe 30 fps, because 60 makes the road camera look really slow. Still, good stuff though.
A.J. Hartless This is 60 FPS, like all the videos for the last 3 months. You can change the settings in your video window to watch at 720/30 if you prefer.
Nicholas Francis Hate to say it but you might not like the experience of getting in and out of one... I'd point you to a Cayman. I'm 5'4" and skinny and think the experience is slightly difficult. Oddly once I'm in, I feel short as a driver. But for your height I'd say you would feel cramped.
I'm 6'6" and about Matt's size. s2000's are great, but no way can I fit in them, I wish, but a cayman I will need to try out. I still want to find out how Matt's seats in his corvette are treating him over the years.
Ryan Schneider I'm 6'3" and while an S2000 is too tight, a Boxster/Cayman is much better (the newer the model, the more space). The Corvette seats, which are Sparco Evo2 Plus, are a great baromiter of my weight fluctuating. On a good week, I"m down in the low 260's and they fit great. On a bad, post-travel week, I'm in the low 270's and they feel tight. The Recaro Profi XL's I just got in the mustang are way more comfortable for daily use.
I had the pleasure of driving an Elise on track when I was 16 and remember being shoulder to shoulder with my passenger. Looks like only an attractive slender passenger would fit with you TheSmokingTire .
Matthew Sharpe it was no big deal to pass like that at speed. in a civilized country Farah would have given him more room. the biker probably didn't break a sweat
Nice British, Matt! I sat in a Lotus a bit back, looked around the interior, and I heard Julian Chapman's voice saying "why the hell are you looking for a cupholder? What do you think this is, a GMC? Drive this car, or get out of it!"
Unfortunately that's the major downside of having very little body roll - the lack of warning before losing grip, especially on a short wheel base, mid-engine car. But, on the other hand, I don't think an Elise with a lot of body roll would be a great idea either. I think body roll is one of the key things about how predictable old BMWs are and why they are rather easy at the limit.
Mzn T Stock Elises actually have soft springs and a fair amount of body roll. This car has aftermarket coil overs, which also give the driver a bit more confidence.
Whats the law in CA regarding double yellow lines? Up here in Ontario Canada, most people assume its illegal to pass over them, but they're actually cautionary like all yellow signs. Legally, you can pass over them as long as its 'safe to do so'.
PieterA I choose roads based on what will be a good average for the group of cars on that day. Often, one or more cars isn't in a "perfect" setting, but I do the best I can.
Cars like these make my third gen Miata self conscious about its weight.
CarsandCameras I don't know man. I have a second gen Miata, it weights about a thousand kilos, but it has 146 hp. Thinking about the power to weight ratio, it's not so bad compared to a 1.8 S2 Elise with 136 hp. The difference comes when you start driving the Lotus I guess...
Haha, miatas are good cars at 4,000$
@@laurenzolau2666 8
Daniele Bizzotto 8 cosa?
The Toyota 2ZZ-GE is one of the most underrated Japanese motors of all time. It was co-developed with Yamaha and they based it on their championship winning street bike motors resulting in the most rev happy motors from Toyota, ever. The 2ZZ is the first 4cyl. ever to make over 100hp per liter and when the cam engages over on the top end it is savage! The best platform for this motor is by far the ZZT231 chassis / 7th gen. Toyota Celica GT-S. They are a deadly combination with a few simple mods these Celica's are an insane experience to drive and extremely overlooked and underrated
"The 2ZZ is the first 4cyl. ever to make over 100hp per liter" so are we pretending like the b18c in the integra type-r isnt a thing?
Its the gearing thats the problem not the engine
You opinion seems a be biased based on your profile photo
"I love the feel of the knob". That's cool.
That can be important you know. The shifter in my E46 M3 has plastic chrome starting to peel off it and it has this strange feeling every time you grab it :/
Yeah dude for sure, I was just being a dick. A nicely weighted solid shifter can make all the difference.
David Peck So you don't enjoy grabbing the knob?
I love me a MANual. Short shifter and AASCO lightweight flywheel makes heel toe and double clutching a blast!
chipchip insert theme from shaft here
Can't wait to drive one of these. I'm definitely one for the "slingshot" feel of a good and responsive turbo, but to have a high revving NA engine in a light car is something that appeals to me. Great one take, Matt.
