I am seriously considering buying an Exige S. I’m hoping to get some advice from you guys about it. I have arranged a test drive, my local dealer hopes to have one ready for me to test drive in the next month.
My brother has an S2 111S and I have driven this on the road and on track at Bedford and Spa Francorchamps (went with LOT in Oct 2008). Its impressed me a lot and give a real thrill when driving. My only criticism is its not powerful enough.
The performance figures of the Exige S are very impressive and right what I’m after. I currently drive a golf R32, which is a good, fun and practical car. It ticks five important boxes for me which are :
some of you may laugh at the above, but coming from an audi diesel it was much better in all these areas! I’ve had the R32 a while now and been thinking about replacing it. In looking at replacement cars I have driven the current RS4, the current M3 and the porsche 911 Carrera 2S (997). These were all obviously better than the R32 in all 5 areas, the porsche was really the best, then the RS4 closely followed by the M3.
The Exige S will blow these out the water in terms of handling, performance and maybe even exterior looks but my dilemma is, is the car too hardcore for me? (I guess the test drive will help me decide a lot)
I don’t have a problem with having a hardcore car but would definitely buy a 2nd small car as a runaround if I had the exige. The exige / porsche / RS4 / M3 would get some track action, the exige would obviously make me do this a lot more.
so here are the questions about the exige S:
what is it like as a daily drive?
how hard is it to drive in the wet?
is it tough to drive fast in the wet? (like the last laps at the Spa F1 GP 2008?!)
how does it compare performance wise on the road to the M3 / RS4 and 911??
what are the essential option eg. performance / touring / sports pack etc…???
Ok, I hope someone can answer some of these questions for me. I know its a bit of an essay but really need some help / answers so I can decide better,
In the last five years I’ve had a new 997c2s to a new RS4…at that time I bought the Exige (n/a) as a second car, to a new V8 M3 (I�m never buying new again btw�…�����s wasted WTF was I thinking). As you mate I have them in the same order best to worst although the M3 was MDCT…and was shite utter IMO! I now own a R32 MkV DSG, it does indeed tick all of those boxes. I can’t complain, it is what it is…ticks all the right boxes.
I don’t think however you can compare an Exige in any way shape or form to any of those three cars. It can be an everyday car but nothing like those others…including in the wet. On track I’d pick the Exige every time but for everyday over an RS4 or 911 it’s a no brainer. You need to buy an Exige for an everyday drive with no comparison in mind. And that also throws out question 5 because as an everyday car with occasional track use you’d want the lot! I’m no help I guess and as I’m lov’in the R32 I think you should go MkV and buy a mint second hand Exige for summer time everyday driving and the occasional track day car…You never know till you try, test drive it and see…YOU’LL LOVE IT
I went from a mkIV R32 to my Exige, where the R32 was dull and unexciting on track, it was the most capable car in the wet I have ever owned. But the Exige is just amazing as a track\occasional use everyday car. I used mine everyday for the first 6 months I owned it and you just have to be careful when it is wet and or cold as the tyres don’t work that well. To answer your questions though…
what is it like as a daily drive?
Compared to the R32 every trip is exciting, but long journeys can be tedious you find yourself going for A roads
how hard is it to drive in the wet?
To me you have to drive while thinking way further a head than normal
is it tough to drive fast in the wet? (like the last laps at the Spa F1 GP 2008?!)
Yes standing water is aqua plane city unless you change the tyres from A048’s
how does it compare performance wise on the road to the M3 / RS4 and 911??
Over 80 you will be a bit slower
what are the essential option eg. performance / touring / sports pack etc…???
Aircon Sport pack and touring for me, Sport pack gives you better seats and harness bar Touring gives you sound deadening to make it more pleasant on the road.
Well there are my opinions and I’m sure fatcat will be along soon as well as I know he has owned most on your list
Like I said I’m going to test drive the Exige S, hopefully in the next months when my local dealer gets one in stock.
I know the Exige S will be like having 2 extra adrenal glands surgically inserted and set to overdrive, but that really appeals!
