The handling is already very, very good as long as it is dry. I was quoting my buddy from America here. He also drives an Elise but he is very special and very demanding. He criticized that the Toyota engine is a bit high. And that the Elise is strictly speaking not a mid-engine car because the engine is placed almost above the rear axle. But my Elise can do much more than I can.
My Elise is from 2007, first year of construction with ABS but still without airbags. With the tuning (Rotrex charger) I had reliability problems from time to time. But that's not Lotus's fault. All by myself.
The car has only run 55.000 km. Everything is very solidly built. My clutch is reinforced and I have bigger brake discs, at about 230 HP instead of the original 136 HP, 1ZZ Toyota engine.
Everything that turns and moves is very reliable, brakes, wheel bearings, door hinges door fit, roof etc. A special praise to the Probax seats. Not adjustable except front and rear and immediately very comfortable over long hours. The gearshift from Toyota is quite good. You only have to place a water hose a little out of the way of the gear linkage.
