Honda beat vs lotus elise

[JamesJT]

Took both my toys out on Sunday, one after the other. He are my observations.

1 Honda sounds better
2 Honda has better gear shift
3 Honda has better brakes
4 The elise is so fast that I was constantly comming up behind slower traffic, where as the Honda is so slow (even driven flat out and sidways) that slower traffic really isn't a problem.

4-0 to the honda then.

James

[Wh1teLeopard]

Nice review. Thank you for sharing ;)

[JamesJT]

Makes me wonder - what's the point in owning anything faster than a Beat purely for fun on public roads?

[Wh1teLeopard]

For fun on track days? :p

[Bruce]

I'm sure the Elise will be better on track. (Unless it's a kart track...)

I am surprised by your point about the brakes. I find the feel is fine on the Beat, but overall braking performance seems poor. Are the Elise's brakes terrible or something?

Which Elise was it? Toyota engine/gearbox?

I would like to upgrade one day to either an Elise or a Tesla roadster.

B

[JamesJT]

Elise is a 1999 with 118bhp, de-cat pipe, green stuff pads and Yoko advan all round.

Maybe I just chose the wrong pads to upgrade to. I am sure I should have stuck with origonal tyres. Yoko advans are 10mm wider than standard on front, 20mm wider on rear. Until they are really hot (which only happens on a hot day after a 15 mile thrash) all you get is power understeer.

Maybe the lesson here is don't modify your car.

J

[wallace]

For fun on track days? :p

yep,

elise is made for track


i think James meant that Beat's brakes have better feel which is normal. Lotus big brakes with no servo give people strange feeling and some find pedal not responsive enough(in stopping terms)giving wooden feel. You have to get familiar with it.

I find BEAT braking performance poor when pushed hard and you can't compare it to Lotus

Elise has better calipers and bigger discs with forced air cooling which makes me cry everytime i look at Beats front setup but we are talking about two different cars/

[JamesJT]

Your right, elise brakes are bigger and more powerful but the pads I've chosen need to be warm and the whole system (sans servo) does lack initial bite. On track you can keep pads warm 'cos you are nailling them for every corner and then the bite and feel get better too.

I still think the honda is better for road use as it's much more fun to drive upto and beyond the limit between 50 and 60mph than in a lotus at 70 to 80mph.

I could probably redress that if I fitted thinner tyres on my elise. Fact is more grip always means less fun. I spent £500 on those yokos and because it won't slide they still look brand new.

J

[marge602]

Never driven an Elise, but agree with the Beat being brilliant fun on public roads. It feels fast but obviously isn't(only a bad thing when overtaking) and is so involving it's a fantastic drivers car. Because it's not exactly a powerhouse, it's a doddle to hurl into bends and roundabouts half sideways without worrying about it biting you on the backside, and cos it's so throttle-adjustable your line can easily be played with to keep you "on the island". Then there's the noise, and the low running costs, and the rarity value. It's a fantastic device, that's for sure.

Marge