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.