S2 Exige vs Esprit Sport 350
Discussion
beano said:
my head tells me the Exige, my heart the Esprit.
In a decision where the Elise is the 'sensible' option I'd have to say go with your heart!
If you want to justify it to your head as well take in depreciation. I'd guess that the Esprit will lose less than a new Exige over the next couple of years, then you could switch back the Exige once they've settled down a bit. Another plus is it would give you a change from Elise derivatives.
Well normally one finds oneself in a clash between 
vs 
but in this case its like vs squared!
For me it's gotta be the new Exige. I can understand the sentiment for the Esprit but everything I've read about the Exige (wish I'd had a chance to test drive one but don't think I could trust myself at a dealership if I did!) indicates that it's THE drivers car to have in that price bracket right now.
In Black or Nightfall blue (or the
colours - Gaa-Gaa Green and Loony Orange) with black wheels they just look soooo good.
The Exige should be the "tighter" package too I guess, and with the 'yota engine and box will surely be a better bet reliability-wise.
There are plenty about on dealer forecourts and even a few coming up used already - deals to be had!
vs but in this case its like vs squared! For me it's gotta be the new Exige. I can understand the sentiment for the Esprit but everything I've read about the Exige (wish I'd had a chance to test drive one but don't think I could trust myself at a dealership if I did!) indicates that it's THE drivers car to have in that price bracket right now.
In Black or Nightfall blue (or the
colours - Gaa-Gaa Green and Loony Orange) with black wheels they just look soooo good. The Exige should be the "tighter" package too I guess, and with the 'yota engine and box will surely be a better bet reliability-wise.
There are plenty about on dealer forecourts and even a few coming up used already - deals to be had!
Drive both and then choose.
They really are VERY different.
The big thing you will notice with the Esprit Sport 350 is POWER !
Lots of it.
The V8 Esprit is one of the fastest things on the road. It is quicker than a Ferrari 360, and is a devastating overtaking tool.
It handles beautifully too. I am a big fan. Being 6'5, however, I am a bit too big for one and get pretty uncomfortable after 45 mins or so.
The Exige, in contrast, is a beautifully light and lithe missile with sublime handling. Its also more modern.
But the Exige, for all its light weight, lacks any of the sheer drama the Esprit 350 has in the acceleration department.
IMO
They really are VERY different.
The big thing you will notice with the Esprit Sport 350 is POWER !
Lots of it.
The V8 Esprit is one of the fastest things on the road. It is quicker than a Ferrari 360, and is a devastating overtaking tool.
It handles beautifully too. I am a big fan. Being 6'5, however, I am a bit too big for one and get pretty uncomfortable after 45 mins or so.
The Exige, in contrast, is a beautifully light and lithe missile with sublime handling. Its also more modern.
But the Exige, for all its light weight, lacks any of the sheer drama the Esprit 350 has in the acceleration department.
IMO
All down to running costs I reckon...BUT you will pay big dollars for servicing on the Esprit (like £1300 ish when it needs a cambelt every 24K miles) tyres, pads, disks, all will be more....but you could probably own it a year or 2 and lose £5K...do the same in the Exige and it will lose like £10K...so owning a slightly older, more expensive car with high running costs works out about the same as a cheaper to run new car....its just up to you whether you pay more in running costs...or more in depreciation.
Havnt driven a Sport 350...just a 'normal' V8 - love em to bits and I would have one tomorrow if I didnt need to do 30K miles a year in it
I Personally wouldnt part with £30K+ for a S2 Exige...to me the performance/£ ratio just dosent add up...for a few grand more you could have an early Noble....or a damn fine Esprit...I would err Noble for a track toy or Esprit for practical all round car.
When my time is up with my Elise, 1st on my list would be a mint Sport 350 ...if you can afford it, then get one
Havnt driven a Sport 350...just a 'normal' V8 - love em to bits and I would have one tomorrow if I didnt need to do 30K miles a year in it
I Personally wouldnt part with £30K+ for a S2 Exige...to me the performance/£ ratio just dosent add up...for a few grand more you could have an early Noble....or a damn fine Esprit...I would err Noble for a track toy or Esprit for practical all round car. When my time is up with my Elise, 1st on my list would be a mint Sport 350
...if you can afford it, then get oneIn terms of depreciation the 350 should hold up very well. For example, I paid £30k for mine almost a year ago. Similar ones are going for about £28k to £30k now, so not much change there. I lost quite a lot on my GT3 in 6 years, bought for £34k, sold for £16k, so £18k in 6 years. I don't think a 350 will be as bad as that.
As for running costs, my GT3 cost about £14k over 6 years. I do a lot less miles in my 350 and it's not been serviced yet and the one thing that went wrong was covered under warranty. Example costs are :
4 x tytes : £1k
2 x brake disk : £1.6k
Clutch : £1k
Cam belt service : £1.2k
Adrian
www.adrianmugridge.co.uk
As for running costs, my GT3 cost about £14k over 6 years. I do a lot less miles in my 350 and it's not been serviced yet and the one thing that went wrong was covered under warranty. Example costs are :
4 x tytes : £1k
2 x brake disk : £1.6k
Clutch : £1k
Cam belt service : £1.2k
Adrian
www.adrianmugridge.co.uk
If you aren't doing huge mileage and not many track days, I'd take the Sport 350 every time. Then again I've discovered I actually prefer slightly heavier cars to the Elise with more power, I just enjoy setting them up for a corner and powering through.
The sport 350 was one of the few cars I seriously considered myself instead of my current ride.
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