Hey all,
I just responded to some members asking me for a comparison. Since I worked hard at this write-up, I figure I share it with more members in this section of the forum.

COMFORT
The Crossfire is certainly a grand touring car compared to the Elise. The Crossfire is quiet on the inside and you can easily listen to the radio in complete enjoyment. The Elise on the other hand, was quiet terrible at highway speeds. The radio needed to be blasted to hear it simply because the wind buffeting was insane with this particular Elise. This was because this Elise had a fully custom made gullwing roof (in other words, the soft top was converted to a t-top). The panels were not completely flush with the windshield housing and this helped create additional wind buffeting at speed, to the point where I couldn't tell if the windows were open or not (no joke). This gullwing roof truly limited my enjoyment of this drive as the wind noise was terrible. With the factory soft top removed and the sun shining in your face, the vehicle is transformed into a wonderful sunny day gem that doesn't seem as noisy as with the top on (because noises from inside the car are free to escape into the air). The sound of the Elise's engine from the cockpit is much louder than in the Crossfire, and you can hear every rock that the sticky tires kick-up onto the aluminum tub beneath your butt. With an exhaust the Elise's engine overtakes most every other sound, including the radio. Interestingly, the Elise has a practical cupholder, the Crossfire does not! The Elise has a surprisingly large storage area behind the seats, but a lack of a true center console means my right arm can't rest, unless I put it on my passenger's leg. You sit shoulder against shoulder with your passenger. Shifting into fifth most passenger's left knee was brushed. I've had 5'11 215 lb men sit next to me in the car, but they didn't like entering and they looked ridiculously cramped sitting in it. I was fine in the passenger's seat when I've been driven in these cars. My only complaint is that the passenger's seat is NOT adjustable and you sit so low in the car that it strains your ankles to put your feet flat on the ground and the footrest is too far away for me to comfortably use it (I'm 5'8). On the driver's side, an Elise's pedal box is set right of center, which is something you notice once you start driving. The Crossfire's pedal position is normal to the point where you don't notice the positioning. What really hurts the Elise in my opinion is the fact that the driver cannot relax their feet comfortably. In the Crossfire, and in any other car, you can stretch out the foot that's not pressing a pedal and rest it in a comfortable position. The only place you can put your left foot when not in use is on the small footrest that gets tiring after a while...there's no space to comfortably put your foot elsewhere.


RIDE and HANDLING
Enough about the roof, let's talk handling. The Crossfire had good handling, with lots of grip and minimal understeer when driving enthusiastically in the twisties. But, it is no comparison to the Elise. The Elise is quicker upon turn-in and extremely communicative about what the tires are doing with the road. Every bump on the highway translated to a "kick-back" of the steering wheel, which reminded me of riding quads when I was younger.

Interestingly, my autocross experience has given me a new understanding of this car. Frankly, if I was assigned to chase a vehicle in front of me, I'd probably choose the Crossfire over the Elise. Why? The Elise is very weird in that when entering a corner too fast the front can COMPLETELY loose traction IMMEDIATELY. This hails to the Crossfire which will turn into the corner and THEN understeer. The Elise will simply not turn at all and then understeer. Luckily I learned this at a huge parking lot. Of course, I will say that I've never driven a sport-pack car on a track but I've heard this tendency is fixed with this package. To me this seems like fine example of a slow in, fast out car. My driving skills need improvement though.

Surprisingly, when pushing the Elise to the limit, body roll is much more than expected. The lighter weight allows for softer suspension settings, which makes body roll more prominent. The sport pack probably does a better job here.

The ride on the Elise with both suspension packages is smooth until you get to a bumpy road. Whereas the Crossfire has better dampers to cushion the hit, the Elise's lack of suspension travel makes it easy to bottom-out. Driving this car you have to be well aware of the front end. It's lower than the Crossfire so I am extra careful about spotting potholes and such. On some roads the vibration coming from the Elise was so bad that you can hear it through my voice when I hold a note. Vibrations and jitters are a constant in the Elise, whereas in the Crossfire they are virturally non-existent.


