Lotus Exige anyone?
 

I have +- a few weeks and I'll be home again, no more deployment. Saved a few $, a lot actually. Anyone here have any good experience on buying/driving an Elise or Exige. Looking into buying a Exige variant. It will be my DD next to my WRX. I will not be tracking it at all. I do not care about road noises or stiff suspension, harsh rides. This is gonna be my car and not the wife. Good idea or should I just get a BRZ?

You will care about the stiff suspension the first time you ever hit a pothole. Also, if you're over 5'5" you had better be flexible.

I love the Exige, but if you're not going to be tracking it, it seems a bit too hard core for daily driving.

- No refinement
- Stiff suspension
- No rear seats
- Minimal trunk space
- Weak A/C
- Random trim pieces will fall off
- Hard to get in/out

A good friend of mine had an Exige 240 (the supercharged one) and he let me drive it for a week while he was on vacation. At first I thought this was a sweet deal. However, by the end of the 2nd day of driving it I just ended up ditching it all together and driving my FRS. The Exige should be strictly a track car for experienced drivers. It demands every bit of your concentration 100% of the time (like how you would be concentrating on a track) or it will bite you hard.

And all of the stuff DarkSunrise said above is very accurate.

I'm 6'2", and sat in an Elise when they first came to the US....well, you don't really "sit" in one, you wear it. I wouldn't want to be any taller, in it, that is for sure. Decided not to get one, based on the repair costs.

I'm 6'5". I couldn't drive it with my shoes on and I could only get in and out of it with the top off. And my line of sight was right at the top inch or so of windshield. A lot of fun to drive though. :D

Lotus Elise... basically a giant go-kart. You might want to think about putting a tall dune buggy flagpole w/ an orange flag on it to alert other drivers that you are in front of them. More often than not, larger cars will not be able to see you at a stop light, or they'll completely forget you're there and run you over. Heard more than a few stories about trucks that stop behind a lotus, only to creep forward after forgetting it's there (since they can't see it).

IMO, no point if you're not tracking it, it's got pretty much no creature comforts. Might as well get a BRZ Limited. If you really want to be unique, get a Super 7 =D

Use this as a good reference on what to expect for DD.

If you can afford it look into the Evora.

Never thought anyone was ballsy enough to DD a lotus Elise or Exige.

I got a big pair, or at least I think I do. :D The Evora is out of my price range. I like the Elise/Exige because of its reliability (toyota engine). The lightness and rawness is what I like about it. I can live with the rest. No harshness can compare to sitting in the back of a LMTV for hours during a convoy. I always compare my hardship to all my military experience. It makes me resilient.

I've spent quite a bit of time in an Elise and I would never consider one for any sort of DD usage. It's just not practical, the attention gets annoying as hell (well maybe not if you are an attention whore), the lack of creature comforts, ride, build quality (hint: it sucks), noise, etc.


Everyone that I know that used one for a DD sold them or turned them into dedicated track cars (which is what they should be IMO).

If you check eBay sold listings it's surprising but many Evoras go for less than Exige 240/260's. Both have Toyota drivetrains but from what I've read the comparisons stop there.

You probably know that Lotus is once again in financial crisis with massive layoffs, all future product on hold and the last of US imports halted as temporary air bag exemptions expire. You'll see recent Exige/Evora on eBay claiming remaining warranty, but it's looking more likely that you'd be on your own as dealerships are terminated.

Maybe as a track day car or possible investment for last produced, but as a DD in Alaska? Really?

My 111R was a semi-DD, I'd use it for my daily commute to the local office, errands, etc. But for longer trips I'd always take my 1 series, it required too much concentration for long journeys as the 111R would bite you at a moments notice. For the most part it was okay, the ride was nice thanks in part to Ohlins suspension setup for road & light rally cross use. Mechanically the expensive bits were rock solid (engine, 'box, suspension). For reliability the big thing I found was the TLC it needed in terms of small non-critical niggles, I was forever checking fixtures & fittings trying to find that rattle or buzz then tightening things up.

The reason I got rid of it was because I kept on not having quite enough boot space for something & I so couldn't use it for all my local trips. I'd prefer to use my petrol for all local trips allowing me to step up to a 3er GT or 5er as a pure long distance cruiser/big load second car.

The Elise was my dream car for a while. Not so much now. For a real kart on the road, I'd get a Lotus 7. For a real road car, the Elise isn't enough of a car. That's why Porsche could sell so many more Boxsters and Caymans. For a dedicated track car, there are just so many alternatives, from a formula car to a retired spec racer.