That Toyota Corolla infront of you had the same liter engine XD
I will own one of these one day
zoom zoom ND me too!
Hows it going
No
@@samuelalphonse1241 not too well , they are still out of my reach
@@93mlo Me as welll but don't give up! I have a miata but have been considering an naturally aspirated mr2 for the "raw midengine" experience. Seems to be the next best thing imo...
I love how at :55 he says "but that sound nothing says sports car " and then stopped because then he realized he was talking about a Toyota 4
Great hearing you run through all the gears. A lot of the cars you get to drive up there are so powerful and quick, you only need to use 2 gears most of the time, but this thing really lets you get into the gearbox.
I'd have one of these over any supercar. It must be "cheap" to run and it looks so good and so much fun. One of the cars on my list to drive one day, definitely.
This car shows how great the Toyota motor is. Love the car always has a sweet spot for this car growing up it just looked so different.
Always loved this car.... Miss my 00 GTS badly after watching it... Great video.
I have a soft spot for the Elise. I wonder what it would be like with a Honda K series motor...
Mitchell Bartlett Even Better ;), Pretty common swap within the Lotus community.
Use google son. There are a bunch of videos of supercharged K20 lotus' that are tits.
Mitchell Bartlett They're amazing. I want one very badly.
Colin chapman wouldn't want vtec to kick in yo on his car I'm sure.
koukicutter Supercharged? All the k swapped lotus and mr2s I see are all turbocharged, and for good reason too. Capable of a measly 700+whp on stock internals.
If you had a passenger you'd be sitting on em! Looks like a really fun car... I've considered these as a second car... really love the simplicity and raw nature of it.
Your British is pretty good, please make one liners for all the cars you drive :))
The engine is a Toyota 2zz 1.8 Ltr. with some tweaking & ecu mods etc. from Lotus Engineering , esenttualy bulletproof but without the midrange of the supercharged Elise " S " .
your driving skill will never cease to impress me
The lift on them VVTL-i engines from 6k RPM is next best thing to a DC2's B18.
8700 limiter on the exige and extra bhp 200bhp, lift isn't quite as aggressive but more usable.
Nice review!
Almost identical to my old Elise, same paint and interior combo, and sounds like similar mods.. Did bring back memories!
I've traded mine in for the later V6 Exige. If you like the Elise SC, you will love the V6 Roadster to bits. Next time you are in europe you should try one ;)
Again all the reliability from a Toyota engine (I just drove 4000 miles to the Arctic Circle in mine, and it didn't miss a beat) but now with the sort of pace to match the looks.
Fingers crossed Lotus can get a version that's US compliant in the next few years. You guys are missing out!
Modified: mostly stock but on race brakes and suspension. I was kinda expecting a bit more modifications but either way a beautiful lotus, looking to get one myself in a year or 2
i have a corolla with the same engine. It hammers hard when driven in the lift zone.
Matt, how come you aren't taking the technical routes as of late? I understand why you wouldn't take them with (for example) the prius, for example..but this?! It deserves to be driven on a tight, twisty road!
Awesome video! Most people can;t afford an Elise, but at least they can afford a car with that engine.
At 5:04, Matt does a quick impression of Chris Harris from Drive TV! LOL! :D
The one take I've been waiting for!
Chipped to make the power come on at 4700 to 5000rpm might fix some of the straight line issues. As someone with a matrix xrs that 2zz is magic.
Great Review!
I have that engine swapped in my 1986 MR2 with quite a few suspension upgrades and a 6-Speed. I call it my poor mans Elise.
It is indeed a momentum engine and it is so fun to drive in the 1st generation MR2.
Installing a quick ratio Quaife rack next weekend.
Maybe I'll finally make a profile and so you can drive it. Such a rewarding little car to drive.
euroatomic doesn't squeal the tires once
"Nice" (one more use of the word) review Matt! ;)
Great car; owned one and now on an Exige S. Hope you get to review one of those sometime! They are stupid fun. Regardless of power configuration, the Elise is as close as you get to a raw street legal formula race car as you get while retaining a top, A/C and don't need a helmet. There are definitely faster cars out there but for better or worse you would be hard pressed to find a more performance focused car at this price point and for the great value that these hold.