If i’m honest I’m a bit worried it will be a handful when the weather is wet, which lets face it is often in the Uk. As you say Adrian, I can spank the R32 in the wet all day long without any worries. Where it lacks is that extra grunt I want which the 911 and the RS4 deliver. I even considered turbo charging the R32 to 400 bhp but that would be money wasted and unrecoverable in the future.
Would have thought the exige only just starts to get caught by the 911 and the RS4 / M3 after 100mph as upto 100 mph it is supposed to be 1 second quicker (in the dry).I guess those cars are a bit more composed than the Exige S, particularly in slightly unfavourable road conditions so maybe thats why they are a lot closer.
I loved the R32 on the track. Top picture at Spa, it did itself justice and delivered more than I was expecting, it cornered really really well, found the side supports of the Konig Sports seats very useful around Rivage and Pouhon! Performance wise I got creamed by all the 911’s, but all of them were either GT3’s or GT3 RS’, hardly in the same class!
I’ll post again after the test drive but have found it very useful to hear from you guys! Thanks again… why is this such a bloody hard decision, its doing my head in!
I think you might be surprised by the handling comparison. I assumed that my car was carrying a lot more corner speed but when I did a very unscientific comparison (s2 elise & rs4) there wasnt much in it really. Heavy metal engineering has come along way. There will be nothing in it either upto 90 ish and the silly german barges really start to fly. They are also much easier to drive fast in the wet (especially the audi) with the electronic aids.
0-60 time for the rs4, m3 and exige s are all about 4.5 arent they ?
I think it might be worth mentioning that most people buy lotus’ for the experience of driving and the level of feedback (and looks). Not necessarily to be fastest on a track day. If you just want to go very quickly on track, get yourself a caterfield (r300 ?) or similar and buy a cheap tow car for everyday use. Just another idea.
BTW - the exige S is a great car, the above is just my experience of the cars you mentioned.
Cheers Ade � no comparison with the R32/M3 v Exige, chalk and cheese, different cars for totally different things.
My R32 had the AMD stage 3 upgrade and was �reputed� to have a 300bhp, great sounding car, very grippy and great fun. On the track it was good, quite wooden in it�s feedback, I�ve tracked it as Spa, the Ring and countless tracks in the UK, at the time I thought it was great, even managed to �keep up� with the odd RS4 (for a few yards anyway).
The M3 had me quite underwhelmed, wrong car for the wrong purpose, it was at this time I should have bought an Exige � oddly enough it was at Snetterton when I tracked the M3 and Gavin had just got his Exige and said to me �you gotta buy one if these mate�… oh, well, that was 3 years ago.
Never got to grips with the SMG box and it�s cold stuttering starts.
The Exige was bought soley for one purpose � the track, and it has rewarded me in bundles, great fun, seat of your pants and quite controllable, one of the few cars I�ve not ended up in the kitty litter (but thats another story).
Think about what you want the car for, mine is the Performance Pack and is quite firm and loud, none of this poofy touring pack with carpets and comfy seats for me…
Take it from one who has gone through what you are about to go through… get the Exige.
So I have a different dilema to Cooky, having already got an Elise (S2 111S K-Series) which I track quite ‘a bit’ (3-4 events per year since I bought it in '04), I keep on getting tempted by the lovely Exiges that blast past me. From a driving stand point, I’d estimate I drive the car within 80% of its limit, at 95% of my driver limit )… how much of a different experience/step up would an Exige S be? Our Elise is a track day only car - we have the German wagons for moving the kids about and commuting. Have any of you done the Elise->Exige transition and have any thoughts?
I think once you are in the groove on a trackday there isnt much in it really (the experience). The exige is a nicer place to be and feels more special, plus 60+ hp helps on the straight bits.
“Would have thought the exige only just starts to get caught by the 911 and the RS4 / M3 after 100mph as upto 100 mph it is supposed to be 1 second quicker (in the dry)”
exige is a great car but dont get conned by Lotus performance figures
a 997S will wip it above 50Mph so will an RS4
ALso rembember the exige is very fast off the line, which makes it even slower from 60-100Mph V a 997S or RS4
Not that I ditching the Exige, just pointing out some facts which you may have been drawn in by by Lotus marketing.
the S is 7.2 60-100MPh a RS4 is 6.1 a GT3 is 4.9 as an example
This type of comparison always crops up and always seems to boil down to ‘speed’ and the difference is measured in nano seconds.