BRAKING
No comparison, sorry. The Elise is lighter and the front end does not dive as much as the Crossfire, giving it better control under heavy braking. The quicker steering of the Elise may unsettle the car if you are jerky with the wheel. And, at all speeds this car seems to have better engine braking than the Crossfire (also due to low weight)


ENGINE/TRANSMISSION
The Crossfire's engine is a mid-range animal. I loved the pull you got from about 3,000 rpm all the way to 5,000 in 2nd and 3rd gears. This engine has TORQUE. The Elise on the other hand, does NOT, at least not to the same extent as the Crossfire. If you really have to push it, the angry soccer mom in her minivan flooring it will keep up with you if you are not above 6,200 rpm's. Below this, torque is above average simply because of the low weight, but it's not an overwhelming characteristic as in the Crossfire. It's a top-end powerplant. But, on the highway the Elise had more top-gear puill than expected, easily getting to higher speeds despite the torque-less engine. Light weight has it's advantages! On the other hand, both cars get great fuel economy. I used to get 30 mpg on the highway in the Crossfire, and probably between 33-35 in the Elise, amazingly.

The Crossfire has a short throw shifter that requires minimal movement of the gearstick. On the Elise, the gearshift does have a farther throw, but it's still a good piece. The Crossfire's movement is more rubberized and muted, whereas the Elise is sort of cheap sounding during the shift and mechanical. I've grown to like the Elise's gearshift action over time though. You shift the Elise using the palm of your hand and the movement of your arm, whereas in the Crossfire it's a simple flick of the wrist. I say the Crossfire's is better from a movement standpoint, but I never had to perform a slow 1-2 gearshift to smoothly change gears in the Elise. This is because the Elise's flywheel is much lighter, allowing quicker, more fun upshifts and downshifts. The pedals are much better placed for heel-toe as well.


TRUNK
Lastly, I have to say I am able to fit an amazing amount of stuff in the Crossfire's deep trunk. Surprisingly, I was able to fit a decent amount of stuff in the Elise as well, just not as much as the Crossfire. The Crossfire can easily hold the height of 3 stacked 5-gallon car wash buckets filled with detailing supplies. The Elise can only hold the height of one 2 gallon bucket. But, with the Elise you can put stuff into it's hips. Half of the trunk is hidden from view...it's all in the hips! I was able to fit a stuffed, standard size school book bag into the trunk without anybody seeing it...it all tucked neatly in the hip. I am happy to say, I am able to carry enough detailing equipment sans 5-gallon buckets to detail a car. I'd need to put some things in the rear compartment behind the seats as well, but I don't mind.


OVERALL
Frankly, it's a tough decision for me. The Crossfire is a fun, torque-happy, comfortable sports car you can drive every day without a hint of getting tired. On the other hand, the Elise's difficult ingress/egress, combined with a bumpy ride and noisy wind buffeting will eventually wear you down after extended periods in the car (at least that's what I realized). I've always wanted to own more hardcore cars than the Elise, but after driving one for a full day, I realized that comfort is more important than I thought. What really got to me was the fact that when I enter the Elise, my hand would support my weight on the side sill as I enter and exit the vehicle. After doing this multiple times during the day, my hand started to hurt, and I know it was because of the entry/exiting of the Elise. I've never had that problem in the Crossfire.

So, for those looking for an Elise as a daily driver, here's what I would ask yourself:
1. Do I like torque? You'll miss it in the Elise
2. Do I like attention? The Elise will get absolutely more attention everywhere you go, to the point where people will interfere with your life because you'll have to spend YOUR time during the day explaining the car to curious people.
3. How long is your commute? The longer the drive, the more you wish you had your more comfortable Crossfire
4. Do you get off work tired? If your line of work makes you physically exhausted, I do NOT recommend the Elise as a dd, as it is not a car that you can sit back, turn the music on, and listen to it in peace and quiet.

At the same time, the Elise will put big smiles on anybody who comes near it, rich, poor, young, old, men, women. The Elise will have you the driver grinning like a little boy when met with a curvy back road. And frankly, on a sunny warm day when all you want to do is drive, nothing quite makes the drive more fun than the Elise (with the top off, of course). And this is simply because all of the inconveniences are erased from your mind when all your doing is enjoying the act of driving.

