2011 Lotus Elise Reviews

The Lotus Elise is a track-ready car with minimal interior comforts, nearly no cargo space and a rock-hard suspension. It offers supercar acceleration and handling in a striking design.
The new Lotus Elise body has a fresh sculptured front, including a new bumper, front clam and access panel that combine to give the Lotus Elise a wider look with more road presence.

Power for the Lotus Elise is delivered through the high-tech and reliable 1.8-liter four-cylinder, 16-valve engine from Toyota. Lotus engineers designed an ultra precise shift linkage mechanism for fast, positive gear shifts, transforming the transmission into the perfect tool for harnessing every ounce of the Elise’s performance potential.

The 2011 Lotus Elise SC has a power increase over the standard Elise from 189 hp to 218 hp (15 percent) and torque increase from 133 lbs.-ft. to 156lbs.-ft. (17 percent) via an Eaton rotor pack non-intercooler supercharger designed especially for the Elise. The entry level Lotus Elise weighs 1,931 lbs., making it one of the lightest fully homologated sports cars in the world.

The 2011 Lotus Elise has slightly updated styling and minor feature availability updates. A new Lotus Elise? For the time being, the Lotus Elise continues to deliver supercar performance without the supercar price. The resulting acceleration and handling makes the "Lotus Elise" one of the most entertaining sports cars on the market.

Creature comforts also fall by the wayside, as common amenities like power steering, a glove box, cruise control, vanity mirrors and power seats are not even offered as options.
In terms of exhilaration, the Lotus Elise reigns supreme.

The 2011 Lotus Elise is a two-seat roadster that is offered in two main trim levels. The Elise SC adds a supercharger, rear spoiler and unique wheels. However, it lacks the base model's leather seating, iPod interface and extra sound deadening; these can be added back with the Touring Pack. A Sport package is available for either Lotus Elise and adds unique wheels, traction control (already standard on the base Elise), Brillstein dampers and sport seats. Stand-alone options include paint protection film, black-painted wheels and diffuser, a limited-slip differential and a selection of limited and lifestyle paint colors.

A special Roger Becker Edition Elise debuts for 2011, honoring the recently retired head of Lotus vehicle engineering.
Every Lotus Elise is powered by a 1.8-liter inline-4 Toyota engine (Yamaha did the actual engineering). The Elise SC is rated just slightly less at 20/26/22 mpg.

Since the lightweight Lotus Elise has been designed for all-out performance, safety equipment is as minimal as federally mandated rules allow.

In Edmunds brake testing, the previous Lotus Elise SC with the Sport package came to a stop from 60 mph in a very short 110 feet.
The 2011 Lotus Elise interior has everything you need and nothing you don't. Weight savings are taken to extremes with the Lotus Elise, as even the passenger seat lacks any sort of fore/aft adjustment.