By all means if you have unlimited funds then buy all 3, if you have limited funds and you know what you want then buy the type of car you want for the purpose you want it for.
Otherwise the comparisons can go on forever and ever and you end up buying a 207 Gti.
[quote=fatcat]This type of comparison always crops up and always seems to boil down to ‘speed’ and the difference is measured in nano seconds.
By all means if you have unlimited funds then buy all 3, if you have limited funds and you know what you want then buy the type of car you want for the purpose you want it for.
Otherwise the comparisons can go on forever and ever and you end up buying a 207 Gti.
[quote=fatcat]This type of comparison always crops up and always seems to boil down to ‘speed’ and the difference is measured in nano seconds.
By all means if you have unlimited funds then buy all 3, if you have limited funds and you know what you want then buy the type of car you want for the purpose you want it for.
Otherwise the comparisons can go on forever and ever and you end up buying a 207 Gti.
:sleep: [/quote]
The problem is the audi, porchse and bmw have more speed and can do more. As I said before you dont buy a lotus for any other reason than you wanting a lotus for the experience. They arent the quickest cars out there. They do however look the quickest.
So much is down to diver ability anyway - eg even with a “talent enhancher” bolted onto my engine, I can’t keep up with DaveP in his n/a Honda. But am I worried/concerned/dissappointed? Nah, I’m not racing, & I’ve never done a trackday which I haven’t enjoyed (although some were more enjoyable than others!!). For me, just being able to drive on track occasionally is totally brilliant - it was something I could only ever dream about for the first 50 years of my life!
So much is down to diver ability anyway - eg even with a “talent enhancher” bolted onto my engine, I can’t keep up with DaveP in his n/a Honda. But am I worried/concerned/dissappointed? Nah, I’m not racing, & I’ve never done a trackday which I haven’t enjoyed (although some were more enjoyable than others!!). For me, just being able to drive on track occasionally is totally brilliant - it was something I could only ever dream about for the first 50 years of my life!
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Exactly, the rs4 requires no talent to lap quickly. You must admit though that the track day scene has changed recently, the game has moved on again and its crappy when you are constantly checking for faster cars. The new batch of hot hatches are stupidly quick and handle really well. A well driven one of those will give an exige s a hard time. That just isnt right.
So much is down to diver ability anyway - eg even with a “talent enhancher” bolted onto my engine, I can’t keep up with DaveP in his n/a Honda. But am I worried/concerned/dissappointed? Nah, I’m not racing, & I’ve never done a trackday which I haven’t enjoyed (although some were more enjoyable than others!!). For me, just being able to drive on track occasionally is totally brilliant - it was something I could only ever dream about for the first 50 years of my life!
[/quote]
Exactly, the rs4 requires no talent to lap quickly. You must admit though that the track day scene has changed recently, the game has moved on again and its crappy when you are constantly checking for faster cars. The new batch of hot hatches are stupidly quick and handle really well. A well driven one of those will give an exige s a hard time. That just isnt right. [/quote]
Yes but no the exige/elise has far better feel, is easier to read and handle at pace…you’ll see more written off M3’s or hot hatches ect. You know where you are in an exige/elise on track. Easier to gather pace in than most, it’s a no brainer and that you’ll carry through to other cars. But practise, tution and learning (of each circuit) is the ONLY way to learn! IMH…Starting late O
it’s a no brainer. You need to buy an Exige for an everyday drive with no comparison in mind. And that also throws out question 5 because as an everyday car with occasional track use you’d want the lot! I’m no help I guess and as I’m lov’in the R32 I think you should go MkV 
and buy a mint second hand Exige for summer time everyday driving and the occasional track day car…You never know till you try, test drive it and see…YOU’LL LOVE IT 
…your call looks great matey!
)… how much of a different experience/step up would an Exige S be? Our Elise is a track day only car - we have the German wagons for moving the kids about and commuting. Have any of you done the Elise->Exige transition and have any thoughts?
wow after readin that lot i think ive bought a minger i think i’d better get rid… 