RE: Cayman GTS v Exige Sport 410 v Audi TT RS

[CABC]

tbourner said:

Maybe I misunderstood the original post, but the previous TTs look terrible. Terrible outside, terrible inside, just not nice at all. The new one is different.

I'm not going to judge an entire brand based on other people telling me they're rubbish though, especially as some replies in this thread suggest PH is biased against them.

It seems like I'm being labelled as some kind of stereotypical Audi buyer who knows nothing of driving feel, just because I said the new TT looks nice.

you set yourself up in your earlier post when appreciating the looks of a car in thread about driver's cars.
don't worry, it's how most of PH thinks anyway.
Good to hear you're interested in handling. seriously, please report back on your test drives.

[Onehp]

Anybody qualified to comment how much the Sport 350 and the Sport 410 differ in driving experience?

Differences in power delivery? Suspension quality, damping and comfort? Adjustability? Steering feel? etc etc?

Has the Sport 350 been updated since the V6 and in what areas? Gear linkage I thought? Any other marked improvements compared to an older used V6?

Focus always goes to the latest faster version, but how good a buy is the entry car today? Cheers.

[suffolk009]

beanoir said:

does the Lotus still have Rover mirrors?

Is that a deal breaker for you?

[Thorburn]

fridaypassion said:

When you buy a new one even the 430 will be superseded in a couple of months. The lack of coherence in the model line up is staggering.

They stated outright at the Cup 430 release it was the ultimate model of the current generation Exige and wouldn't be superceded, so I don't think they will. Having a chargecooled model below it was always a no brainer - the writing was on the wall for the Sport 380 when the Cup 430 was announced, but the Sport 380 had an 18 month run.

Bar some stickered up special editions I wouldn't expect any updates to the Exige in the current generations remaining lifecycle.

CABC said:

tbourner said:

Maybe I misunderstood the original post, but the previous TTs look terrible. Terrible outside, terrible inside, just not nice at all. The new one is different.

I'm not going to judge an entire brand based on other people telling me they're rubbish though, especially as some replies in this thread suggest PH is biased against them.

It seems like I'm being labelled as some kind of stereotypical Audi buyer who knows nothing of driving feel, just because I said the new TT looks nice.

you set yourself up in your earlier post when appreciating the looks of a car in thread about driver's cars.
don't worry, it's how most of PH thinks anyway.
Good to hear you're interested in handling. seriously, please report back on your test drives.

Onehp said:

Has the Sport 350 been updated since the V6 and in what areas? Gear linkage I thought? Any other marked improvements compared to an older used V6?

Focus always goes to the latest faster version, but how good a buy is the entry car today? Cheers.

The Sport 350 is probably the smart choice, but visually I've always preferred the Sport 380 and above with the proper rear wing.

Details on the changes from Exige S to Sport 350 can be seen here: https://wiki.seloc.org/a/Exige_V6_model_history_mi...

I've not driven the Sport 350, but have tried a few Exige S'. Drove a 2014 Exige S CR a couple months back and getting out my Evora 400 and in to the Exige S the difference in gearshift was immediately apparent (the 400 has the same mechanism as the Sport 350) - the Exige S felt a bit vague by comparison.

Edited by Thorburn on Wednesday 30th May 17:06

[Europa1]

beanoir said:

p.s. does the Lotus still have Rover mirrors?

I thought they were off a Citroen. I should have paid more attention when I bought one, as it's clearly a vital part of the purchasing decision.

[Tickle]

Europa1 said:

I thought they were off a Citroen. I should have paid more attention when I bought one, as it's clearly a vital part of the purchasing decision.

I was annoyed when I found out my S1 had F40 dash vents. Thank the lord they don't hamper the driving experience.

[Thorburn]

Tickle said:

I was annoyed when I found out my S1 had F40 dash vents. Thank the lord they don't hamper the driving experience.

Apparently my Aston Martins indicators stalks are from a Ford Mondeo, I discovered this because someone was whinging about it on here.

I honestly had no idea what they even looked like before then.

I think the Evoras are from some Ford as well.

[SidewaysSi]

suffolk009 said:

beanoir said:

does the Lotus still have Rover mirrors?

Is that a deal breaker for you?

PH: "meaningless crap matters". Door mirrors? Really?

[alecthorne]

It is fantastic to see Lotus getting such a great review against the others. Anyone that knows Lotus will however agree that the entry level 350 would also have received the same praise. Well done Lotus!! A true drivers car..

