Why should i buy a Exige S ?!

[philnotts]

Hello

Ok, can someone give me some views on there Exige, as i really dont know what to do! Iv been thinking for some years now about owning a Exige, but a few factors have stopped me from signing the dotted line!!

1. Practical of the Exige.
2. Running costs?
3. Can the Exige handle damp, wet, raining conditions?
4. Ride

These are the main reasons i havnt gone for one, as i dont really know the exact answers to the above. However know i may be in the positions of buying one and buying a 2nd car, maybe something like the Golf R32 to run around in.

Any advice would be great!!!

thank you

phil.

[Lotusnick S2]

philnotts said:

1. Practical of the Exige.
2. Running costs?
3. Can the Exige handle damp, wet, raining conditions?
4. Ride

1. As practical as any small 2 seater, but be careful where you park it (lack of bumpers and metal bodywork)
2. Quite reasonable
3. I love driving Elise variants in the wet (even on semislicks). The feedback and adjustability is amazing. You just have to be careful of aquaplanning and be a little sensible
4. Better than most so called sports cars

DO IT

[philnotts]

Thank you for the reply,

so by ride, i mean, is it going to take my fillings out if i hit a pot hole etc!

phil

[jerrytlr]

philnotts said:

Hello

Ok, can someone give me some views on there Exige, as i really dont know what to do! Iv been thinking for some years now about owning a Exige, but a few factors have stopped me from signing the dotted line!!

1. Practical of the Exige.
2. Running costs?
3. Can the Exige handle damp, wet, raining conditions?
4. Ride

These are the main reasons i havnt gone for one, as i dont really know the exact answers to the above. However know i may be in the positions of buying one and buying a 2nd car, maybe something like the Golf R32 to run around in.

Any advice would be great!!!

thank you

phil.

Have you thought about the Europa? Similar performance, 90% of the handling finesse, but a bit more 'road' orientated which might make it better for (1), (3) and (4).... (2) would, I guess, be very similar to the Exige.

Just a thought!


Cheers

Jerry

[philnotts]

Yea, but i love the looks of the Exige, so thats the one if i went for a Lotus.

[Lotusnick S2]

philnotts said:

Thank you for the reply,

so by ride, i mean, is it going to take my fillings out if i hit a pot hole etc!

phil

The only problem with the potholes is the noises due to the less sound insulation compared to a normal car.
Apart from that the ride is very good and the seats support most people very well (especially the new Probax seats)

[philnotts]

Yes i have noticed the new seats, which models did these come on? Are they options? has the inside changed at all since the new seats have been fitted!

thank you again.

phil

[TIPPER]

Any Elise/Exige varient demands a bit of commitment: Once inside the're very comfy, lovely driving environment. The ride is surprisingly compliant for a sports car - I've fitted my S1 with track orientated suspension a firmer springs than Lotus offer with the ExigeS and I don't find it teeth rattling. In the wet? Take care at first, its a very light car and therefore can be much more skittish than you might expect. However the road holding in the wet is fantastic as long as you don't meet mud, crap etc. For road use I personally reckon the OA48s fitted to the Exige are wasted. Keep them for the track and try and get the dealer to throw in an extra set of wheels and put some proper road tyres on. Even Toyo T1-Rs which in my opinion don't work particularly well on Elises/Exiges are great in the sort of bloody awful weather we've had recently - I enjoyed a great blat across Dartmoor in filthy weather last week.
Try and sort a decent extended test drive to see if you can live with the car on the road and then spend a day with Walshy (Carlimits) getting to know how it behaves at the limit.

[philnotts]

Hello

Thank you for the reply.

The dealer, has offered to take me out for 3hrs or so in the exige, to see if i can live with it etc. So did your dealer through in a extra pair of wheels! i didnt think they would do this? However that would make sence i guess! Do you use it as a every day car?

phil

[TIPPER]

Phil, when I bought my car I worked my way through all the options (S1, S2, VX) and got a decent test drive of them all. I ended up with the S1 as I liked the rawness of the thing. I sold an 8 month old X type to get the Elise and bought an MGZT to use as daily wheels. In my first year I covered 18k miles in the Elise and the ZT ended up just gathering dust so I sold it. So is it liveable with? Well I've got to say yes!
I recently put Nitron dampers and much stiffer springs (400front/475rear) than standard on the car and don't find the firmer ride an issue - I'll be driving from Plymouth to Manchester and back on Thursday and I'll take the Elise.
The only thing the dealer threw in for me was a decent trade in price on my X-type (I only lost 2k in 8 months and 20k miles!). Worth an ask of the dealer though: I always negotiate a base price (dealers like full price for options), add on my options and agree the total with the dealer and then ask him to throw an extra in to secure the deal; if you don't ask you don't get!