Went for the Lotus Exige S driving experience at Silverstone on Saturday just pass and what a fantastic car it is!!!!!!! The car is so well connected with the driver and the tarmac that afterwards, when i got back into my Z4M, it actually managed to feel ordinary by comparison. Its like there is an invisible screen between me and the car. Although both revs to 8000rpm, the exige S generates so much "feel" when reving all the way up there. I still feel the Z4M being just as fast in a straight but its adetached experience in comparison.
I never knew i would ever like the lotus but now i am really dying to get one (maybe just an Elise rather than an Exige) as a dedicated trackcar.
You'll probably find the standard Elise to be somewhere in the middle of the Z4M and Exige S.
My first impression of the Elise (111S) when I drove it alongside the Caterham CSR260, Caterham R500 Evo, Arial Atom 2 300 was that is was 'soft' (relatively of course) - and that was after driving to the event in an e34 M5 (although the drive home did illustrate what 'soft' really meant)
The other 3 felt completely different - partly down to their open-top nature I suppose - but I'd always expected the Elise to feel powerful, stiff & nimble and because I'd started the day with the CSR260 I felt the Elise was the runt of the cars available on the day. I didn't particularly like how twitchy the Atom was as it felt like I was driving a Formula Ford (i.e. every operation in a straight line - including steering if possible), the Caterhams I could have driven all day.
For a road car, I'd not even consider a Caterham or Arial, but for a track car they'd be much better. Although you won't find those for the £8k you can find an S1 Elise for
the Elise will feel very slow compared with the M i had a vx220 your right in saying the feel of the car is totally different, there is no power steering etc. but the build quality (rattles , squeaks etc) will drive you crazy and the comfort is non existent on the road.
as for the speed 0-60 it might be quick but 4th-5th gear are for fuel saving there is no power , this is providing you opt for a standard Elise.
these cars are good for track/Sunday drives but if your looking for a car you can go for a relaxing cruise in keep the M :wink:
might have got a bit carried away and after looking at the prices for a 5 year old Elise ..... nahh! Don't really fancy paying £15k for a piece of plastic. Apparently a Exige is worth circa £30k!!! lol. Might as well get myself an M3 CSL. Price and practicality aside, the Exige is a really very satisfying experience on track and that engine note during hard acceleration is still ringing in my ears. however, it will take a lot of petrolheadness in me to invest in a Lotus though no matter how good it is.
don't really mind the non-powered steering as it what make the steering feel so direct and feelsome. In performance driving terms, the only drawback is that the steering doesn't adjust for reach and the seats are too small.
Liverpool
, this is providing you opt for a standard Elise.