[fridaypassion]

Thorburn said:

They stated outright at the Cup 430 release it was the ultimate model of the current generation Exige and wouldn't be superceded, so I don't think they will. Having a chargecooled model below it was always a no brainer - the writing was on the wall for the Sport 380 when the Cup 430 was announced, but the Sport 380 had an 18 month run.

Bar some stickered up special editions I wouldn't expect any updates to the Exige in the current generations remaining lifecycle.

Edited by Thorburn on Wednesday 30th May 17:06

You must know Lotus better than that

The Exige isn't even on the list of supposed new Geely cars is it? There only 2 and one of those will be an Esprit the other should really be a new Elise. Plus the Chinese 4x4.

Even if these new cars do ever appear we have a minimum of 18 months more likely 3 years to wait. I can't see how they will pad out the the time other than doing the continual tweak and sticker approach.

[Porsche911R]

I also think the 430cup is the best they will do with the exige.

Elise out in 2020.

[fridaypassion]

ish

[kambites]

fridaypassion said:

The Exige isn't even on the list of supposed new Geely cars is it? There only 2 and one of those will be an Esprit the other should really be a new Elise. Plus the Chinese 4x4.

I rather suspect they'll go back to using the "Exige" name for a higher-powered Elise with a body-kit and a few suspension tweaks as they did with the S1 and S2. I don't think we'll see another six cylinder Exige; mostly because I can't see where they'd get the engine from.

[Matt Bird]

Hi all,

Thanks for responding so enthusiastically to this! We're always keen to do more 'bigger tests', for want of a better phrase, though scope is always a bit limited with a fairly small staff base. Just wanted to say if there were any in particular that you'd like to see - within reason, of course! - then drop me a line on [e-mail] and we'll try to get something organised. We'll also try and get them a bit closer in price this time around... We always like to produce content slightly different to the norm, and stuff that you guys want to read, so I figured there was no better way of doing that than asking for suggestions.

Look forward to hearing what you come up with, thanks again for being involved.

Cheers!


Matt

[Shiv_P]

New A8 vs S class vs 7 series
Would be nice to have a different sort of comparison

[james_gt3rs]

SidewaysSi said:

PH: "meaningless crap matters". Door mirrors? Really?

They are a bit crap to be fair, adjustable by hand and very small. I wouldn't like an Exige with no rear view mirror put it that way.

[kambites]

james_gt3rs said:

They are a bit crap to be fair, adjustable by hand and very small. I wouldn't like an Exige with no rear view mirror put it that way.

They're fairly normal size for a small car, the problem is that they're flat. Most modern mirrors have a convex outer edge to widen the angle of view. You can buy replacement glass for them to create that effect for a few quid from ebay. Why Lotus don't do this from the factory I've no idea.

I agree that the lack of interior adjustment is annoying (especially combined with how sticky the movement gets), but that's not a hang-over from their origins - in the Metro they had interior adjusters, at least in the higher spec models.

Edited by kambites on Thursday 31st May 09:58

[CABC]

Matt Bird said:

Hi all,

Thanks for responding so enthusiastically to this! We're always keen to do more 'bigger tests', for want of a better phrase, though scope is always a bit limited with a fairly small staff base. Just wanted to say if there were any in particular that you'd like to see - within reason, of course! - then drop me a line on [e-mail] and we'll try to get something organised. We'll also try and get them a bit closer in price this time around... We always like to produce content slightly different to the norm, and stuff that you guys want to read, so I figured there was no better way of doing that than asking for suggestions.

Look forward to hearing what you come up with, thanks again for being involved.

Cheers!


Matt

this was a good article. i'd like to see a few reasonably priced driver's cars compared back-to-back, even if some are modded. eg:

Birds 135i
Cosworth GT86
BBR MX5
Megane
i30N
Alpine
Lotus
Cayman

[EGTE]

Dear PH.

Please stop forgetting the (EVO COTY 2009) Evora!

[Thorburn]

kambites said:

I agree that the lack of interior adjustment is annoying (especially combined with how sticky the movement gets), but that's not a hang-over from their origins - in the Metro they had interior adjusters, at least in the higher spec models.

That would be nice - also the fact you move the entire housing rather than re-angle the glass is a touch annoying.

The number of times I've knocked the passenger side mirror whilst brushing past it in the garage and then driven off with it pointing down at the door...