Lotus Elise

The purest demonstration of why mid-engined balance matters: light, direct and talkative at speeds where heavier cars feel dull. Lotus built 35,124 of them between the Series 1 of 1996 and the end of production in 2021, so there is a deep pool of used cars and specialists who know them well. That focus is also the trade-off. Cabins are bare, getting in over the sills takes practice and there is little room for luggage, so it suits a second car better than an only one. The harder-edged Exige coupé is the alternative if you want a fixed roof.