Lotus Elise S

I owned a Lotus Elise S from new for 3 years and ran it as my day to day low distance commuting car, backed up by a second car - a big family estate. The handling and performance are well documented and as you'd expect - this review is more about the day to day practicalities. There's enough room in the boot for basic luggage and shopping. I never had any problems with reliability. Mine came with air con and leather seats etc on the S trim. S eats were fine and worth the extra for the leather. The aircon is necessary for winter driving but inadequate - the small cabin fogs up big time; without air con you need to the window open to demist, and the aircon itself is woefully underpowered. The only real downer on this car however for me was - everyone else on the road. The low height makes it invisible in the side mirrors of 4x4s and vans, and I had many incidents where I was reversed into or cut up because of this. If you do get hit, the fibreglass crumples adn you are in for a big repair job. Having said all that, the car is a real charmer - huge joy of ownership, and a dream on a sunny day with the top off.