Now it sounds like I'm saying...GO GET AN ELSE. But frankly, you can have 99% as much fun in the Crossfire. The only area where in my opinion the Elise is better is in absolute handling, styling, and attention. And seriously, the usable torque band of the Crossfire trumps the rare occassion where redlining the Elise is needed. Now, once we add a turbo to the Elise, end of story

Any questions? Please feel free to ask. Elise or Crossfire? It's up to you.

 

Interesting.

 

Good right up. Out of curiosity, are you comparing the elise to an N/A or an SRT-6? I was actually looking at one of these the other day, but I know very little about lotus. How hard are mechanical parts to come by for them?

 

I have always wondered, do Elise owners put "POWERED BY TOYOTA" stickers on their cars? If not, is that because the Lotus name has more cachet than Toyota.

 

Good read.

After reading the write up I think I'll stick with the XF.

 

Nice article, but since Golfdude hasn't checked in on the forum since last Valintines day, maybe he's found a new love.

 

LOL!! This article was comparing the n/a Crossfire with the n/a Lotus Elise without sport pack. Despite driving multiple n/a Lotus Elises, I never got the chance to drive one with the sport pack, only driven them without the sport pack. But, I have driven the Exige S 240, and that's oddly enough an entirely different animal, but I never driven the 240 enthusiastically...only driven into town and back!

I will say that after driving the Elise for over a week at one point, they really aren't that comfy. The palm of my left hand would start to hurt towards the end of the day because it was used to push on the sill to get me out of the car. And its a hard plastic so it's not that friendly on the body.

The Crossfire is long gone in my life...I now roll in a Civic Si...a completely different ride. No torque, all high end power! To this day I still forget to drop it into 3rd, instead of 4th like in the Crossfire sometimes.

 

Good to see you checking in, at least. You've been missed

 

Woo woo yea man things have been really busy around here and my notifications seem to never get to my inbox!

 

Excellent write up there mate.

Interesting too, I made the same comparisons when I test drove a Toyota powered Elise and very nearly bought one. Instead, I opted for the Crossfire for the very same reasons you describe. My Crossfire is a daily work horse and I couldn't have lived with an Elise day in day out.

If however I was just buying for a weekend toy, I would have gone for the Elise over the Crossfire without a doubt. I have never driven a car that handles as well as an Elise.

 

As much as i love the 2zz-ge in would have been great if the Elise came with a k20. There are a few turbo 2zz elises tearing up the street and track around here. 400 whp under 2000 lbs is money. They are also more of a toy car. Handles and brakes like no other. Just a bit underpowered from factory

 

As is the N/A Crossfire.

 

Nothin wrong with a Civic Si, I've been a "Honda Guy" ever since I purchased my first 1984 CRX. Probably would have bought a Honda S2k but I didn't fit, and wasn't that crazy about the styling.
But (as you said) they are completely different rides when compared to a Crossfire. Now if I ever find a perfectly stock NSX for the right price.

 

I thought they were Yamaha engines?

 

Golfdude

nice to hear from you, miss you around here in Harrisonburg, VA - yup! still have the Crossfire, have picked up a few swirl marks over the years, but still looks good! thanks for turning me on to the car! Still ginning, still love driving the Crossfire - now if I could find a 73 Lotus Eurpoa JPS!

 

MAKIII...Great to hear from you too!!! It's wonderful to see that you are still enjoying the Crossfire. I'm in NY now but when I make a trip down to VA I'll definitely come down and visit! Take your car to 33 West and you won't stop grinning for the rest of the day hehehehe. If you are seriously thinking about a '73 Europa I bet I can find one for you!!

DesertFox...I think the 2ZZ was engineered with help from Yamaha, as is the case with the LFA.

+fireamx...Oooo Honda's are cool as I am finding out. When I first got the car I didn't think I was ever going to enjoy driving this me too car, but it also has it's charm, especially when the needle goes pasts 6,200! The S2k feels slow compared to the Si....I was shocked when I drove one recently and noticed even less torque than the Si!! But the gearshift is to die for!

Holycrap...Lotus Elise + K20a = what Lotus should have done from the beginning. For $20k you can stuff one in an Elise, but at that price point you can go turbo with the 2zz and save at least $5k!

Bazzer...Thanks for the good word! With the way prices are going lately with used Elises having one in the garage may come sooner then expected!