Lotus Elise S – Low on fat and now light on price

The new Lotus Elise S is now available in Australia and the good news is that with a retail price starting at $69,990, it is the cheapest Elise we have ever seen. Prior to the Elise S, the keys to a new Elise would set you back around 100k.

The Elise S comes with the Toyota Corolla's 1ZZ-FEVVTi 1.8 litre engine which includes variable valve timing and manages to rustle up a neat 100kW and 172Nm.

The Elise S also gets the same suspension settings as its more expensive brother the Elise R. 0-100kph is taken care of in a claimed 6.1 seconds which is not super quick these days but that doesn't mean the Elise S isn't a serious performance car. According to Motor magazine the Elise S is a consummate handler.

The Elise is one of the most malleable, transparently surefooted playthings on the road today, mollycoddling and encouraging the novice while delighting and rewarding the more experienced.

This is one performance car that has always been more about ability than raw power. Lightweight and minimalism was the core philosophy behind Colin Chapman’s cars and his legacy continues to live on. As a result the 830kg Elise although down slightly on power will no doubt prove itself to be a serious giant killer on the race track.

Given that we are used to seeing the cheapest of the Lotus products knocking on the door of 100k the new Elise S looks like exceedingly good value provided you don’t work out the price per kilogram.