First time Caterham buyer from an exige

[KieranR]

Question. Would I be disappointed with a R400 k series car rather than a duratec??

Power wise there both roughly 200bhp but I guess power delivery is different.

Kieran

[fergus]

KieranR said:

Question. Would I be disappointed with a R400 k series car rather than a duratec??

Power wise there both roughly 200bhp but I guess power delivery is different.

Kieran

See if you can get a drive in both?

[theturbs]

mike150 said:

They have a pearl pink 420R at 38000 and a magenta one with red tinted carbon with 171miles at 42000, it's as new obviously

Many thanks Mike.

[GFWilliams]

KieranR said:

Question. Would I be disappointed with a R400 k series car rather than a duratec??

Power wise there both roughly 200bhp but I guess power delivery is different.

Kieran

I own both a V6 Exige and a 150hp Sigma Caterham and although the Caterham is slower I still enjoy the Caterham more. Caterham will be a LOT more fun than an Exige with 200hp

[R400C]

KieranR said:

Question. Would I be disappointed with a R400 k series car rather than a duratec??

Power wise there both roughly 200bhp but I guess power delivery is different.

Kieran

It largely depends on how you like to drive most of the time. I have owned an R400K, ex-competition S1 Exige (K) with about 200 bhp and now have an R400D. On both of the K series cars, maximum enjoyment (and performance) was gained by driving them at 10/10s. In the D, you can still do that but just don't have to as it seems to have far more mid-range torque and rapid progress can be made without needing to redline it in every gear. From my point of view, you won't be disappointed with either and will adapt to whatever you buy!

[mike150]

Found this old thread........

I bought a new 420r in 2017, the car had issues, it didn't feel very quick with the 5 speed box so it went back after I fell out with Caterham due to their 'couldn't care attitude'

That didn't last and I currently have a 620s S3, it's brilliant......you have to remember using full throttle in the first 3 gears will probably result in lots of wheel spin if the tyres aren't warm that's why I like it!

Edited by mike150 on Monday 1st April 15:53

[red_slr]

As with many things in life the second time round is always better!

[turbo9111]

I have a 620r and it is ballistic you drive it how you feel at that time, i also have a exige and a elise the 620 is a bit like poking a stick at a angry dog!!
it really is a beast of a car........

[mike150]

I'm still tempted by the idea of an Elise or Exige, just the practical side of it mostly........doors, windows and all that civility!

What's an S2 Exige or Elise really like compared to a fast Caterham? I can't imagine they're as much fun to drive but I'd say better to live with.

[Roblot]

Just a quick one.
I had a Lotus seven and Caterham 7 many years ago (the cars were circa 110 and 150 BPH) with live axles and were very good to drive. Recently I had very briefly an older 140 BHP Roadsport and then a 360 S with Duratec. However I had to sell the later cars as the transmission noises (grinding and whine all the time) were unbearable and the shunting back and forward was terrible no matter how carefully driven , especially in traffic. In addition the cabin heat from the Sevens was unacceptable with no real control of airflow.
I now have a supercharged Elise, which although not so much 'fun' to drive, is much more civilised in that there is no unwanted transmission noise and air conditioning is available, (again more acceptable to the majority of passengers!)
I think IMO that for track days and racing the sevens win but if you want a quick drive on the road, for me at least the Lotus is a better compromise

[framerateuk]

Interesting that this thread has been resurrected!

I'm planning on replacing my Roadsport 140 with an Elise/Exige in the next year or so.

I'm thinking V6 Exige at the moment, but I'm going to drive a supercharged Elise and V6 Exige to see how they compare.

I've loved my 6 years with the 7 but it's not being used as much as it was and I think I'd get more use out of something with a bit more practicality!

[GFWilliams]

Biggest thing going to an Exige is that you need to change your driving style if you're used to Caterhams. Took me a while to gel with my Exige when I first got it as I was used to the Caterham handling which just goes where you point it. The Exige needs a bit of setup work to make the front end actually bite.

[turbo9111]

in my opinion the exige mines circa 415hp feels like a bit of a tourer in comparison to the 620 and my Elise 250cup is the sweet spot out of all 3, on a nice flowing A road the exige wins hands down, On a tight twisty A road the Elise is the best car on the market it feels way under powered compared to the other 2 but is blisteringly quick across country, And the 620r is well a complete and utter hooligan tool its a bd of a car...........

[framerateuk]

turbo9111 said:

in my opinion the exige mines circa 415hp feels like a bit of a tourer in comparison to the 620 and my Elise 250cup is the sweet spot out of all 3, on a nice flowing A road the exige wins hands down, On a tight twisty A road the Elise is the best car on the market it feels way under powered compared to the other 2 but is blisteringly quick across country, And the 620r is well a complete and utter hooligan tool its a bd of a car...........

That's interesting!

My local track (Llandow) have supercar experiences there a few weekends a month. The chap who MOTs and services my 7 is one of the instructors there and they have an Elise 220 and an Exige V6 there. I'm quite tempted to cough up the £40 to have a chance to drive both cars on a track (and I know Llandow well!).

While I'd love the Exige, I just wonder if the Elise would be easier to manage and a bit more fun to throw around.

[turbo9111]

both my exige and Elise are track focused, nitrons, brake upgrades etc, Around donington the exige is circa 2 seconds quicker both are real good fun but IMO the Elise is the better experience you can drive it more on the edge and is more of a track based car both eat cars with much more power which is always enjoyable.......

Edited by turbo9111 on Saturday 6th April 19:25

[johnwilliams77]

Evora is the answer 😀

[BertBert]

johnwilliams77 said:

Evora is the answer ??

So we are well and truly mixing up marques now. I settled in getting an Evora 400 as the best all round car for me. The Exige was the better driver, but I couldn't live with it.

Then I bought a 997 GT3, job done!

Bert
PS a caterham will come back soon!

[framerateuk]

ash73 said:

I did the same, but I find the Elise (S1) less fun and not at all practical; it gets less use than the 7 did.

Buy a bike and a waftmobile.

Well after taking the car for it's MOT this weekend and chatting to the guy who runs the place (he raced Caterhams and is a Lotus servicer), it got me thinking about how little I might use an Elise too.

Thinking about taking the plunge and buying a tralier and just making the effort to do more trackdays. Part of the reason I don't do that many is that from South Wales most tracks are quite a distance away, and unless you book hotels and things, getting there and doing a trackday and then driving home is absolutely knackering.

We measured the garage and we could squeeze a small trailer (like a PRG MiniSport) in there.

It didn't help that when I left for the MOT on Saturday, it was the first time I'd driven the 7 since October and I'd almost forgotten how fun it was.

[T-195]

New Alpine?