Have yet to see any dicernable difference between elite and non-elite tank in "real world" circumstances.
It is obviously there, but it has no effect as to what I can and cannot do with the team.

I suppose the absolute reign of skills over almost everything else is much of the reason and the rest is due to the randomness of the game.

So it does matter, but not terribly much if something is +/- 10% or 20%, because when push comes to shove, either the skill is up and running and the tank lives or it is not, in which case the tank dies.

A simple example of this can be seen using the Maus, who has a huge stat and hp bonus built into her and it does not matter much on the battlefield, her cost and long timer before her skill can be used on the other hand are of paramount importance.

Anyways, means I see no reason to pay with real life to get an elited 5* tank over an 5*. So I have napped my 5* and spend rest of time on vacation

Best of luck to those that decided to do the turkey trot.