Should i get an S160 or S2 Exige??
Discussion
How do, I need some opinions on which car is best suited for me out of the two. I have been saving for a long time for this car, and finally have the funds to get one and afford the insurance! I will be buying a used car and it will be my everyday car. I have always loved the S2 exige and that is what i saved to get but i have recently seen a S160 and think they are really nice looking, there no exige (IMO) but still very, very nice. I know i need to get out and drive them both to decide for myself, but i your opinions is the S160 to unreliable/difficult to drive to use every day ( i read they are pretty lumpy on low revs, don't like cold wet mornings ect). Also which do you think will hold its value better out of the two? Im just thinking as i might be able to save myself some dollar bills' here with the 160 and i get top down hoonidge for the 1 day a year its sunny.
So what do you guys (and girls) think?
Cheers for any replies.
So what do you guys (and girls) think?
Cheers for any replies.
I have had a Sport 160, and I'd agree with TTwiggy - the S2 Exige would be easier to live with as an everyday car.
Personally, I'd choose an S2 111S or 111R for everyday use, in preference to either (comfort & practicality of the Exige with less sensitivity to high mileage when it comes to depreciation), but that's not the question you're asking, I know.
Personally, I'd choose an S2 111S or 111R for everyday use, in preference to either (comfort & practicality of the Exige with less sensitivity to high mileage when it comes to depreciation), but that's not the question you're asking, I know.
Edited by Sam_68 on Friday 29th August 17:32
Sam_68 said:
I have had a Sport 160, and I'd agree with TTwiggy - the S2 Exige would be easier to live with as an everyday car.
Personally, I'd choose an S2 111S or 111R for everyday use, in preference to either (comfort & practicality of the Exige with less sensitivity to high mileage when it comes to depreciation), but that's not the question you're asking, I know.
I have owned the 111S and 111R and now an Exige and in terms of every day comfort and practicality the Exige IMO is as good as if not better than the other two models. If i had known it was this good i would have bought one much earlier.Personally, I'd choose an S2 111S or 111R for everyday use, in preference to either (comfort & practicality of the Exige with less sensitivity to high mileage when it comes to depreciation), but that's not the question you're asking, I know.
Edited by Sam_68 on Friday 29th August 17:32
In the words of Katie Melua "the search can now be called off" as i believe i have found my perfect Lotus.
- it will be on the classifieds next week, open to sensible offers.
- joke
Powerade said:
How do, I need some opinions on which car is best suited for me out of the two. I have been saving for a long time for this car, and finally have the funds to get one and afford the insurance! I will be buying a used car and it will be my everyday car. I have always loved the S2 exige and that is what i saved to get but i have recently seen a S160 and think they are really nice looking, there no exige (IMO) but still very, very nice. I know i need to get out and drive them both to decide for myself, but i your opinions is the S160 to unreliable/difficult to drive to use every day ( i read they are pretty lumpy on low revs, don't like cold wet mornings ect). Also which do you think will hold its value better out of the two? Im just thinking as i might be able to save myself some dollar bills' here with the 160 and i get top down hoonidge for the 1 day a year its sunny.
So what do you guys (and girls) think?
Cheers for any replies.
I owned an Elise R (not that different a drive compared to an S2 n/a Exige) for just over a year and changed to a Sport 160 back in April. Let's just say i'm glad I made the switch. My Elise is a 2nd car, though.So what do you guys (and girls) think?
Cheers for any replies.
I would certainly anticipate an S2 Exige to depreciate faster than a good Sport 160.
Looks are a subjective thing. The Sport 160 is one of the nicest looking of all the S1 varients IMO. The S2 Exige looks sharper and more aggressive than an S1 Elise, but no worse for it. If really pushed, i'd plump for the Exige in terms of aesthetics. They look superb in the right colour.
Some hoods on S1 Elises suffer minor leaks in wet weather. Possibly an issue to consider if its to be a daily driver.
Brakes on the Sport 160 have no servo or ABS which may be an issue for some. However, with good discs and pads (ali-belled and Pagid in my case), the feel is terrific. Far nicer than my S2 Elise R on its stock brakes.
Gearbox, I prefer on the Toyota engined S2 models. However, Sinclaires are fitting a short shift kit to my Sport 160 as we speak, which is recommended by many as a significant improvement. Will find out next week...
