As an owner of two Elises, I can chime in.
I asked before about 'perspective' - that is, when describing 'handing' and 'acceleration' what's the baseline? Someone used to driving a pickup all day is going to have a different perspective on 'handling' than someone who races shifter karts.
That said, the Elise is like having relations with Kate Beckinsale. After that, how can one go to a random everyday person?
. Seriously though - one can argue with the size, the difficulty of ingress/egress and the lack of creature comforts, but there's a reason that every auto enthusiast, owner, journalist, etc regards the Elise/Exige as the arguably some of the greatest handling cars EVER made. I'm not talking about in 2005, I'm talking about EVER. There really is nothing like the experience of throwing an Elise around a twisty country road or a proper road course. When I get an SS in spring, I'm sure the experience will pale, but that's ok. It's a different animal and half the price of what I just sold my '08 Elise for.
As far as comparisons, I've had my Elise parked to an Atom a few times (I know a local owner well). The Elise is tiny - and it dwarfs the Atom. Seeing an SS next to an Atom (which we'll be able to do at the next Supercar Saturdays in Chicago in May) will be eye opening. The SS is a VERY VERY wide vehicle and very front heavy. The Elise, is well, the Elise.
That said, the pics don't do it justice. As others note, I think the Elise is one of the sexiest car designs of recent memory. The fact that a car that you can buy for $32K ('05 NA model) has the looks of a super car (just in a pint size package) really is a feat to the work of the Lotus designers. The only issue with THAT pic is the color. It's called Graphite Gray. Nice color. On a BMW 5 series or a Tahoe you drive your kids to soccer practice in. The Elise is meant to wear skittles colors. My two were Saffron Yellow and Chrome Orange respectively. Then you have Krypton Green, Ice White and Ardent Red. The grey, silver, black color options just don't show the lines.
Same goes for the SS. While the metallic is a gorgeous color and makes the vehicle look sinister, I think it would look much better in brighter colors (with the black accents). Lambo Ithaca Verde or Jeep Gecko Green, Mustang Grabber Orange, Corvette Millennium Yellow. Bring on the wraps!