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Road Test

Lotus Elise 111R

Test Date 24 February 2004  Price When New £27,995

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Verdict

This is the most habitable Elise yet, so while stepping from a Boxster or Z4 still requires a compromise on the owner’s part, it’s no longer the rude shock it once was. Which is just as well because with options, our test car weighed in at £31,285. That’s enough to buy the first rung on Porsche’s ladder, a 3.0-litre BMW Z4, Audi TT V6 or Honda S2000. And unlike lesser Elise variants, the 111R can’t rely on advantageous running costs to boost its case. Fuel economy and CO2 emissions might be better than rivals’, but a group 20 insurance rating won’t win it many friends.
Transcending such vulgar details, though, is the knowledge that the Elise offers a driving experience no rival can touch for intimacy and involvement. The 111R isn’t the purest form of the Elise – that honour still befalls the standard car, the slowest, cheapest, humblest in the range and the one that still best represents everything company founder Colin Chapman stood for. But for drivers wanting a slice of 21st-century comfort in a package that enhances rather than weakens the sporting integrity of the basic car, it could quite possibly be the best.

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