- Elise weighs at 723kg, Sports
Spider weighs at 955kg
;
- Elise takes 5.5sec to finish
0-60mph, Sports Spider
needs 7.4sec ;
- Elise provides the crispest
handling, involving control
and comfortable ride, Sports Spider performs strong only on grip.
- Elise has a hood ( although
not
electric ), Sports
Spider has no rain protection, nor windscreen ( except the right hand
drive
version ).
- Moreover, the Sports Spider
is
some 40% more expensive
than Elise.
.
So, what motivates Renault to
build such a car
? Firstly, when Renault unveiled its prototype in several years ago,
there
was no Elise, Z3, SLK, Boxster, Alfa Spider, MGF....in the market, and
the strong reaction from the motor show leads to an estimation that it
would be popular. Obviously, such prediction is over-optimistic.
Secondly,
since it was designed to be built in small numbers, the project will
not
cost too much, even result in loss.
I personally hate Sports Spider
very much, not
only because it is inferior to many rivals, but also because it leads
to
the death of my favourite car, Renault Apline A610. After many years of
disappointing sales, its production in Alpine factory was terminated in
favour of the production of Sports Spider. Now, with the disappointing
sales of Sports Spider, Renault may regret that decision.
