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Lotus Elise S

Date: 23 August 2006

Category: Sports
Price: £23,767-£31,995
Key rival: BMW Z4

A Lotus Elise as a company car? As ridiculous as it may sound, the company has just launched its most fleet-friendly product, the Elise S, fitted with the 134PS 1.8-litre engine from Toyota's Celica.

A combined fuel consumption of 34.0mpg and sub-200g/km CO2 emissions don't normally mate with a 0-60mph time of less than six seconds, but the Elise is something of an individual because it's such a compact lightweight machine.

That means you're a bit shy on creature comforts, though, with aircon and traction control both on the options' list. You do get a single-slot CD player, but that's about it. No-one doing serious mileages would consider the Lotus, but it's the acceptable face of fun company cars, and as a perk or reward car it's great.

new elise-s.gif

The Elise is also almost peerless in terms of driving experience. The phrase kart-like handling is a cliche, but in this case it's too true to bypass, thanks to the low driving position and beautifully direct steering.

Getting in and out takes a bit of practice, but the sports seats are surprisingly comfy, and the Elise isn't as arduous as you'd think over long distances. However, it can be caught by gusts of wind at high speed.

134PS might not sound like a lot, but it's at least adequate when you consider that this car is almost 50% lighter than a family hatchback. Although drivers familiar with the 189PS Elise 111R might miss the extra poke, the S will see off most rivals at the traffic light grand prix.

It's more practical than might be expected, too, with the surprisingly useful boot located at the rear behind the engine. The roof has also been improved from early Elise models, and can now be removed in a matter of seconds, although you do have to store it loose in the boot, taking up a hefty proportion of the space.

This new model costs less than £24,000, and if your circumstances allow, it's certainly worth a look as no other car near its price has the same smiles-per-mile potential.



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