mmarshall

I did one on the 2006 M35X AWD
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...ht=review+m35x

kit cat

iTrader: (6)

I got to ride in my friend's Exige from Chicago to Indianapolis b/c he needed some work done (Ford Focus rental car to Chicago, woot) but the ride wasn't that too bad actually....or maybe I just went numb after a while. I would love to have an Exige for the track if I my driving skills were anywhere near that good that I need a Lotus.

and the stereo...might as well ditch that thing and install an intercom.

mmarshall

The Elise's ride isn't terribly bad until you hit sharp bumps...but then you KNOW it. It is about on a par with the Mitsubishi Evo's, which is also miserable over bumps, though the Evo's wheelbase, of course, is a lot longer than the Elise's, and it is heavier.


The stereo, I agree with you, is junk. It has odd, overcomplex controls (such as the lateral, dotted thumbwheel for volume), and cannot compare with the stereos in the better Japanese vehicles.

spwolf

you reviewed that car while only revving the engine up to 5500 rpm? eh.

rai

I have yet to read the review, am saving it for later, I'm sure you did a great job as usual.

I know you don't like to rev a new car, that's understood, but you can't get the full measure of a car at 70% rev range. I noticed when you tested the MDX you said it was not so powerful but you didn't get to the full-power band either.

When I test drove 2 MDXs they were demos with almost 1000 miles on them so I got to rev then engine out.

I own a S2000 (similar to the Elise) it's not too powerful and has most of it's power up high. When I was breaking it in had to keep it under 6000 rpms. It's not the same car as one that revs to 8900 rpms. Its like eating a fine meal but not being able to smell the food, you get only a partial effect of what it should be. Problem is when you shift at 5500 rpm you only get like 70% of the power and the next gear you're in the dead zone (you never get the good stuff).

thetopdog

Cool review I'm kind of surprised you liked the gearbox though, the shifter isn't that precise, although it does its job. I love almost everything else about the car though

The wheel does telescope if you get the 3LT package, it also comes with HUD, heated seats, Bose system and a bunch of other stuff, but its expensive

mmarshall

It was still a fairly new car, though the salespeople said you could go beyond the usual 4000-4500 with a new engine. You could tell that 5500 was right around the point where the variable valve timing was starting to kick in and boost the torque.

I don't usually redline the engine in a review. Consumer Reports generally doesn't either....so their 0-60 times aren't usually as quick as, say, Road and Track's or Car and Driver's.

I was also in fairly heavy traffic....you just can't get away from it in this region unless you go 100 miles out of town. This is one of the most congested regions in the country....like SoCal. So I couldn't drive the car like I was on a race track. I WAS able to drive the car hard enough to get a pretty good idea of its handling and acceleration, though...I would not have bothered writing a review if I hadn't.

mmarshall

The S2000's engine is notoriously peaky....more so than almost any other engine available in the American market. When it was first introduced, redline was a motorcycle-like 9000, peak HP was at 8600, and peak torque at 7600.
Subsequent versions have toned down the RPM's a little but are still WAY up there. The Toyota VVT-i engine in the Elise (also shared with the previous Matrix XRS, Celica GT-S, and Pontiac Vibe GT) is also peaky but not quite to that same extent.
Like I told spwolf above, traffic conditions, to some extent, prevented a full redline and full acceleration, but that is usually not the purpose of my reviews. For several reasons, I don't slam a car around to its limits....though I DID gave the Elise some SHARP cornering and some G's.....I wanted to see if the stories about the car's great handling are true (they are). One of the things I did was a quick 180 at an intersection (with clear traffic, of course) while keeping my speed up....I almost broke the rear end loose.
But if you are primarily interested in a car's extreme limits, then Car and Driver or Road and Track would probably be more to your liking than the reviews I do. I usually test vehicles in suburban driving, not on tracks like they do....which is the way that most of the mileage is put on today's vehicles.

mmarshall

I tested a 2006 model...the standard equipment/options list may be different for 2007 and 2008.

Yes, I did like the shifter and gearbox, not because it is Honda-precise (it isn't), but, because, compared to the Clunk-O-Matic trannies of earlier-generation Corvettes, the C6's transmission, IMO, was a huge improvement, just as the C5's was over the C4 and earlier models.
Same with the clutch. With many previous Corvettes, you had to have beefy left-leg muscles (and it was tiring in traffic); not so with the C6.

thetopdog

My Vette is a 2006, the options were pretty much the same for all the years of the C6

mmarshall

How do you like it? Do you agree with me that the C6's clutch and shift linkage are much better than previous Corvettes?

cpone

That was a great read Marshall.
I'll forward that on to my sales manager at work whom is buying the car for his wife.

The 2008 didn't change from the 2006 right?
Performance and styling wise that you know of?

thetopdog

I LOVE my car. Buying it was one of the best things I've done in my life, it puts a smile on my face every time I drive it

I'm only 23 so my previous experience with Corvettes is limited to a 5 minute test drive in a 97 last summer, so I really don't have anything to compare it to. From what I've heard from the guys on the Corvette forums, the C6's clutch and shifter are a small improvement over the C5, but a large improvement over what was in the C1-C4s

mmarshall

Yes.....I mentioned in the review that repairs were likely to be expensive on the many aluminum and fiberglass parts. And, as your friend found out, it doesn't take much of a curb to do damage on this ultra-low-slung car.

rai

Nice review. I have not driven one yet but would like to. But I suspect like you it would be hard for me to get in/out. I'm 6-3 and an old guy also (41).

I think this is a great car to have on the market. We always say 'the US doesn't get the great cars like the rest of the world' but then when they do come to the US they don't sell so it's a catch 22.

I have a S2000 so I know about tight and hard to get into cars and I'm sure the Elise is a lot worse. I agree it'd be nice to have a car that's designed for the 6-3 big guys like me. I'm sure it'd be easy as pie if the roof was off. Like you could just step into the car. Maybe if somebody owned one and just had it for sunny days it would be easier to live without the roof. I saw a special aftermarket roof that hinged up half and half so you could lift the top open before you get in. I don't know how much that would help but it was an expensive option like several thousand dollars.

Also the car has expensive to repair outer body parts that would make me more worried and it's difficult to lift the car (has to be done a certain way or it could fall off the lift which I have read about when some guy just wanted to change wheels the shop lifted the car and droped it right on its front.)

Overall a great car, but for me, I'd look at more real cars such as: Boxster S, Cayman, and Corvette that probably are much easier to live with.