The advantage of me being 5 foot 9 is I can fit comfortably in any car. Thanks for your great video!
Yessss short king
If you need that extra head room, but want Exige power, they make a kit for the Elise to swap a K20a Honda motor and with very little mods you have more power than the Exige. Still having amazing reliability and power to weight and you can keep your head room with that top down. Not a bad swap imo.
Pure Racecar! One of my bucket list cars for sure. Autox and HPDE Killers!
6'2" and size 12 shoes, so doubting I'll ever get one. Question, is the 2ZZ GE VVTLi lift at the same place as it is in the stock toyota corolla/matrix it was from? My JDM Corolla hatch lifts (enters 'yota VTEC) at 6200RPM, which means you really bog down out of tight 2nd gear hairpins. I was wondering if Lotus has worked it's magic. Also curious as to what Lotus did to the shifter because in the Corolla it's a little agricultural and whether those adjustments can be made to the Corolla. Also heel/toe is so difficult in mine - pedals.
+tyresmoke The 2ZZ-ge in the Lotus got it's own ECU, but I believe the Lift engagement is still at 6,200 rpm just like in the standard toyota implementation. Plenty of Elise guys fit different cams and map the engine for earlier and smoother lift engagement apparently.
I took the engine and gearbox from a Corolla which I'd run around in for 3 months and put it into an MR2 Spyder. The shifter feel is totally different - though I fitted a TRD quick shifter which shortens the throw and makes the shift much more direct and also heavier. The gearstick in the corolla is just really long. You will also find there are bushings on the gearbox end of the shifter cable you can replace, from rubber to solid, and that dramatically changes the feel of the shift. The Lotus shifter is a work of art- it's just very precisely machined to give it a very mechanical feel.
Having had the same drivetrain (literally) in 2 different cars, it's night and day. IT's such a weird engine to have in a Corolla, but it makes perfect sense in the Spyder.
Thanks! I'll research cables/bushing solutions for JDM corollas.
LOVE these cars. It's on my short list to own one day.
I would like to see spreadsheet of "will it let me by" by make or by make / model :P
i just love the high reving little drivers car! at the end of the day enjoying driving is better than pure speed!
Who needs a radio when you've got a symphony in four-pot harmony being played right behind you?
e199sigma nothing goes better with driving canyons than good music. I've never driven any car, at any price, in which I was glad to not have the option of playing music.
"all the grip in the world right up until it doesnt" i feel like i heard that in another lotus video Matt lol
It’s actually 190 horsepower and the Elise lift cam kicks in earlier than the xrs or gts. Xrs has 170hp and gts has 180hp. Unless you find a rare jdm trd celica m-sport(gts) you will find it that the ecu is more aggressive tuned and has lightweight piston rings and upped the compression producing 200hp and lift kicks in earlier as well. Lot of potential in these cars that many overlook or don’t know about
Wondered if you'd get back around to Lotus. Especially for the canyons--it's pretty much made for them. Your beloved deLorean is about 80% Esprit, after all.
Thanks for this.
10:02 isnt that the bmw alpina that had crashed on the other video?
Cheaper than a shrink, the most agreeable thing I have ever heard you say and I pretty much like most of what you say anyway...
he said it wasn't that fast. I thought the Elise was around 5sec 0-60. that's pretty damn quick.
Quick and fast are different concepts..
Addictive Armadillo its still not very quick, or fast.
@@lukeholland6031 you don't think 0-60 in 5s is quick?
ZildjianGuy Man imo,
low 5 second/mid 13 second 102~ mph trap is decently quick. thats not too too much quicker than a lot of basic luxury sedans now days. it certaintly feels quicker than it is though.
Matt is fat and ruins the power to weight ratio
Is this the 1.8L engine on the Toyota Corolla TSport?
Yes
TheSmokingTire As a "brit" myself, your English accent really isn't too shabby! Nice and Kentish!
I'd totally daily drive one of these. Then again, I Just love these things.