Performance? Below 6,200rpm, my Sport 160 feels a bit quicker (Its some 150kg lighter than an S2 Exige). When on 2nd cam, my Elise R felt marginally more urgent. Its a very narrow powerband, though.
Build quality will almost certainly be better on the S2 Exige.
The Sport 160 has a longer top gear than the S2 Exige. Useful when traversing motorways.
My Sport 160 has a beautifully sounding lumpy idle but is a a bit of a pain to drive below circa 30mph due to its willingness to buck and jump. This can be remedied, though.
As a 2nd car, my pick would be either an S1 Sport 160 or S1 Exige over the S2 varients. As a sole car? I still would, but then I get the train to work.
Pays your money and takes your choice...Edited by Saied on Friday 29th August 19:27
Absolutely love my 160, and wouldn't get rid of it for an Exige. HOWEVER, as a daily driver I think I'd get fed up with it. It's an older car, and needs various tinkering and looking after. I got mine back from Sincs today after a C Service and various bits and bobs. £1380 thank you very much....
By far and away the biggest issue for me would be the heat. A Sport 160 is feckin HOT within minutes of getting in. There's no sound or heat insulation like in the Exige. In the summer, roof on or off, it can get unbearable. Can you believe I was actually looking around for portable air conditioners that could be run from the ciggy socket?!!! That's how bad I find it.
If the 160 hasn't had verniers and a remap, it will just be SO frustrating in any kind of stop-start traffic. It kangeroos and jerks along the road at anything under about 25mph. You have to coast in traffic, which is no good.
A well put together Exige with insulation and air-con would be like a Rolls Royce compared to a Sport 160, which rattle and crashes and squeeks. The Toyota engine will also be a lot cheaper to look after, with less potential problems.
What would I do in your situation? I would get a good Sport 160, and use the saved cash to get a £1500 Mondeo or something, as a comfy mileage car. I'll be here all night if I start telling you the 160 good points, and most owners seem to feel the same way. It is a totally intoxicating car which you get excited about driving. It is a sensory overload on wheels. There isn't a Lotus in production at the moment which I would even consider getting instead. And the great thing is that they're not silly money, but won't depreciate much at all. You could get one of the best ones for £12K-ish.
By far and away the biggest issue for me would be the heat. A Sport 160 is feckin HOT within minutes of getting in. There's no sound or heat insulation like in the Exige. In the summer, roof on or off, it can get unbearable. Can you believe I was actually looking around for portable air conditioners that could be run from the ciggy socket?!!! That's how bad I find it.
If the 160 hasn't had verniers and a remap, it will just be SO frustrating in any kind of stop-start traffic. It kangeroos and jerks along the road at anything under about 25mph. You have to coast in traffic, which is no good.
A well put together Exige with insulation and air-con would be like a Rolls Royce compared to a Sport 160, which rattle and crashes and squeeks. The Toyota engine will also be a lot cheaper to look after, with less potential problems.
What would I do in your situation? I would get a good Sport 160, and use the saved cash to get a £1500 Mondeo or something, as a comfy mileage car. I'll be here all night if I start telling you the 160 good points, and most owners seem to feel the same way. It is a totally intoxicating car which you get excited about driving. It is a sensory overload on wheels. There isn't a Lotus in production at the moment which I would even consider getting instead. And the great thing is that they're not silly money, but won't depreciate much at all. You could get one of the best ones for £12K-ish.
I have a Sport 160 and love it, this is however my weekend car. The only thing i would change it for is an Exige S. However i do not want to sell it and would like both instead. Mine has been on the Dyno at TDI and came back with 170bhp at flywheel which is fantastic. I have never driven an Exige but did drive and S2 111s Elise last week. Needless to say i prefer the S1, much more focused and direct, a lot more raw, i felt more confident in the S1, probably as i have driven in the S1 for a while. The S2 would undoubtitley be easier to drive and live with on a day to day basis. The gear change was easier, doors cills smaller so easier to get in.
If you like the S1 buy a nice 111s and have change for track days and upgrades.
My Sport 160 has had the driverbility kit added which was around £800, has it helped???? Dont know not driven it without it, it is lumpy at low revs but that is what i like about it. I have also in the last week driven a standard S1 and it is much easier to drive. The S160 needs to be a gear lower than you think to drive it properly.
D
If you like the S1 buy a nice 111s and have change for track days and upgrades.
