Test drove the Lotus Exige s on the w/end, old style (2006), WHAT a car, really hunkered down, screaming supercharger, fantastic brakes, grip on the semi slicks amazing, interior like a cockpit although very spartan, but a real feeling of intent. I loved it, just loved it even though it's a pretty firm ride and the visibility isn't very good, ive been trying to imagine it as a daily driver because that's what it will be and I'm just not sure. It also is a slightly intimidating drive, the rawness is quite strange and just goes to show just how far removed driving has actually become even the Megane felt pretty luxurious by comparison. The Elise sc I've been told will give a very similar drive but has the advantage of some rear visibility and thar is very appealing, but is the suspension slightly softer making it more usable? My heart is absolutely with the Exige, the aggressive styling (and it's black) really looks good, but my head says Elise for the visibility and maybe the ride quality. I know a few of you have owned a Lotus so any thoughts would be appreciated,,,,,
My friend has a 1.6 2010 elise. It's not soft by any means and it's a proper sports car. I love the thing! Not the best pictures but might give you an idea of looks and visibility.
Only you can decide if you can live with it as a daily. Out of those 2 tho, Exige S every time. Looks, image, capability, ownership satisfaction.
My Elise was immense and I miss it massively, I had Nitrons on mine which were akin to the Exige setup and I did 12k in 8 months ish in it. Hero cars. Mine was only a K-series but was about 170bhp. Lotus Elise 111S Type 25 by Greg Feirn, on Flickr I will own another.
I remember seeing yours Feirny, great looking car, it's a real heart vs head scenario. The other factor is speed bumps, I understand you need to crawl over them and I have several down my road. Yes Aerofoil, I think it's The Exige for me too, just can't decide, nice pics Ph1.
I also miss my elise a lot im after another one an have had the same debate, I'll be going down the elise road, just not sure if it will be the sc or the 1.6
the exige I love don't get me wrong, but as a daily drive I think the best option is the elise thing is, for power the elise sc is more than enough with the advantage of better visibility etc. Also at half the tax, great fuel economy for the power and still at a 0-60 in 6 seconds dead its hard to overlook the 1.6 elise too. When I had mine (111r) it was a second car but I did own a vx220 as a daily drive and it was a bit extreme for every day use
I've had the exact same thought for a couple of years now - I can't get an s2 Elise out of my head. My issue is my 18 month old is... well.. 18 months old and I have work at weekends so I can look after him during the week so it's not exactly a daily daddy car... I also worry it would feel a little gutless after the Megane? But I still neeeeeeed one! Like neeeeed! I know what you mean about the Exige in black though - I see one occasionally and it just screams hardcore but they're out of my budget sadly, especially as we need a new car for the wife.
Ha cheers, get one and you won't be disappointed. Mine kept with andybonds up to 70 no issues, after that he was off. It would skin a standard Meg alive though.
What at 170bhp? I'd HAVE to play with it I couldn't not do! One thing I've always wondered is and it sounds silly but what are they like on wet days for steaming up? And is the heater any good?
They only weigh 750kgs ish. But yeah it would have spanked a standard Meg. Ruined a Corsa VXR a few times. Mine had a short ratio box and lightened flywheel, it wasn't standard but it was almost perfect. The heater was great, took a few minutes to defrost but I never had an issue.
I think there are some issues with steaming up and condensation on the inside of the windscreen, certainly on the older models and judging by the fitment of the windows onto the seals some water may get in there aswell, but everyone says you soon overlook these downside when the supercharger kicks in!
I think there are some issues with steaming up and condensation on the inside of the windscreen, certainly on the older models and judging by the fitment of the windows onto the seals some water may get in there aswell, but everyone says you soon overlook these downside when the supercharger kicks in! The 220 bhp supercharger does 60 in a shade over 4sec's, so yeah, it would easily see the Meg off!
See it would be my daily but I work 3 days a week (Sat,Sun,Mon) so the Megane isn't used a HUGE amount during the week - I average 4k a year but I'd be jumping in the 'family' car more if I got one. A decent 111s seems to be around 15k - scares me a little getting something that isn't practical with a little one so young.
I've heard you can get a car seat to fit in the Lotus for your toddler, so I've removed that hurdle for you!
Oh I've seen them! That was never the issue, even the boot is big enough to take a few bits and bobs with us... I can always get a hard top and fit roof bars for the pram
pic It depends... i Think it would be a bad option to buy an exige S at this point. A used 2007-2010 S2 exige S costs about 30-35k. The Newer 2012 on exige V6 used is trading in at 35k and being sold for 40. There isn't enough exige v6s in the mark currently to see what will happened to the S2 exige pricing. Buy one now and its a risk that you'd lose quite a bit. You can get a newer S3 elise S (supercharged) with a years warranty for the same money as a 2009 exige S. There really isn't much to separate them. And you can't really fault the elise S for looks either .
I've spend this afternoon getting my head around all the s2 variants - and all the carbon goodies you can get for them!
i'd love one of these one day with all the carbon bits, i know they don't do anything other than look bling, but would have to have them.
Your right about the V6 and residual values flowing down to the S2. How that will eventually pan out is still TBD. I've had my eye on a V6 for a while but have always felt they are a overpriced for what they are. I reckon they have a way to go yet before they are fair value and the big new factor is the latest V6 350 Sport which is huge step forward for Lotus in terms of quality, weight, performance and handling. That is already driving down the older V6s. Just look at how many V6 Club Racers are unsold. How that will effect the S2 Exige is hard to tell but one thing with Lotus, when a new model does appear, the old ones value don't really tank.