What does "when it comes on cam" mean. I hear it sometimes and can't figure out what it means. Is the camshaft designed so the the optimum air/fuel ratio is achieved at certain rpm?
"everytime i drive a light car i totally ruin the power to weight ratio of that car"
you're too funny Matt
So if you could choose this or a R56 John cooper works mini which would you choose?
10:02 The Alpina is still there?
The Elise on 6psi moves! It wakes that little VVTi engine up!
*VVTL-i
I sat in one of these and at 6'4" felt the top of the windshield was too close to eye line. I have a '57 Thunderbird that's the same way and it drives me nuts, and that's cruising around slow, I couldn't imagine driving fast with that distraction. Sometimes I wish I was shorter LOL
What is a better car for auto cross. Miata speed, lotus elise, or exige ?
Mickey Mouse I wouldn't really be into autocrossing any car without power steering.
TheSmokingTire just what I needed to know thank you
These cars have saved very well when they came out I hated the looks...certainly growing on me tho bigtimes.
Aged* not saved autocorrect ftw.
invinciblejets You should be able to hit the little down arrow to the far right of your comment and edit it.
*edit: indeed!
invinciblejets I always thought they looked great. The hardtop is sexier IMO
invinciblejets And what do you know, no tire rub, banging panels, & a fear 4 your life death grip.
I miss my Elise and Esprit dearly, Thanks for reminding me
Sarah Dell wellcome to the club of the ex Lotus owner :/ Worst club ever, i'm a member and i hate myself
ODIO POWER Not in the position to purchase something else at the moment, so taking my time... So many good cars coming out these days!
Sarah Dell I sold mine Elise two month ago, maybe im getting a Toyota GT 86 next, or i replace mine daily truck with a new one and get rid of the thought of having two car can be cool :D I was in love with mine Lotus but i cant drive her so often, like 2-3 time per month, sometimes even less. I was sad to see the car in the parking lane all the time... but now i'm still sad with out the car :/
ODIO POWER Ah so it's still fresh. I haven't had either of mine for a year or so. As much flak as the Evora get's I think it's a wonderful compromise. You could easily daily one. I drove my Elise through one winter, on summer tires... Anything is possible!
Sarah Dell indeed the Evora can be a good daily car. Have you seen the Evora 400? OMG that is a special one.
I'm curious how this would stack up against something like a Caterham.
It's taken like five years but Matt is finally starting to rub off on me.
"It's as if Colin Chapman was grabbing you by the testes and pulling you through the hairpins" was hilarious.
that lotus and the white corolla you find on the road share the sema engine right? 1.8L 4 cilynder
same wrecked alpina b7 from the boxter swap review.
Charles Williams yeah I shot 9 one takes that day.
Release more dude
lotus ,you make a wonderful sports car
I'm suprised no one has given you an E46 M3 to drive yet, I might just have to enter mine in sometime haha. But then again, I remember how that m3 vs. fiesta review went down. I don't think you're a big fan lol
David Peck there's one on the schedule. And I love the E46 M3. I just, unlike most fans of that car, don't think it's the best car ever made.
TheSmokingTire Will you guys ever review an e30 m3?
teh vee teh vee Try finding him one.
teh vee teh vee He drove one on the drive channel. It was modified buy a guy named Kameron Baker and it was a beast, you should definitely check it out. and give Kameron a follow, he does awesome work on e30's
***** that e30 was the tits wasn't it
Matt, is that the toyota celica 1.8L?
MotoGuide yep same engine. 192hp in EU spec
wonderful little car
What is it that makes these Toyota 4's sound so good compared to other 4's? The 3rd gen MR2 has a glorious induction sound above 6k.
+JC Webb exhaust and lack of soundproofing, most likely.
8200+ rpms
Are these one takes shot in a longer session or has that crashed Alpina been there forever?
paskis naama He shoots multiple one takes in a day. Not sure how many he did this day.
paskis naama I shot 9 of them on this day. As far as I can say, that car was there for only those few hours.
TheSmokingTire 9 cars in one day?!!! Sheesh lol
So used boxster or used lotus as a daily
Hey Matt, which road is better for someone who is coming out to the canyons in LA for the first time from NY? The Snake or Angeles Crest? I will be going in my brother's SL400 so not going to be driving fast just cruising.
