Elise moves up to Scotland

The 19^th of Dec saw a major change in the life of the Elise as it once again moved up to live in Scotland and therefore to see service on some proper roads once more. Having not moved since the end of August I charged the battery, bought a tax disk and set off on the 250 miles schlep to just outside Edinburgh, stopping first for a morning’s work at the orifice. Gulp. All was well in the morning with the exception of the windscreen washer bottle that has lost its seal. After lunch I fuel up and head north. The first good news was that the change of fuel filler hoses seemed to have solved the fuel smell, which was getting very bad.

Bit of road dirt

Anyway, earplugs in and it was a nice cruise up the M6 and M64 until boredom struck at Moffet and I dived off to have a run at one of my favourite roads, the A708 Moffat to Selkirk. Heavy rain, darkness and a long time out of the car led to steady start but soon the pace was picked up and I was reminded about all the good things about the Elise. That mini LMC race-car effect given by the single wiper and view down the front arches; the usability of the 160 engine; the knowledge of its limits and the precision of the steering. Magic. An hour later I was home and to the surprise of my folks, without the aid of the AA man.

I have since been out in the car twice over Xmas, both times for short blasts checking out the local East Lothian roads. Going from Manchester to Scotland has once again transformed ownership of this silly little car. Gone from not making much sense and being a bind to own (at times) to feeling just right again. It felt like it needed more power on the M60 but on the roads it was designed for it is just about perfect. The paintwork aint going to last long on these winter roads, but what the hell, this is what ownership is all about.