That pic of the black one is exactly like the one I test drove, it really does look the dogs bo##*+ks, and yes to a degree your right brisa, there's not much to separate the cars except for looks and the Exige just wins out for me.I take it that's your Elise in the pic?very nice. The head says Elise for the reasons stated, yes, newer than the exige for similar money, same performance, heart says Exige, just because it looks so bloody gorgeous.
I friend at work has an 07 elise that he uses as his daily for the last four years,really looks tatty now paint has worn off were you open the doors etc ,bet its not worth a lot now as most people will buy on condition I would of thought.Just something to think about.
yep thats mine mate 2012 with the latest z2R-FE. I do love the looks of an exige though. You might want to consider the 220 elise cup. current exige owners are making the switch because they know the value of their exiges are likely to drop and the cup still carries aero. For a few grand more its a new brainer really.
A bit too much doom and gloom there mate on the Exige. Even the original Exige still shifts for a great price and they always have. Previous generation Elise values always hold up with a new generation and model and the Exige is following the same path. The Elise is no different from that aspect.
You have to stop this thread now... I am now looking at supercharged elise/exige's and listening to that noise they make... Seems the s2 whine is a lot louder than the new ones, can barely even hear it on the new ones haha. To be fair i've always loved these cars since I was little. Will own one for sure at some point!!!
i appreciate any exige and love the exige v6 (currently looking at replacing my elise s with one in 6months). I love it for what it is but traders are unsure what will happen with the used s2 exige market. The addition of new variants only a few grand apart doesnt help. The 50/50 (pay half now and the other half in two years) as well as 0% finance deals have led to a reasonable number being sold. Those deals are slowly coming to an end and more v6s are making their way into the used market. Id wait 6 months to a year before buying any exige imo.
Dealers are also unsure about the Elise market. Elise list prices have significantly risen with Elise 220 and Cup models now topping out at £50K, also on the 50/50 deals, which is a Lease Purchase not a PCP btw. The same factors apply for anyone buying an Elise at the OP's price range. It's not immune to new model releases. Significantly, the Exige V6 has been on the market now for 4 years and Exige S2 prices have held firm. I would agree about waiting for V6 prices to stabilise with the new Sport 350.
Oh great, wait 6 months to a yr!!!!!!! Are you completely mad?! You don't seem to realise, I've been bitten by the Lotus bug!! Can't stop looking at Pistonheads, autotrader, seloc, think I've seen every youtube vid. I did look at the v6 and although I can't afford one now the prices aren't that far apart so I see why you suggest waiting, but bloody hell, that's a Big ask. The mileage on some of the exige's aren't too bad but there's a worrying amount around the 30k mark so was wondering if there's a maintenance schedule issue at that Mark or alot of tracking has taken place and they're shifting it on quick sharpish?
Oh great, wait 6 months to a yr!!!!!!! Are you completely mad?! You don't seem to realise, I've been bitten by the Lotus bug!! Can't stop looking at Pistonheads, autotrader, seloc, think I've seen every youtube vid. I did look at the v6 and although I can't afford one now the prices aren't that far apart so I see why you suggest waiting, but bloody hell, that's a Big ask. The mileage on some of the exige's aren't too bad but there's a worrying amount around the 30k mark so was wondering if there's a maintenance schedule issue at that Mark or alot of tracking has taken place and they're shifting it on quick sharpish?
Relax lol. I think there is a bit of Elise ownership bias about. You can get a nice Exige S2 for £25K, the cheapest Exige V6 is about £38K. That's a big difference in price. There also isn't a 'worrying amount' of S2s about. Take a step back and look at how Lotus residuals have been progressing over the years. They all hold their value well and there isn't a Exige residual tsunami just around the corner. Plus the trend on Elise residuals historically runs in a similar fashion to the Exige. The rules apply to both models.
25k is what I was looking at, don't want to go too north of that if possible. The 'worrying amount ' was referring to the mileage aspect, just seemed a bit of a coincidence that several are around 30k miles. Do you think that 40k miles is abit on the high side for an Exige? Any worrying maintenance at that level, supercharger? I'd thought to ask about an ecu read out to see how the car has been driven or tracked, seems like a good idea. I did think that the prices were holding up given the age of some of the cars around, but I would kind of expect that given how iconic the s2 is, I wouldn't imagine a huge dip in price. The 50/50 offer is very tempting to go for a new Elise,
Mileage, just like any car is always a factor but a bit more so for a specialist like an Exige. There are too many factors to say if it mileage is an issue for you. Is it a daily, garage queen, odd trackday weapon? etc. That always effects what mileage you should be looking to buy at. Just like any car buy on spec, condition, history and useage. The good chat will be on Seloc. Going for an Elise 50/50, if you want to outright own it at the end, doesn't avoid the list price (+ any discount) you pay, you just get some 0% finance and remember the depreciation on a new car. Big factor, even for a Lotus. You are not escaping it. Once again, I reckon the V6 used values have a bit to drop, over and beyond normal time depreciation but that isn't going to filter down too much, just as it never has done with any other new model range in the Exige/Elise world. Buy the right spec, condition Exige S2 and it's going to be a solid buy. Just have a look at some of the prices a top condition Exige S1 sells for. It's not all negative vibes.
OK, things have moved on a bit,,, just purchased a Lotus Elise sc!!!!!! Couldn't wait, went and drove it today, went like stink, looks gorgeous and I fell in love with it. Starlight Black, 2009, black wheels as well, hard and soft top, only 25k on the clock. Got to wait for one VERY long week to pick it up. Thanks for everyone's input and advice,,,