I wouldn't do it, but thats just my opinion. the Elise is better as a daily driver than the Exige is and I don't use mine everyday. I have a 4Runner for everyday use.

if you get an Exige S for daily driving, you'll need different tires for winter snows and you'll have to be sure not to rub the front clam on accumulated snows and ice as it $5k to replace one.

Here's a few images that's popular to show for people considering a Lotus for winter use:





Also - winter salt in Chicago WILL eat aluminum which the Elise/ Exige is made of. You'll have very little storage room and no rear window visibility. No rear defroster for the Elise.

Just food for thought.

 

Yeah, that's pretty much as I figured. I wasn't sure about the aluminum, so thanks for pointing that out.

I could probably just pick up an elise and have enough left over for a decent daily driver.

Just to pick your brain more: How easily damaged are the front and rear clams? You do any parallel parking with it?

 

Yes, a lot of people were not sure about salt eating aluminum but after a few have tried to use it during winter, the start of corrosion was noticed on the frame and suspension arms.

The front and rear clams are made of fiberglass and its easy to crack them as the Elise/Exige really has no bumpers. The latest Elise/Exige has rear 'bumpettes' that look pretty ineffective.

I don't parallel park with my car - too many horror stories of damage that comes from doing just that. Then again, my car is not a daily driver. I supposed if you were to use it as such, you will find yourself in a situation where you have to parallel park, just be aware that a lot of people may misjudge where they are at with their car since your car is very low and may damage your car.

Good luck in your choice, i do know of one Lotus driver around Chicagoland that uses his car daily. So it can be done. I do not know if he plans to use it during this coming winter.

 

Thanks for the reply. Certainly plenty to think about before jumping into a purchase.

 

here's the rear view out of the Exige:

 

haha, I know. I love it

I've been looking at them, trying to get an idea of what I'd want to do to it. Seems like the lotus community frowns upon anything other than performance or weight reduction mods.

I feel like if I put a reverse camera, or a nice stereo in it, I'd be shunned.

 

Other people have done this, some are long-time owners of Lotus cars and they've added reverse cameras to the Exige. Luckily I can see pretty well out the back of my Elise so most Elise owners don't need this reverse camera mod.

if you don't go overboard with the stereo mod its 'acceptable' to most owners.

I wouldn't worry about what others think, if you bought it, its your car and your free to do whatever you like. I would suggest a test drive.

 

So true. I do see a test drive in my future. I just need to do a bit more research, otherwise I'll have serious buyer's remorse for sure. I guess it's that way with any big ticket item. I know if I go test drive one; I'll probably fall in love and walk out with one.

As for the stereo, I think a small sub, amp, replace the stock speakers, and a decent headunit are about as far as I would go. Finding a place for the sub and amp is a going to be a challenge I'm sure. Hence the need for more research.

Anyways, thanks for your replies. Hopefully sometime in the near future I'll be able to brag about taking my lotus out for a weekend ride. :D

 

When you get to the point where your ready for a est drive - the local Chi-town dealer is now in Westmont, IL located in the same building as the Lamborghini dealership. They recently moved facilities from West Chicago.

Ask for Jim Nuccio, actually any of the Nuccios brothers are great people to do business with. Good luck to you in your decision.

 

Yeah, part of the debate is whether to go new or used. I'm leaning more towards the used as it's usually better financial sense to buy autos used. But then again, nothing like the smell of a new car...

 

Used makes sense but if you time it right like I did you can get a great deal on a new one. Your right, nothing like a new car and knowing its history...

 

took some rolling shots, more shots to come:

 

I couldn't imagine the Elise corroding too badly. There many other cars out there made from aluminum. well, I'd say they may not see to much winter driving either, but they are out there

 

I had a chance to take some slow shutter speed pics last night:

 

I agree that it won't corrode too badly but it will corrode. Any car exposed to salt will have corrosion no matter how well you try to clean it out afterwards.
I bought my Elise with the intent of it being the summer street and track car and have a mid size SUV for bad weather days. In my opinion using the Elise/Exige as a daily driver just won't work for the chitown area, especially if you have a family and kids to bring around like I do.

 

So while I was in San Fran, I decided to stop by the Tesla Roadster show room and take a look. This car is based off the Lotus Elise, except that it is a totally electric car. Specs below:

$109,000
0-60 3.8 seconds
240 Mile Range
All Electric

 

^ Thanks for the Tesla pics!

Looks cool.

I know there was a Tesla in Chicago earlier this year being used for demo purposes. One of the Lotus guys saw it and snapped pics.

I heard it will really help if you had 220V available in your house. I do by coincidence to run my air compressor.

They had to modify the Elise frame to be slightly larger.

Only thing is the price and the weight of the Tesla. It is heavy and bigger compared to the Elise.

 

wow. for that money, I'll take a gas version please with more fun to boot

 

I think for now it's one of those "If you have to ask, you can't afford it" type of things. I don't think anyone buying this car is really comparing it to anything else. It's more like "I have the money, I want to own one of the first production electric sports cars".

 

it's also not one of those cars that can sit around or the battery will discharge...lol