DJ MotoVlogs Angeles Crest is more open. There are fewer hairpins so your brakes and tires won't be working that hard. Malibu is much more tight and technical
***** Thanks.
TheSmokingTire Thanks for info.
Interesting Video. Since they changend from Rover to Toyota Engines, these cars are reliable. You just need to put some road legal Yokohama Semi Slicks (work superb with this car) and add a Bilstein or Öhlins Coilover. This two mods make the car already racetrack ready. Just wondering that they are about 30K in the US. Here you can get a good one from about 12K up. But who is interested in the agility of the car and dont need the Lotus Logo on the Hood, can get an MG TF. They shared lot of components, the TF has more daily driver qualities and you can get it for less than 3K Euro.
Marc Nobel Wow thanks! I did not know that about the TF. And they come for such low prices ...and relatively low mileage ones too. Nice weekend car.
you can get it for £500 because its shit.
not comparable to a lotus in any way .
a fiesta shares alot of components with a Caterham 7 but they not comparable either .
The later mgtf trophy 160 is a half decent car but still wobbly joke next to a lotus.
if you want a cheep lotus get a opel speedster/vx220 they start at 5g but the turbo ones that you really want are closer to 10.
If your straight up broke get a mk3 mr2 for a grand .
do you in have the vauxhall (opel) speedster over there? it's almost the same, but you can get a turbocharged 2.2 in it, and it looks better i.m.o.
Rude Dogg Vauxhall is uk and opel is europe. They dont exist in the us.
***** how about holden- or chevy- vx 220?
Rude Dogg Opel and vauxhall is europe's GM
Rude Dogg we did not get any Opel's in the US. It is a good looking car though.
TheSmokingTire i sat at dealer in those speedster was divicult get in and out.tobad they are out of production
Given the choice would you take this over a 996 within the same price point? Curious how the 2 compare as canyon cars.
can ej255s or 4g63s fit in these?
TheSmokingTire Great video! Is this in 60fps though? It'd be great to do the road camera in maybe 30 fps, because 60 makes the road camera look really slow. Still, good stuff though.
A.J. Hartless This is 60 FPS, like all the videos for the last 3 months. You can change the settings in your video window to watch at 720/30 if you prefer.
Would've loved to see you drive this lotus on a windier road like the snake. Still entertaining anyhow.
It has a corolla engine... a very good one at that
VVTL-i just kicked in yo
Elise, HondaS2000, or Cayman ? I'm about 6'4 but love small cars.
Nicholas Francis Cayman
Nicholas Francis Hate to say it but you might not like the experience of getting in and out of one... I'd point you to a Cayman. I'm 5'4" and skinny and think the experience is slightly difficult. Oddly once I'm in, I feel short as a driver. But for your height I'd say you would feel cramped.
Great Steve Harris impression!
Your British is straight-up Ali-G! LMAO!!
are driving shoes an option ?
5150madawg for me, driving shoes are too narrow and normal shoes are too wide. depends on the driver.
roger that #deathsquad #JRE
I'm 6'6" and about Matt's size. s2000's are great, but no way can I fit in them, I wish, but a cayman I will need to try out. I still want to find out how Matt's seats in his corvette are treating him over the years.
I think matt is just over 6 foot. You are clearly towering over him. Good luck fitting into any compact sports car. No offence.
Ryan Schneider I'm 6'3" and while an S2000 is too tight, a Boxster/Cayman is much better (the newer the model, the more space). The Corvette seats, which are Sparco Evo2 Plus, are a great baromiter of my weight fluctuating. On a good week, I"m down in the low 260's and they fit great. On a bad, post-travel week, I'm in the low 270's and they feel tight. The Recaro Profi XL's I just got in the mustang are way more comfortable for daily use.
what does it mean when a car "comes on cam"? love the show!
+Sergio Aguirre " so this anemic 180hp engine"
haha, ok. It's a 1.8 and in a car weighing just 800Kg. It's absolutely spot on for its purpose.
Matt you have to review an e36 m3 one of these days!