Until you've driven an Elise & Cayman on UK back roads I don't think you'll ever really understand what the Elise offers that the Cayman doesn't. It's lack of weight & diminutive dimensions give it most of the Cayman's practicality in a package that's the right size for UK roads. In that regard the S2 misses the mark being heaver & bigger. The Cayman is just a little too big, on several places on my drive to work the road gets so narrow that it feels tight in an Elise, but a Cayman is wider.

My brother has a turbo'd Lotus Elise
(matt black, bunch of carbon fiber, manual, puts out about 350) he lets me drive it occasionally, its a blast but not even remotely practical DD
Heres the Comparison breakdown:

Lotus Elise (turbod 7psi):
Performance: 7 (turbod up to 10+) - Turbod its fast as hell. the power/weight makes it faster than a ferrari. Ive heard of people building 1200+hp versions as well. Stock its still quite fast with compression ratio and power/weight but still a 4
Shifting: 6 - fast but Quite notchy and loose / rattly
Handling performance: 9 - grips like a magnet, instant response steering,
Smoothness: 3 - shifting is rough + clanky, you can literally feel the paintstrips in the road its so rough of a ride, engines a little rough (obviously isn't a v10)
Comfort: 1 - super super small(expect to rip your pants getting in/out at least once) ,nonadjustable ROCK HARD seats, very cramped, almost nonexistent features such as AC radio etc. VERY loud interior. Surprising amount of leg room length though believe it or not
Features: 1 - what features? ac/heat barely work, radio's kinda pointless
Weatherability: 1 will almost definitely leak in the rain, if you hit deep puddles water can even get into the vents(happened to my brother), almost nonexistent AC means virtually no Defog, weak ac + heat.
Space: 1 - youll touch the passengers leg shifting its so small, the trunk will fit about 2 gym bags tops, the only way you could have less space is on an ariel atom
MPG/power: 9 (10 turbod) - brother got 35mpg average turbod driving somewhat aggressively while putting down 350ish

Overall: 5.5 - Its basically a road legal track car, If you can get by the splitting your pants getting in and out, the horrible uncomfortableness, the nonexistent space, and the lack of interior … anything, its a car with the potential to be ridiculously fast and handle like a magnet (aka track car)

BRZ/FRS:
Performance: 5 (turbod 7-8) - Turbod its got potential. Stock its responsive and quick, just not fast
Shifting: 7 - Smooth and precise for the most part, but may occasionally need double clutching, especially getting into first if going any kind of decent speed, still decent though
Handling performance: 8.5 - grips very well(not on stock prius tires that is), very responsive handling
Smoothness: 7 - Pretty smooth, especially ride quality, little rough due to boxer 4cyl though
Comfort: 6 - Pretty comfortable seats, adjustable, decent temp control ability, tiny virtually nonexistent rear though.
Features: 7 - decent features available, but no steering wheel controls?
Weatherability: 7 - decent in varying environments, rear drive so snow will be lacking but with decent snow tires compensatable, decent defog control, heated mirrors available.
Space: 4 (5 or 6 among sportscars): Lets face it, its pretty small, rear seating basically only for double amputees, trunks kind of small but seats at least fold, front feels a little tight
MPG/power: 7 (8.5 turbod) - great mpg (I avg 30) but not too much HP with it, with a tune and turboyou'd get close to the same mpg highway with much more power potential though

Overall: 7.5 - Great handling car, quick response but not fast unless turbod, not record breaking power/torque (turbo helps but still won't be anything too crazy), pretty small but still comfy, good amount of features on limited, easily maneuverable, fun to drive, oh and did I mention it handles great while still being practical dd?

So basically, unless you plan on using it as 95% track car, BRZ/FRS is your better bet, if you want more oomf turbo it and you'll get a very similar car to the elise, just with all the comforts.

Evora though, now that may be worth looking at if you have the extra money:D

It doesn't really get any more go kart than the 7/BAC Mono/Ariel Atom.

I've been into lotus since my high school years. Lotus has always been in financial troubles since Colin Chapman died in 1982. The Esprit has gone down in prices, the S4 Esprit is a car I am keeping my eye on, a S4s would be perfect. I wouldn't mind the 84-86 Turbo Esprit. The V8 is to pricey but still in the Exige territory. I really like the rawness of the Exige. I need a second car soon as I will be handing my WRX over to my spouse. I will most likely use my new car to just go to work. I will be an aviation instructor soon so the time spent traveling in the lotus will be nominal, most likely to PT, formations, and the hangar for classes.
$45k is my price range and I am willing to fork over that much since there is no other car in comparison in that territory next to the atom and go karts. Unless you guys can name a car that weighs 2000lbs, high 12 sec quarter mile, 9 secs to 100 mph, rwd and forced induction?

