Certified Benz & Beemer Compares 2005 Lotus Elise VS 2005 Acura NSX Near Scottsdale, AZ

Both the Elise and the NSX have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags and four wheel antilock brakes.

The Elise’s corrosion warranty is 3 years longer than the NSX’s (8 vs. 5 years).

The camshafts in the Elise’s engine are driven by a hardened steel chain, with no maintenance needs. The NSX’s camshafts are driven by a rubber belt which eventually needs to be replaced. If the NSX’s cam drive belt breaks the engine could be severely damaged when the pistons hit the opened valves.

As tested in Car and Driver the Lotus Elise is faster than the Acura NSX (manual transmissions tested):

The Elise gets better fuel mileage than the NSX (23 city/27 hwy vs. 17 city/24 hwy).

The Elise stops much shorter than the NSX:

The Elise handles at 1.06 G’s, while the NSX-T pulls only .89 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Elise goes through Road & Track’s slalom 10.5 MPH faster than the NSX (72.6 vs. 62.1 MPH).

The Lotus Elise may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 1200 to 1250 pounds less than the Acura NSX.

The Elise is 2 feet, 1.2 inches shorter than the NSX, making the Elise easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The Elise’s entire steering wheel hub sounds the horn, facilitating hitting the horn in an emergency. The NSX has two small spoke buttons. These buttons can be hard to reach in an emergency.