New Car Prices and Reviews

Lotus has been eyeing the tag of “World’s Cleanest Sports Car” with the facelifted Elise and has clinched it with the new entry-level 1.6-litre model’s confirmed emissions figure of 149 g/km of CO2. With that, Lotus says the Elise has the lowest CO2 output for its performance level for any gasoline sportscar in the world.

The Toyota sourced 1ZR-FAE 1.6-litre engine with Valvematic and Dual VVT-I produces 134 bhp and 160 Nm and is paired to a six-speed manual gearbox. While that may seem like not much, the Elise is a featherweight at 876 kg, and performance figures of 6.5 seconds from 0-100 km/h and top speed of 200 km/h are respectable.

Compared to the old shape Elise S, this new entry model displaces 200 cc less, has one more gear ratio, emits 16% less CO2 and is over 23% more frugal. The extra cog helps in the 19.9 km/l extra urban (highway) consumption, and the Elise 1.6 has a big range of 800 km on a tank of fuel. Aerodynamics have been improved by 4% over the old shape as well.