Lotus Elise V Caterham Seven

What The Experts Say...

Pat Thomas of Kelvedon Lotus (01775 725457) has seen them all over the decades and you’d think he’d prefer the Seven yet he likes the Elise much better, believing it’s more civilsed, useable, safer and as much fun. – just what a Seven for today should be, he feels. Having said that, Pat says the majority of S1s on sale are shabby due to lack of care and abuse at track days. “Four thousand miles on the track are quite different to those on the road”. 

Models In Depth...

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  Lotus Elise

  Rating: 8 / 10

  Price: £6000-£13,000

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Lotus launched the Seven in 1957 – and then took almost 40 years to introduce its spiritual successor, but it was worth the wait. The Elise is just the sort of car the Seven would have evolved into over the decades, yet still adhering to Colin Chapman philosophy of “just add lightness”. Yet rather than being proud of the original Seven, the forward thinking founder of Lotus would be appalled that this old sports car would still be so revered. We know which car he would have preferred if he were still around today – how about you?

Which one to buy

A matter of Age Concern?

It’s a fair assumption to say that buyers will have their heart set on only one of these vastly different cars, rather than pragmatically weighing up the pros and cons of the different eras. The Caterham appeals more to the traditionalist, irrespective of his or her age, who likes the classical feel and style of the Seven. In contrast, the Elise is aimed at the younger owner, perhaps buying his/her fi rst Lotus, who wants modern looks and design rather than a retro roadster. The third way would be a Caterham driver moving on to an Elise, who is after the same thrills but delivered in a different way. There’s no winner in the category, it’s a purely personal choice.

What’s the best to drive?

A question of character

These pair serve up enormous driving fun, like few other cars, but they go about it in different ways. So, really, it’s all about character. The Caterham is a classic rearwheel- drive performance tool, offering traditional handling traits, and sheer controllability, allowing it to be steered by both wheel and throttle, at whim. The Elise does a similar job but, being mid-engined, and single seater racer-like, is dartier and more sensitive on the limit. One has to say that the Seven is the friendlier, once the high grip levels have been breached, and will help the drive gather it all together. The Elise, by it’s mid-engined nature, can bite back if you’re not skilled enough in what to expect. Of course you have to say that, on both cars, these limits are what most sane drivers would never explore on the majority of roads, but on a track it’s a different matter.

Perhaps this is why both carmakers recommend a higher performance driving course, not simply to stay safe but also give tuition on how to get the best of these sensitive machines; both need to be driven by the fi ngertips for example. In terms of performance, this pair is evenly matched – it depends what engine is fi tted to a Caterham, but typically you are looking at a 0-60mph pace in six seconds or so. The aerodynamics of the 1950s-styled Caterham limit top-end pace, and top speed, if that matters.

The lightness of both machines enables commendable economy, particularly with the Elise, where up to 40mpg has been reported by owners on gentle runs – if that’s possible!

In its 1996 road test of the Elise, Autocar reckoned that the Lotus was “more fun than a Caterham”, but more recently reckoned that there was no better way of “experiencing the pure joy of motoring than in a Caterham”. Perhaps it depends upon the mood you are in because in terms of pleasure there’s nothing to split them.

Owning and running

Victory for the oldie

As you’d expect with a car that’s almost 55 years old, and still going strong, spares for Caterhams are no problem, either by the factory or by using components utilised at the time, such as Triumph front suspension on early Lotus/Caterhams for example, while the power train was essentially old school Ford before a flirtation with Vauxhall Astra power and then the effi - cient Rover K-Series engine. The Elise is more specialist and dearer to maintain and repair. If you like DIY spannering, then the Caterham is far more user friendly (you can still build one up at home, remember) than the Elise, where access to the engine and transmission on the latter are much more restricted.

Although it’s been a classic seemingly for ever, making money on a Caterham is not a given and this is simply because the design is still with us and brand new ones remain keenly priced. Unless you are looking at a Lotus Seven, values seem pretty static right now.

This is not the case on the Mk1 Elise, where values have risen sharply over the past couple of years and top cars have been snapped up by foreign buyers. In fact, concours Mk1s are being valued more highly than the Mk2, which is the better car!

Both cars are favourites for track days and so many have been shunted; it’s far more serious and costlier on the Elise however, thanks to its special composite build, so beware of poorly repaired cars. Incidentally, Lotus offers a factor repair and restoration service.

Whether or not it’s because owners are more diligent about servicing, but the K-Series engines fi tted to both cars seems to fare more reliably than in an MGF – or are owners not cribbing so much about the cost of head gasket failures?