exige vs t350c?

[kennys]

please help!

[Martin_S]

Think you need to drive both cars and make your own mind up.

I made the same decision between an Elise and a Griffith when I bought my car. The Griffith looked and sounded great and was fearsomely quick in a straight line, but the handling and steering was so primitive compared to the Elise that, frankly, it scared me,

Depends what your priorities are, though...

[pvapour]

To be scared..........

[mustard]

Dont repeat these words in the TVR cirles, but do you want a car thats always going to work and not be 'away' having the engine rebuilt

[Bonce]

Kennys, please do not cross post the same topic in multiple forums, it makes it very hard for people to keep track of what's already been said.

(this thread has been closed: www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=107874&f=14&h=0)

[shnozz]

mustard said:

Dont repeat these words in the TVR cirles, but do you want a car thats always going to work and not be 'away' having the engine rebuilt

or do you want a car thats cramped and hotter inside that Lois will be starring in Red Emotion....

If you go down the Lotus route at least go for a 340R or a 190 elise so that you can get some air in there. Alternatively, bearing in mind the sort of car you are looking for, get a Noble.

[Bonce]

And for those of you keen to keep up on the TVR owner's view on matters, Kenny cross posted in the TVR forums too.

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=23&h=0&t=107875

[mustard]

shnozz said:

mustard said: Dont repeat these words in the TVR cirles, but do you want a car thats always going to work and not be 'away' having the engine rebuilt or do you want a car thats cramped and hotter inside that Lois will be starring in Red Emotion.... If you go down the Lotus route at least go for a 340R or a 190 elise so that you can get some air in there. Alternatively, bearing in mind the sort of car you are looking for, get a Noble.

My preferance would be a Elise 111R over the Exige yes, but I wonder what this button with the 'Ice Flake' does , and dont say 'well thats an optional extra' because it is to on the Noble but everyone specifies it for the very reason it gets a bit warm.

I also expect most people have it fitted on the T350 too!

Anyway I shall be completing a full assesment this weekend

>> Edited by mustard on Friday 25th June 10:04

[bogie]

if you are remotely worried about reliability then dont buy either of them ! - the Exige runs a 177/190bhp VHPD K series which is hardly the most reliable lump in existence.

As I said on the other thread - it depends on use, running costs etc - they really are 2 different cars.

We have an S2 Elise and a Tuscan 4.0 - they are both quick, great cars but completely different to drive

[mustard]

bogie said:

if you are remotely worried about reliability then dont buy either of them ! - the Exige runs a 177/190bhp VHPD K series which is hardly the most reliable lump in existence. As I said on the other thread - it depends on use, running costs etc - they really are 2 different cars. We have an S2 Elise and a Tuscan 4.0 - they are both quick, great cars but completely different to drive

Thought we were talking S2 Exige?

That power train could scatch the title of 'most reliable' Lotus ever built from the M100 Elan

[DanH]

Bogie your other half got the Tuscan then? How are you finding it? Red rose etc?

As to the original question test drive both and make your own decision mate! Both good cars but in different ways.

[bogie]

Dan - yep, great - getting some Titanium race cans fitted at the weekend ...just a std 4.0 - plenty quick enough for Sarah ...couldnt afford an S or Red Rose car.

Didnt realise we were on about the S2 Exige - mmmwouldnt pay the dosh for one in comparison to a T350...had a go in one the other night, very nice build quality etc but no where near as quick as the T350...it still boils down to intended use IMO

[VTECMatt]

With out going into detail.

Test Drove back to back on the same roads.

Exige S2 - Engine what a nightmare

T350 - Handling on the back roads can be a handful

What I like

Exige S2 - Handling, looks, brakes, grip, chassis, awesome car shame about the engine.

T350 - Love the looks, plenty of power, noise (Yummy), wild interior, funky gadgets, flippy paint, brakes.

Build quality was good on both cars.

Neither suited what I wanted so kept my S2, both good, but both flawed IMHO, both are so close to being absoloutly fantastic.

They are good cars, just not great.

[mustard]

VTECmatt... how many miles did the demo you try have on?

They need a couple of thousand on them to perform nicely, then they pull quite nicely from 2500rpm till you enter the twilightzone

[shakman]

I'm with Matt ... I think the new engine in the S2 Exige is a let down. For road use its difficult to keep the rev band high up, and it just dont feel all that quick (and sounds pretty naff even with the sports exhaust).

Haven't tried the T350 ... but the specs seem definately enticing ....

[mustard]

After doing 300 miles cross country miles in the Exige S2 over the weekend, only one word comes to mind Awesome!!!!

This comes from someone who is not a fan of the S1 exige.

The £30K odd price tag no longer seems expensive when offset by the grin factor it gave.

Anyone considering buying one, just make sure the demo car has at least a thousand miles on it, the car is also quite acceptable on the motorway, but you find yourself deliberatly avoiding them just for the hell of it.

Drive it right and its the most fun you can have in a car with your clothes on

[ChristineC]

Go for the Exige - both fine cars but Exige is just perfect really. (However if you need it as an everyday car, I'd go for the T350)

Christine
Ps Iam not biased either way as own an Exige and Tuscan and I even prefer the Tuscan! But the new Exige compared to the T350.well, ..Exige!

[VTECMatt]

The Exige I drove had IIRC over 2K on it.

I love Revvy engines, just that Yota lump does not do it for me, the power top end is needed from about 3500 IMHO then I would have bought one.