Potential V6 350 purchase vs gt4
Discussion
Hello all
I’m currently debating between a v6 350 and a gt4
I know they are different cars, but will be used for the same purpose as weekend only cars to make me smile and the occasional trac day
The exige plus £30k to put in my pension is very attractive and I question whether the gt4 is £30k better when I won’t use it as a daily or long distance tourer
My main concerns with the exige are
1 Lack of lsd. Difficult to gauge on a test drive but I want the car to be able to oversteer round a roundabout and have some fun. I had an Elise 135r and it always refused to do this so I’m reticent whether the exige would be any different. I was actually disappointed with the 135r and felt it was quite inert given the supposed legendary handling qualities of a lotus. The steering was great but the chassis didn’t feel adjustable. Is the exige 350 adjustable? I’m having a drive on sat but difficult to assess with a dealer sitting next to you!
2. Resale values - with the new 2019 Elise coming out what are residuals going to be like 5 years down the line? I’ll be keeping car for 20 years so happy for it to balance out over the long term
3. Grounding - do people have problems with ththe front splitter in general use?
Any thoughts welcome!
I’m currently debating between a v6 350 and a gt4
I know they are different cars, but will be used for the same purpose as weekend only cars to make me smile and the occasional trac day
The exige plus £30k to put in my pension is very attractive and I question whether the gt4 is £30k better when I won’t use it as a daily or long distance tourer
My main concerns with the exige are
1 Lack of lsd. Difficult to gauge on a test drive but I want the car to be able to oversteer round a roundabout and have some fun. I had an Elise 135r and it always refused to do this so I’m reticent whether the exige would be any different. I was actually disappointed with the 135r and felt it was quite inert given the supposed legendary handling qualities of a lotus. The steering was great but the chassis didn’t feel adjustable. Is the exige 350 adjustable? I’m having a drive on sat but difficult to assess with a dealer sitting next to you!
2. Resale values - with the new 2019 Elise coming out what are residuals going to be like 5 years down the line? I’ll be keeping car for 20 years so happy for it to balance out over the long term
3. Grounding - do people have problems with ththe front splitter in general use?
Any thoughts welcome!
Edited by Str6mik on Monday 25th June 17:49
Thanks for all the replies!
So went back for another test drive and drove 350 sport and 350 roadster back to back. I think I've decided I'm going for the Exige over the GT4
Whilst I prefer the 350 sport - The gearbox is just that bit nicer, the exhaust just that bit nicer, but I'm not sure for me at the moment it is worth an extra £10k. The handling was significantly better, but given i'm going to change the geo, and the roadster set up softer I'm not overtly worried. I was actually really impressed with the standard car, which had done 30k miles, the 350 sport 18k. I had my gf with me in the roadster and it actually felt far stronger - do these engines come on massively with age?
So the car I'm looking at is a 350 Exige coupe which has done 6k miles on a 13 plate- numberplate L7TSX - anyone know it?
The dealer was checking the service history, but he intimated it hasn't got full Lotus service history. I'm thinking not to be too worried as the last service at 6000 miles was done by the lotus garage, which is still earlier than the first 'official' service. So the additional services that weren't conducted at Lotus were just 'bonuses' and wouldn't definitively put a new buyer off.
Any thoughts?
Many thanks
Mike
So went back for another test drive and drove 350 sport and 350 roadster back to back. I think I've decided I'm going for the Exige over the GT4
Whilst I prefer the 350 sport - The gearbox is just that bit nicer, the exhaust just that bit nicer, but I'm not sure for me at the moment it is worth an extra £10k. The handling was significantly better, but given i'm going to change the geo, and the roadster set up softer I'm not overtly worried. I was actually really impressed with the standard car, which had done 30k miles, the 350 sport 18k. I had my gf with me in the roadster and it actually felt far stronger - do these engines come on massively with age?
So the car I'm looking at is a 350 Exige coupe which has done 6k miles on a 13 plate- numberplate L7TSX - anyone know it?
The dealer was checking the service history, but he intimated it hasn't got full Lotus service history. I'm thinking not to be too worried as the last service at 6000 miles was done by the lotus garage, which is still earlier than the first 'official' service. So the additional services that weren't conducted at Lotus were just 'bonuses' and wouldn't definitively put a new buyer off.
Any thoughts?
Many thanks
Mike
Hello again all.
Just wanted to say thanks for all the advice - and to say I'm so glad I went with the Exige. I absolutely love it and can't stop driving the thing. Every time I get in it I feel like I should be running to it a la le mans as it feels like a GT racer on the road - and mine even has parking sensors!
I still think I'm going to get a diff at some point, but for now I absolutely love it - it feels such an experience every time I get in it, the power, the granularity and weight of the steering, even the exhaust note as standard is very decent. It feels like nothing else I've driven in a long time and is such a massive step up from my Honda Elise they feel like totally different cars.
Geo is booked for the 6th August, but actually questioning whether it needs it, the understeer is nowhere near as bad as I originally thought.
New head unit is needed as the alpine cdr 111RM in the car won't sync with my iPhone 7 but that's minor
Exhaust is on order and stripes are going to be applied at the end of the month - then a diff in a year or so. Feels like a keeper already and is the perfect foil for my Fk8 Type R
Love it.
Just a quick one how do you turn the race mode off ? Ie no traction control or stability protection? When I turn to 'race' it say traction control off, but I assume the learning stability system is still active
Just wanted to say thanks for all the advice - and to say I'm so glad I went with the Exige. I absolutely love it and can't stop driving the thing. Every time I get in it I feel like I should be running to it a la le mans as it feels like a GT racer on the road - and mine even has parking sensors!
I still think I'm going to get a diff at some point, but for now I absolutely love it - it feels such an experience every time I get in it, the power, the granularity and weight of the steering, even the exhaust note as standard is very decent. It feels like nothing else I've driven in a long time and is such a massive step up from my Honda Elise they feel like totally different cars.
Geo is booked for the 6th August, but actually questioning whether it needs it, the understeer is nowhere near as bad as I originally thought.
New head unit is needed as the alpine cdr 111RM in the car won't sync with my iPhone 7 but that's minor
Exhaust is on order and stripes are going to be applied at the end of the month - then a diff in a year or so. Feels like a keeper already and is the perfect foil for my Fk8 Type R
Love it.
Just a quick one how do you turn the race mode off ? Ie no traction control or stability protection? When I turn to 'race' it say traction control off, but I assume the learning stability system is still active
Hi all,
Had the vinyl stripes / cup rear applied the other day so thought I would upload some pics! Very pleased with the guys at reforma near bradford who did the work. Well worth the 2 hour drive for them to do it
Just waiting on Jim now with the 2bular!
Must say I'm very happy with my daily and weekend now - matching red mirrors for the win!
DSC_0018 by mikeharper2, on Flickr
DSC_0022 by mikeharper2, on Flickr
DSC_0037 by mikeharper2, on Flickr
DSC_0049 by mikeharper2, on Flickr
Had the vinyl stripes / cup rear applied the other day so thought I would upload some pics! Very pleased with the guys at reforma near bradford who did the work. Well worth the 2 hour drive for them to do it
Just waiting on Jim now with the 2bular!
Must say I'm very happy with my daily and weekend now - matching red mirrors for the win!
DSC_0018 by mikeharper2, on FlickrDSC_0022 by mikeharper2, on FlickrDSC_0037 by mikeharper2, on FlickrDSC_0049 by mikeharper2, on FlickrGassing Station | Elise/Exige/Europa/340R | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff