[looney]

having had both the K series and 100kw (sorry i wrote 90kw above, i was working off a very stretched memory these days).

there is little difference in them in terms of driving feel, the extra power of the toyota engine probably offset the weight because the later car had aircon airbags etc.

all in all i'd say a 2006 elise S is a far more resolved car than the earlier one as it has a revised dash, the basic toyota motor is a good all rounder and bulletproof etc.  I was never a fan of the 141kw motor, it's no fun ringing the engines neck to 8k rpm when it just felt like you were stressing the engine the whole time. My Porsche GT3 revved to 8k rpm and would sing, and the car would be like a bull at a gate wanting to do it, but in the Elise i find the motor just felt like you were thrashing it.

as mentioned above, if you could stretch the SC would be the best choice, but given that you're looking at a N/A elise the 06 S is more resolved than early cars, but they're all great fun to drive and will all provide you an equal sized grin