My Sport 160 has had the driverbility kit added which was around £800, has it helped???? Dont know not driven it without it, it is lumpy at low revs but that is what i like about it. I have also in the last week driven a standard S1 and it is much easier to drive. The S160 needs to be a gear lower than you think to drive it properly.
D
I have a sport 160 and have improved it so its fine at low revs, (just fit vernier pulleys and alter the engine timing, about £500 all in) and then it will drive just like any other car.
I used my everyday for over 3 years and I still have it but now have a second car for wet days, motorways, luggage etc..
If I was in your shoes, I'd get the S2 exige. It will always work and be far more reliable and nicer to live with whether you use it everyday or once every 2 weeks.. I love the 160, but if I had not modified mine so much and put so much money into it over the years, I would get trade it in and get the exige. Some of the design features of the S1 are shockingly bad. The S2 is the Elise/exige that it always should have been........
I used my everyday for over 3 years and I still have it but now have a second car for wet days, motorways, luggage etc..
If I was in your shoes, I'd get the S2 exige. It will always work and be far more reliable and nicer to live with whether you use it everyday or once every 2 weeks.. I love the 160, but if I had not modified mine so much and put so much money into it over the years, I would get trade it in and get the exige. Some of the design features of the S1 are shockingly bad. The S2 is the Elise/exige that it always should have been........
I had a 111r for 3 years as my only car and have just changed for a S160 and a small run around for wet days, diy, work trips, etc.
The 111r was always reliable, fairly civilized and I loved the look of the car. The Exige looks even more beautiful in my opinion too. I felt quite upset when trading it in...that was until I started up the replacement S160. Although the S160 might be a bit slower than the 111r it feels and sounds so much faster and makes me grin even more than the 111r did. It is tricky driving it for the first 5 miles until it has warmed up, fumbling a toe and heel to keep the revs up as you slow for a crossing, only to stall and be laughed at by the old lady you just let cross the road! As others have said there are fixes for this if you desire, I just haven't got around to it yet.
The S160 doesn't hide my inabilities as a good driver as well as the 111r did but that is something I am going to have a lot of fun working on improving.
I'm not sure I'd have gone for a S160 without the backup of another car, more for limiting the wear and miles on the S160 than reliability. I just wanted to free up a bit of cash, still have a fun Lotus that had similar performance and would hopefully hold more of its value.
I saw a S160 in scandal green with black wheels the other week and it looked pretty tasty.
My only regret is having been out of the country for 3 of the 6 weeks of ownership and not having been able to drive it. That will be fixed as soon as I return from Israel.
What ever your choice, I'm sure you will enjoy either car.
Good luck
Dave
The 111r was always reliable, fairly civilized and I loved the look of the car. The Exige looks even more beautiful in my opinion too. I felt quite upset when trading it in...that was until I started up the replacement S160. Although the S160 might be a bit slower than the 111r it feels and sounds so much faster and makes me grin even more than the 111r did. It is tricky driving it for the first 5 miles until it has warmed up, fumbling a toe and heel to keep the revs up as you slow for a crossing, only to stall and be laughed at by the old lady you just let cross the road! As others have said there are fixes for this if you desire, I just haven't got around to it yet.
The S160 doesn't hide my inabilities as a good driver as well as the 111r did but that is something I am going to have a lot of fun working on improving.
I'm not sure I'd have gone for a S160 without the backup of another car, more for limiting the wear and miles on the S160 than reliability. I just wanted to free up a bit of cash, still have a fun Lotus that had similar performance and would hopefully hold more of its value.
I saw a S160 in scandal green with black wheels the other week and it looked pretty tasty.
My only regret is having been out of the country for 3 of the 6 weeks of ownership and not having been able to drive it. That will be fixed as soon as I return from Israel.
What ever your choice, I'm sure you will enjoy either car.
Good luck
Dave
onkey said:
I had a 111r for 3 years as my only car and have just changed for a S160 and a small run around for wet days, diy, work trips, etc.
The 111r was always reliable, fairly civilized and I loved the look of the car. The Exige looks even more beautiful in my opinion too. I felt quite upset when trading it in...that was until I started up the replacement S160. Although the S160 might be a bit slower than the 111r it feels and sounds so much faster and makes me grin even more than the 111r did. It is tricky driving it for the first 5 miles until it has warmed up, fumbling a toe and heel to keep the revs up as you slow for a crossing, only to stall and be laughed at by the old lady you just let cross the road! As others have said there are fixes for this if you desire, I just haven't got around to it yet.