LS3 Miata

LS3 Miata with some carbon and a supercharger*

I learned to drive in the UK and owned in order a VW Beetle, Lotus 7, Mini Cooper S and Jag Mk.II 3.8S, all well used but road worthy for the most part except maybe the Jag that always had something broken or about to.

Incredible roads and drivers. Even someone's Mum was always up for a dice on back country roads. Fond memories, and the only time I was pulled over was in the VW for speeding +10 over due to a faulty speedo reading low due to grease migrating into the head (really!).

since lotus stop selling exige and elises in the states, the prices has steadily increasing. i need to jump on the bandwagon and purchase one soon or until the alfa 4c gets here.

I'd hate to buy the car just because it's not dropping in price.

Not sure about that. Like I posted earlier, eBay completed listings is a great tool. It shows that only about a third of recent Elise listings have sold and all of them for well below your budget:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Cars-Trucks-...=Lotus%20Elise

The sales rate for Exige is even less:

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Cars-Trucks-...=Lotus%20Exige

I would think a car of this type would sell for even less in Jan/Feb when it's a model year older and the snow is flying.

BTW, thanks for your service, it's appreciated. :cheers:

Is it just me, or does the Evora look a lot like a FRS/BRZ?

Its just you :D

Also you should rephrase that to "Is it just me, or does the FRS/BRZ look a lot like the Evora" since the Evora came first :scared0016:

I mean...are we talking stock here? Or what...cause...

A nicely built miata* might have those kind of statistics, not sure about 9 seconds to 100mph though. A heavily weight reduced GC8 coupe...although thats being optimistic.

$45k will hand you alot of possibilities in terms of stock and used + modified. I do remember lotus being a very unreasonably reliable car too.



* by nicely built i mean forged motor and decently sized turbo with supporting engine and drivetrain mods.

Wait...since this will be a DD next to a rex, are motorcycles out of the equation? Plenty fast, really good mpg, sporty as hell..about as good in the rain as a lotus lol..

P&L's drag Impreza can do it, but I wouldn't consider that to be a daily drivable car. It's down to an 8.3s 1/4 mile at 165 mph, I believe.

9 seconds to 100mph? If its a 1/4 mile test and not a rolling start then you have three options; fast reliable cheap. Pick two. Im doubtful a lotus would be able to do a 9 second 1/4 mile as well.

stock Exige S is 220hp and the variants of the Exige S240 S260 relates to hp. All Exige S variants come stock supercharged. Lotus back in the day were unreliable but the new lotus are pretty good. the Exige/Elise have the Toyota Celica GTS engine with modified heads from Yamaha and a revised ECU from Lotus.

http://www.moibibiki.com/images/lotus-exige-16.jpg

Lotus is famous for not just their racing heritage but also on the cars they worked on. GTR, Delorean, MR2 to just name a few.

Why do i get the feeling a bike would be more comfortable as a DD than a lotus?

Thats another suggestion, a beefed up MR2. just givin ya suggestions :D

:D

http://files.conceptcarz.com/img/Toy...V-08_MH_04.jpg

For your money you could also get a very nice Corvette.

Or a top of the line Prius...J/K....

I currently have both a Lotus Exige s240 and BRZ. I used the Exige as a daily for several years but decided on purchasing a BRZ a year ago since my commute is much longer now. Daily driving the Exige was doable when it was stock but as the mods increased so did the NVH. Fatigue after driving the car is a real thing since there is no power steering and the shape of the rear clam and hatch seems conducive to harmonics and drone. This is even more apparent with an aftermarket exhaust.

The benefits of switching to the BRZ as my daily was two fold. Not only is the BRZ a better Daily. (Rear visibility, lack of NVH, more supple ride, powersteering, easier to park, cost to repair[A little bump from a bonehead driver can end up costing thousands in fiberglass and paint repairs.] It has also made me appreciate the Exige much much more. It actually feels very fast again! The steering response, sensitivity, acceleration and overall nimbleness is unmatched when comparing the two.

By the way your information is partially incorrect. The engine is exactly the same as the celica GT-S. The yamaha developed head and valvetrain is the same in both cars. The only differences are in the ECU and transmission gearing and optional LSD.

I can get one for $45k and its street legal? Sign me up :party0030:

& the supercharger...