DRIVEN: Lotus Teaches Us Its Possible To Be CLEAN And Have FUN

TimesOnline reports:

It is a sign of the times that what Lotus is crowing about with this new Elise is not its handling, power or how much fun it is to drive, but its emissions. Historically such matters would have concerned Lotus not at all, but these days the notion of a sports car being in the same emissions category as a 1.4-litre Peugeot 207 and yet can pull away from anything this side of a supercar down a winding road is compelling. And that is what the third generation Elise is capable of.

First the bad news: its engine has shrunk from 1.8 to 1.6 litres, and while its power output remains at 134bhp, it has less torque at its disposal and a few extra kilos to carry, so it’s slightly slower, requiring six seconds to hit 60mph instead of the 5.7 seconds of old. On the other hand, emissions have tumbled from 179g/km to 149g/km, making the Elise almost the cleanest petrol-powered sports car of its type in the world, not counting the substantially slower Morgan 1.6 Sport. It’s frugal, too, its 45mpg bettering that of a Renault Clio with an engine of the same size but less power...

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Joe_Limon - 4/25/2010 6:58:30 PM

+1 Boost

I would want to try one of these cars at an autocross, they are fun events where power does little to help your times.

Agent00R - 4/25/2010 7:16:34 PM

+1 Boost

Absolutely, supposed to handle on rails.

Problem 1: I do not fit.

JUGNU - 4/26/2010 8:10:14 AM

+1 Boost

That front fascia especially headlights now look a lot like Ferrari California's.

JUGNU