The S160 doesn't hide my inabilities as a good driver as well as the 111r did but that is something I am going to have a lot of fun working on improving.
I'm not sure I'd have gone for a S160 without the backup of another car, more for limiting the wear and miles on the S160 than reliability. I just wanted to free up a bit of cash, still have a fun Lotus that had similar performance and would hopefully hold more of its value.
I saw a S160 in scandal green with black wheels the other week and it looked pretty tasty.
My only regret is having been out of the country for 3 of the 6 weeks of ownership and not having been able to drive it. That will be fixed as soon as I return from Israel.
What ever your choice, I'm sure you will enjoy either car.
Good luck
Dave
Get those tweeks done cause I know for a fact that my sport 160 will level peg a 111R from standstill all the way to 130mph!The 111r was always reliable, fairly civilized and I loved the look of the car. The Exige looks even more beautiful in my opinion too. I felt quite upset when trading it in...that was until I started up the replacement S160. Although the S160 might be a bit slower than the 111r it feels and sounds so much faster and makes me grin even more than the 111r did. It is tricky driving it for the first 5 miles until it has warmed up, fumbling a toe and heel to keep the revs up as you slow for a crossing, only to stall and be laughed at by the old lady you just let cross the road! As others have said there are fixes for this if you desire, I just haven't got around to it yet.
The S160 doesn't hide my inabilities as a good driver as well as the 111r did but that is something I am going to have a lot of fun working on improving.
I'm not sure I'd have gone for a S160 without the backup of another car, more for limiting the wear and miles on the S160 than reliability. I just wanted to free up a bit of cash, still have a fun Lotus that had similar performance and would hopefully hold more of its value.
I saw a S160 in scandal green with black wheels the other week and it looked pretty tasty.
My only regret is having been out of the country for 3 of the 6 weeks of ownership and not having been able to drive it. That will be fixed as soon as I return from Israel.
What ever your choice, I'm sure you will enjoy either car.
Good luck
Dave
I have had both and enjoyed the Sport160 more than the Exige..I found it more fun. It depends on what you are used to as an everyday car but the Exige would be better...but saying that I did use the 160 everyday with no issues and mine was an SVA car which was lumpy on tick over etc....you just change you driving style to suit...I also had an S1 Exige and believe me this was alot worse to use every day than the 160..the car always started first time and never let me down and if you are concerned about the lumpyness then you can sort this out and make it more useable...but for me that was part of the charater of the car.
As far as price is concerned a 160 will hold it's value better than an S2 Exige without a shadow...I paid 12500 for my 160 and sold it for 12800. The chap who purchased from me sold for 12500 and know I believe it is up for sale for 11950...if you purchased this car now and sold it in a year I think you would get almost what you paid and if you lost over £500 I would be suprised. An Exige would loose around 2k to 3k over the same period.
Here's acouple of pics og my two to help you make your mind up...both great cars though.
As far as price is concerned a 160 will hold it's value better than an S2 Exige without a shadow...I paid 12500 for my 160 and sold it for 12800. The chap who purchased from me sold for 12500 and know I believe it is up for sale for 11950...if you purchased this car now and sold it in a year I think you would get almost what you paid and if you lost over £500 I would be suprised. An Exige would loose around 2k to 3k over the same period.
Here's acouple of pics og my two to help you make your mind up...both great cars though.
Not owned a Sport 160 but have owned a standard S2 Elise and Exige - both as everyday cars.
Exige is livable with everyday - but you'll need to think about running the car on a different tyre and the A048's on the rear will last no more than 5,000 miles. Thats what killed me eventually. I did 30k miles in 18 months and lost GBP10k and spent a bundle on tyres, servicing etc etc etc.
I am just in the process of buying a 111R Elise as an everyday car again as I think this gives the best compromise - for me anyway
Exige is livable with everyday - but you'll need to think about running the car on a different tyre and the A048's on the rear will last no more than 5,000 miles. Thats what killed me eventually. I did 30k miles in 18 months and lost GBP10k and spent a bundle on tyres, servicing etc etc etc.
I am just in the process of buying a 111R Elise as an everyday car again as I think this gives the best compromise - for me anyway
Sam_68 said:
Andyt25 said:
Hollywood Wheels said:
Thanks for the second pic Andy, it's now my screensaver!
No problem I love that one to.
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