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Lotus Exige!

jman1

Passed Driver's Ed
Spotted this morning at Town & Country VW...

:drool:





Obviously apples to oranges compared to our cars. Made my GTI look like a minivan. Curious though, to know if anyone's driven one and how it compares...
 

elbles

Passed Driver's Ed
I haven't driven an Exige S, but I did take a test drive in a slightly-modified (intake and exhaust) Elise once. A hell of a car, and really no comparison for the GTI, obviously. Seemingly endless amounts of grip, and while I didn't push it anywhere near hard enough to experience a loss of grip, it felt like the stereotypical mid-engine RWD car around corners.

For a car with no power-assisted steering, it was amazingly light at a stop, and at speed, it was almost too light for my tastes. It definitely had copious amounts of feedback though. And the sound, holy shit the sound. The sound alone from revving that engine to 8,000 RPMs as it sits right behind you is something you'll never forget (unless you DD a Ferrari maybe).

It's a great race/track car, but on public roads, I think I'd rather have a S2000 or the like, even at the expense of maximum grip and speed levels. The Elise/Exige would definitely be faster, but the S2000 is more fun to drive (IMO). Just my two cents...
 

MkVi_Ian

Ready to race!
the s2000 is a woman's car IMO
 

Raven6t9

Noise Pipe Plugs FTW!!!
Ive driven an Exige and an Elise. Both different cars. I wasnt too impressed with the Elise as for power (and just power). My Stage 2 GTI would take it in a straight line, but those things are so much like go-karts that it would whoop the this out of my car on a track. The Exige however, you dont stand a chance in any condition. lol. Those things are dumb light and can handle like no other!
Both are awesome cars. But I'd definately go for the Exige. Anyone know how much they go for?

And if luxury or sound deadening is your thing, neitherof these cars would work for you. They are rigid, they vibrate, and you can hear everything. Its a factory track monster, and it does what its made to do.
 
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elbles

Passed Driver's Ed
The base Exige is just a supercharged Elise with a hard top, I believe, and perhaps a slightly different suspension tune and different ECU parameters. Of course, you can get a supercharged engine (albeit with less power than the Exige's engine) in the Elise now as well. Any of the Elise/Exige line would be a lot faster than you'd think with just 190 HP in the base Elise, even in a straight line.

And Raven6t9 hit the nail right on the head as to comfort: unless you're particularly hard core, you're probably not going to DD these cars (though I've read that a lot of people on the Elise forums actually do). Just getting into and out of the car was a real challenge, and I'm 5' 10" and 165 pounds, and consider myself fairly agile. You have to clear a pretty high and wide sill to get in, and it's got to be killer when you have a hard top in your way.

As for the S2000 being a woman's car, I think you'd change your mind if you drove one. To paraphrase Jeff Foxworthy, "you know it must not be a woman's car if it only comes in manual." It's easily the most neutral steady-state cornering car I've ever driven, particularly in AP1 (2000-2003) form, along with having the best shifter out of any car I've ever driven. And no, I'm not at all a Honda fan, as I hate everything else they make and have made over the last 10 or so years. Just saying... :)
 

StreetSpeed2000

Passed Driver's Ed
There was a dude with a factory Exige race car at Monticello this weekend. He made basically every car in the advanced group look like they were standing still. He was also a member, so it doesn't hurt that he can drive the track with his eyes closed.

Anyway Exige = Win. Honestly, I could take or leave an Elise. They do handle nice, but 180hp just isn't enough.
 
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