Long time gone: the hard-core enthusiast's dream car has arrived

摘要

If you've paid attention last several years, you know the Lotus Elise. Perhaps you've lusted for one. We have now touched, smelled and driven the federalized Elise on U.S. soil. The first new Lotus in the United States in 14 years is everything we expected and most of what we hoped for. The 2005 Elise weighs less than a subcompact and feels as rigid as sports cars that cost twice as much. Its engine sits two feet over your shoulder, in front of the rear axle, and you can't match its power-to-weight ratio for the money. Zero to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds, 150-mph top speed - hose are almost supercar track numbers, with an honest 25 mpg. The Elise has bigger brakes than luxury sedans that weigh twice as much. On track day it will keep the corners of your mouth pinned to your ear lobes, and it is not bad at all if you drive it to get somewhere. We would say it's cute in a Pokemon fashion, but we'll leave that up to you. If it looked like a Radio Flyer, we wouldn't care. It's that much fun.