is the Elise better than ever?
December 3rd, 2005When we heard the Elise was coming to the U.S. we got excited. But news that revsions would first be made concerned us; would we miss out on the car that made the name an icon as was the case with the original WRX, 3.0L M3, early Miatas etc.?
The news that Toyota would be supplying the engine came as a shock, but then again there was little to recommend the Rover sourced unit that had been used previously. Our main concern was that the ride/handling compromise and alertness of steering would be ruined by the larger wheel and tire complement. In their April 04 issue, evo assured us that we hadn’t missed anything…
“the most impressive ride and handling compromise since launch, the Elise is better than ever.”
(We welcome comments from anyone who has had the good fortune to drive both versions back to back as we have yet to drive a car we prefer on 17s over 16s – particularly a lightweight one).