Scottish Elises

for a friend...

who has asked me whether to buy a 2.2 and supercharge it or go for the turbo. He has £10-11k to spend, and is looking to buy at the end of the year.

Some people prefer the 2.2 but I would go for the turbo.
His budget will not reach a turbo though which go for about £15K+

Wot's NA?


*girl

Sassy wrote:Wot's NA?


*girl

Normally Aspirated

It means the intake is not Turbo or Supercharged - just breathes normally.

*boy

Now I'm not just saying this in a price-preservation manner, but he will need to be prepared to travel to pick up a good 2.2 for that mondo. Mind you, come winter the prices are generally weaker on cars like these.

As G says, Turbos are minimum £15k so probably out of your mate's budget. They're also a bit heavier and a wee bit softer to compensate. It depends on what your friend is after. The surge when the Turbo kicks in can be addictive, but the very same surge mid-corner has caused a good few of them to be written off.

A 2.2 would be a corking option and is so rewarding "out of the box." But then, driving any VX/Elise variant after coming from snoozemobile territory will prove immensely satisfying.

The Supercharger delivers near straight power/torque lines (as opposed to curves), I will try dig them out from somewhere. But it's not cheap. Add on another £4k-ish. That might be better spent on Speedlines and Nitrons!

By the way I own a 2.2 and am in no way biased!

11 grand would get a very good S1 Elise........
I know where my money would go

I do at least know what normally aspirated means, I'm not *that* much of a girl!! Just didn't click with the NA initials.

He doesn't like the look of the Elise ( ) so that's out. His other option is an Impreza or Evo. I've told him they're totally different propositions from a VX, but TBH I think he mostly just wants a fast head-turning car over being concerned with handling.

I'll tell him to look for 2.2s and see what comes up.

Sassy if your friend wants a look round a vx id be happy to help

Thanks for the offer but now I've told him he doesn't have enough for a turbo he's rethinking his options!

Looks like he's heading down the scooby/evo road...

Sassy wrote:Thanks for the offer but now I've told him he doesn't have enough for a turbo he's rethinking his options!

Looks like he's heading down the scooby/evo road...

Westfield?

Sassy wrote:I do at least know what normally aspirated means, I'm not *that* much of a girl!! Just didn't click with the NA initials.

He doesn't like the look of the Elise ( ) so that's out. His other option is an Impreza or Evo. I've told him they're totally different propositions from a VX, but TBH I think he mostly just wants a fast head-turning car over being concerned with handling.

I'll tell him to look for 2.2s and see what comes up.

Tell him to stick with a scooby. He'll just crash a VX if he's not interested in handling.

shooomer wrote:

Sassy wrote:
Looks like he's heading down the scooby/evo road...

Paul

total filth

shooomer wrote:

Sassy wrote:
Looks like he's heading down the scooby/evo road...

Paul

I know Integrale's were not renowned for their aerodynamics, but that roof is something else - must slow it down....

D'ya think the turbo is a KKK?

As said before, you'd need around 16K for a VXT, early 2.2s are starting to approach the 10K mark, but still few and far between. The turbo is a fair bit quicker for road driving due to the extra torque, but not as big a difference on track as the NA is lighter and has better handling.

I'd be very wary if anyone chooses a VX for its head-turning ability, the VX forum is full of tales of owners who have been bitten... Evo/Impreza will do more of the work for a driver, so probably a better bet, but I hope he's aware of the running costs