I currently own a VX220 - fantastic car, love the looks, sounds great with he Vauxhall track exhaust on it, but, well… I’m always looking forwards
Have always liked the S1 Elise, and for me the Exige addresses the 2 things that I don’t like about it… a) the looks - I find the standard Elise not agressive enough, Exige sorts that nicely… b) the performance - std Elise S1 (and my 2.2 VX) just don’t have enough power for me, again Exige sorts that out nicely … so I went to have a look at titanium X plater at a dealer near Brooklands in Surrey, had a look around it (love those 4 point harnesses) and coming from the VX, it just felt so right
It had some sort of single exit sports backbox on it, and the dealer ran it for a short time (it was in the showroom)… at which point I got that feeling that I always do when I know there is no point in trying to stop the inevitable
So I want one!!!
But I have a few questions (bear with me )
I’m not really flushed with money, but I think I could afford one - what are the running costs like? How often does the K series need servicing and how much does it cost on average? How many miles is average for a tank of petrol - 180 is average for the 33l tank on my VX
When I drove the Elise S2 I ended up locking up the fronts on the test drive - after coming from the VX with ABS, I am a little concerned about locking up the brakes in such a serious car. Dealer with Exige explained to me that the reason why it’s so easy to lock the fronts on an S2 (to the un-initiated anyway) is because they are a lot narrower than the S1 front tyres due to Lotus trying to dial in a bit more understeer. This seems to make sense to me, and he said that the front wheels on the Exige are so much wider than the S2 that it’s very difficult to lock
Would I be right in thinking that the Exige is a pretty good investment in terms of money and that the residuals would be pretty good due to the rarity.
The one I saw was on Yokis - very nice almost look like hand cut slicks but what are they like in the wet and are they super expensive?
Thanks for reading my boring spiel people, and thanks in advance for any replies
But (as you’ll read) the Exige really isn’t about 0-60. I think it’s a bit of a pig to get moving but then you hardly ever need to slow down again! As many Ferraris, Porsches, TVRs, etc find out on track.
But (as you’ll read) the Exige really isn’t about 0-60. I think it’s a bit of a pig to get moving but then you hardly ever need to slow down again! As many Ferraris, Porsches, TVRs, etc find out on track.
Ian
Cheers mate - I’m aware of the better-round-corners-than-straight-lines thing already with the VX! Just wanted to compare th figure with the VXT etc
Running costs: you’ll find that the car doesn’t use lots of fuel.
Mine consumes:
road: 26mpG, track: 13mpG
The biggest expense so far is:
-Trackdays (and the fuel and hotels to travel the UK for them)
-Brakes pads and disks
-Tyres
Locking the fronts: yes you can, but that would come after more than 1.2 G’s deceleration.
The S2 and VX have much narrower tyres and that makes them understeer and lock easier.
I don’t thnk anybody here locks the fronts often, except on the wet (the brake bias is strongly to the front).
But then again, why be afraid? it’s not like in a motorcycle, you won’t fall over.
And if you’re used to ABS, you’ll hae to use your brain as ABS, modulate. Addd advantage: brain is portable.
Investment? I would say that it won’t lose as much money as others. But you can’t really call any car an investment, unless you buy it and lock it in a box to be opened 20 years later.
Yokohamas A048, expensive but the best out there. I wish there was anything comparable, but not so far. If you do road only, Toyo’s are OK.
0-60 is claimed at 4.7s, but you’ll slip the clutch and terrible smell will follow. Apart from that, you can hamer it. Rolling starts are preferred.