Exige S2 - Daily Driver

[Dan x2c]

Hi

I used to own a 172 Cup that was completely stripped, caged, buckets etc and tbh I didn't find it too much of a hassle. A friend use to own a Vx220 Turbo and used to go on about what a ballache it was driving it all the time and it was def a weekend car.

I'm very tempted to get an S2 NA Exige but wonder whether it's too hard to use as a daily driver, going by the issues my friend had with his VX. Does any one use there S2 as there only car? Also what are they like with speed bumps?

Many Thanks

[bogie]

your friend must be a bit girlie comfort then...I would estimate that 70% of Lotus Elise/Exige are daily drivers these days. I used my 02 Elise daily and racked up 80K miles in it, sometimes doing 500+ per day. .

On the later cars, they get even easier too - more comfy seats, aircon, leccy windows, central locking etc

the only real downsides to an Exige, for daily use, are the lack of visibilty out of the rear when parking, and the tyres that are fitted OEM are really track tyres, so dont last long and dont like standing water...other than that then go for it.....

[21TonyK]

I use mine quite a bit on road now but do have a couple of other options so not strictly every day all day. The only things I would change on an NA car would be better sound insulation and get the motorsport ECU reflash to move and smooth out the cam change. Other than that, it's fine. For relaxed on road driving I'd go for an S with every extra square inch of sound proofing possible and a semi decent stereo.

[LivinLaVidaLotus]

Or alternatively, knock a dealer down on a Europa, should be some good deals to be had, especially with the impending public launch of the "Eagle".

[Dan x2c]

Thanks guys, good to know that they can be fairly practical. Had never really considered a Europa as always thought they'd be out of my price range being so new, but it seems not.

I'm still swaying strongly toward the Exige, but it's def another option to consider and somethng I'd have to have a nosey about, the interior on some of the ones i've just seen in Classifieds looks like a nice place to be, especially as this will be a daily driver.

How do they fair, handling wise and on a track compared to the Exige?

[bogie]

Dan x2c said:

Thanks guys, good to know that they can be fairly practical. Had never really considered a Europa as always thought they'd be out of my price range being so new, but it seems not.

I'm still swaying strongly toward the Exige, but it's def another option to consider and somethng I'd have to have a nosey about, the interior on some of the ones i've just seen in Classifieds looks like a nice place to be, especially as this will be a daily driver.

How do they fair, handling wise and on a track compared to the Exige?

the Elise, Exige and Europa are all basically the same car, the differences being which suspension, wheel and tyre package they are running so you can make a Europa handle just the same

Out of the box they are set-up to understeer a little around the tight stuff, and come with proper road tyres and suspension...exactly what you want for a daily driver.

If you want to turn it into a track car, get adjustable suspension for £1k and a spare set of wheels with track rubber on - £800 ish - then your sorted - a nice comfy Elise type sportscar thats great on track too