We are told that the latest iteration of the Lotus Elise is something of a green car.
The base model, now called Lotus Elise instead of Lotus Elise S, has a 1.6-litre (known as the 1ZFR-FE) that’s cleaner burning and more frugal than the 1ZZ-FE 1.8-litre and yet – Lotus emphasizes – it’s no less powerful.
There’s no doubting its credentials. It does put out 47g less carbon dioxide per kilometre after all.
While this translates to significant tax advantages in the UK, the paying motorist in Singapore only enjoys a paltry $230 savings in annual road tax.
This isn’t very much in a car that costs $155,800 before COE.
Introduced alongside the Lotus Elise’s new engine are the cosmetic changes which involves a more aerodynamic nose (4 percent reduction in drag), fancier headlights, LED indicators in the wing, a bigger rear diffuser, new wheels, an engine bay cover that’s reminiscent of the Lotus Elise Mk 1 and deleting the Mk 2’s gills on the intakes.
The more pertinent question is whether the Lotus Elise still has its mojo. The 1.6 came from the Europe-only Toyota Avensis saloon and not derived from the 1.8.
Besides continuously varying the intake valve timing, the 1.6 also optimises the amount of valve lift for greater power and efficiency.
There’s a drive-by-wire set-up which enhances emission control as well as the possibility to have cruise control. (The logic of having snooze control in an Elise is loss on me.)
Also mysterious is the 16kg weight gain over the Elise S, tipping the scales at 876kg.
Drive-by-wire throttle is certainly less immediate than the 1.8’s cable links but otherwise, the new engine is superior, especially at the higher speeds where it’s smoother and freer revving.
But there’s no discernible “second wind” as you’d find in the Lotus Elise R.
Part of the appeal about the Lotus Elise S was how it was a more tractable car than the peaky Elise R which has been dropped from the line-up.
The 6-speed gearbox in the 1.6 may have ratios that were customised to suit the engine but the final drive is still tall, exposing the engine’s leaner low-end.
This means frequent downshifts like with the R in traffic.
This isn’t much of a hardship thanks to the very friendly clutch pedal, but the gates on the test car was slightly ill-defined, especially getting fifth.
In any case, a shorter final drive will almost certainly better the S’ performance numbers (it’s currently 0.4 seconds slower to 100km/h) at the cost of emissions.
Not having to fuss over cog changes constantly will also free up the driver to relish in the car’s handling, which should be the raison d’etre for choosing the Elise in the first place.
Lotus Elise 1.6
ENGINE 1598cc, 16-valves, inline-4
MAX POWER 136bhp at 6800rpm
MAX TORQUE 160Nm at 4400rpm
GEARBOX 6-speed manual
0-100KM/H 6.5 seconds
TOP SPEED 240km/h
PRICE INCL. COE $155,800 (as of September 2010)
Check out the Elise models
