The two biggest surprises of all?

First big surprise is this, steering is actually not as stiff and heavy as I was expecting. You completely forget that this car lacks power steering because it is in fact, about as firm as the Integra Type R. The steering wheel is loads smaller and the general feel of the drive is immensely different since you're sitting so amazingly low to the ground (seat is literally bolted onto the floor) with your legs stretched out. But steering feels incredibly similar to the Integra Type R. More of a tribute to the Type R rather than a poor thing about the Elise. Taking turns a bit more aggressively yields a result which has the Elise steering feel a bit better. It's only then that the differences become more obvious. And parking the car immediately reminds you that this is indeed manual steering.

I remember driving the S2 Lotus Exige, and the steering on that was immensely stiffer, harder and firmer. More communicative but a lot less easy to live with. The Elise is truly an amazing compromise. I used to think that Exige is for the track, and the Elise is for the road. But dare I say if the Exige has been made a little more compliant than it's possible to even say that the Exige is a weekend road car, and the Elise is a weekday daily drive. It's that good.

The second, and most unbelievable surprise of all - is the ride. I cannot believe i'm even saying this, but it's actually compliant - REALLY compliant. As in, besides the fact that you sit lower to the road, i'd say it's as compliant as the Integra Type R, and almost as compliant as the EVO X.