I had the pleasure of driving an Elise on track when I was 16 and remember being shoulder to shoulder with my passenger. Looks like only an attractive slender passenger would fit with you TheSmokingTire .
I'm honestly surprised you didn't plug the brand of sunglasses you always wear.
8:23 Isn't that a Giulia GT?
Federico Cimolini yep its. I cant even imagine the cost of that beauty in the US. But maybe it was a replica.
I think that is a replica too, i love GTAs. I'm planning a trip to the Alfa Romeo museum in Milan(arese) to see It and the others Alfa.
You need a close course for that car duuuuude!
Impressive car, have you driven Mr2 spyder I hear those cars were under appreciated.
S1 is awesome too. But all Elise are special. Gorgeous car.
"I love the feel of the nob". I am sure you do Matt, I am sure you do
I'm 6'1", would I fit in this car?
And that is why bike riders are great organ donors...
Mac Dee Riding like that I don't think there would be much left to donate... A mate of mine calls them "temporary citizens"
Corneas maybe.
+Mac Dee Wow that's...dark.
Skin Crayons
Matthew Sharpe it was no big deal to pass like that at speed. in a civilized country Farah would have given him more room. the biker probably didn't break a sweat
Hey Matt, you ever had the chance to drive the old Lotus Carlton? in the early 90s it was the fastest saloon car around..
How tall are you? I'm 6'4 and wonder if i would fit.
***** you won't fit! i'm 6'2 and can't fit comfortably in regards to headroom
***** Interested in that too. Also, whats your shoe size, Matt?
***** You won't. Or at least it will be very tough. I'm 6'3" and just barely make it.
YesIAmThatCoolBitch 12
TheSmokingTire any Honda s2000 on the waiting list????????
Trying to channel HarrisMonkey? What's your thoughts on the Exige S vs Elise?
Stephen Mathews Ah nm, sounds like you'd prefer the Elise SC
Nice British, Matt! I sat in a Lotus a bit back, looked around the interior, and I heard Julian Chapman's voice saying "why the hell are you looking for a cupholder? What do you think this is, a GMC? Drive this car, or get out of it!"
David Steinhour Julian Chapman? Is that Tracy Chapmans brother?
No silly. The main designer of the Elise/Exige, unless I remember wrong.
Sorry, it's Julian Thompson. That might have been Google Voice's error but I doubt it.
Isn't that the XRS Yamaha engine? Good engine, when you supercharge it you loose the lift feeling it has when N/A.
GT7786 If I'm not mistaken I believe it's just a Toyota 1.8 tuned by Yamaha.
Alex Jacobson Yup. Also Yamaha worked their magic on the head as well
Alex Jacobson That's what he's talking about. The same engine went in the Corolla/Matrix XRS trim.
2zz-ge, debuted in the 00 -05 toyota celica gt-s later was available in the corolla and matrix xrs models.
+mspec810 but 03+ XRS/GT have the 2 piece intake manifold and make more WHP than the celica
Unfortunately that's the major downside of having very little body roll - the lack of warning before losing grip, especially on a short wheel base, mid-engine car. But, on the other hand, I don't think an Elise with a lot of body roll would be a great idea either.
I think body roll is one of the key things about how predictable old BMWs are and why they are rather easy at the limit.
Mzn T Stock Elises actually have soft springs and a fair amount of body roll. This car has aftermarket coil overs, which also give the driver a bit more confidence.
All Lotus are set up for initial soft suspension for ride comfort, but progressively firm as the driver pushes the car’s performance.
Whats the law in CA regarding double yellow lines? Up here in Ontario Canada, most people assume its illegal to pass over them, but they're actually cautionary like all yellow signs. Legally, you can pass over them as long as its 'safe to do so'.
matt have you got a chance to drive an ND miata yet?
You should've opted for a more twisty, more technical road Matt. Would've been even more fun.
PieterA I choose roads based on what will be a good average for the group of cars on that day. Often, one or more cars isn't in a "perfect" setting, but I do the best I can.
sounded like you were taking it pretty easy there..?
The British impression was spot on lol
GRN240SX sounded pretty australian to me
Dee Jay Wasn't Aussie at all