C'est vrai que sur la partie purement mécanique ça doit être globalement bon sur l'Elise S3, mais il reste des petits soucis par-ci par-là, notamment électroniques. Leur remarque est générale sur la réputation de Lotus, et sur la variabilité de la fiabilité d'un exemplaire à l'autre compte tenu du petit volume produit et de la fabrication à la main.
And now for the elephant we’ve been tiptoeing around as it sits in the middle of the room and makes itself comfortable: reliability. Yes, it’s the other Lotus trope, invoked about as often as the one about simplicity and lightness. Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious is the phrase used most often, and it’s fair to say that Lotus has a history of things breaking. These days, the engines are pretty bulletproof, the body’s aluminium, carbon-fibre and fibreglass construction means that corrosion isn’t much of a concern, and there isn’t a panoply of active tech to go haywire when you least expect it. But this is still a low-volume, handbuilt car, with all that it entails. In our experience, issues tend to stem from the electrical system, but, being a hand-built car, your mileage may vary. Wildly.