as a weekend toy and track car.......

as much as i love my escos, she is just too mint to be used properly by me and i've found myself thinking of a new toy!

I'm thinking of the performance version with 240bhp.

Anyone had one or have any experience with them??

 

had to drive around a few at donnington in the past , great handling cars , but do tend to get in the way a bit lol

 

drive one mate.... personally I find getting in and out of them a pain in the ass.... and they are claustraphobic to sit in....

unbelivably rewarding and fun to drive though. Sensational on track...

Test drive is only way forward!!!

 

they must have been shit drivers then LOL

Top Gear tested the 190bhp version and it was faster than porsche gt3 rs, aston db9 etc etc think it was 6th fastest around their track!! With the performance version you get 240bhp so should be hell of a lot quicker too!

 

You selling the escort for one scott? they are nice little cars but not your escort only way i would want one if i was you if i could afford both

 

people take them on track and dont seem to be able to drive them (seanb excluded..lol) as EVERY exige i have been on track with, i have passed, granted i'm up against the driver.

so if you do, it will make a nice change to see one driven properly on track..lol

will be a pain in the arse for you day in day out getting in and out, it's awkward a little for me and i'm a midget

 

vx220 turbo would get my vote if you wanted value for money or perhaps wanted to keep the escos as well. Simly because you can buy a 280bhp one for less than 15k and in ptinciple they're the same car despite not having the kudos of a lotus.....awesome cars when driven properly! A mate of mine has one that's proven 270bhp and the thing is just a weapon, end of.

 

I owned an Exige S for the last 2 1/2 years and only recently sold it due to finalising my mortgage. I used it on a daily basis to get to & from work & never had any problems with it - also used it twice on track (shame i couldn't use it more) and again it wasn't a problem and wasn't that expensive either - getting in & out of one is easy & you easily get used to it - why people claim they can't be used on a daily basis i dont know

In any case TBH if you want decent & honest advice on Lotus ownership, costs involved, etc, then it's probably best reading through posts or asking the question(s) on one or all of these sites

www.seloc.org
www.nyloc.org
www.exiges.com

The first 2 are pretty much the busiest Lotus forums, and Exiges, although not as busy, is dedicated purely to the Exige. All the forums have loads of helpful owners who will give you info on the car, running costs, etc, etc

 

I had a vx220 turbo and there fun for the first month then just do your head in, i know its not an exige but its very close in comparison

 

i build these cars and in my opinion an exige S is an absolute weapon end of. they handle better then anything i can think of and for power to weight against cost you wont find much better. the cup 260 is the daddy of track/road cars. if you want a complete track only car then it has to be a 2 eleven which is the modern version of the lotus seven. they have the same engine as the 260 but with no windscreen roof etc.

you can compare the vx220 to a normal elise and it will win hands down but its clumsy and heavy when comapred to the exige S or cup 260.

 

Can you not buy a saff or a mk4 escort cossie.The lotus,s do go well mind,are these the ones with the toyota engine in?

 

Why?

 

my cosworth love at the moment is just not there i'm afraid

We went for a ride out last sunday from our group and although I enjoyed it and the escos was just awesomely quick it just didn't make me get out of it with a grin like it used to I just want a car that I know can take the abuse around the twisties and that I can take on track and know that i'll be driving it home at the end!

Been looking around and you can get an Exige S Performance thats a couple of years old for Ł25k!!

 

I meant as a car in general, like the fact you cant park it in a car park cause you need the door wide open to get out of the thing and cant park next to a car and get out. Then if you have a single garage i had 2 options either get out and push the car into the garage and then back out again or take the roof off, obvioulsy you cant take the roof off an exige so you will just have to look cool as fck pushing your little sports car out the garage everytime you want to use it lol. Then there is the utter lack of storage space int he cabin, fair does people dont use them for shopping but where do you put your essentials like wallet keys mobile cd's ipod sunglasses etc.

There a cracking fun car but they get very boring very quickly especially if your used to a big power cossie

 

your 6 foot 4 you fookin idiot

you will be like mr bean in his mini !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I am a bit out of touch with car prices in UK but could you not get a 996 Turbo or GT3 for that sort of wonga??

I would much sooner have my arse sat in one of them than an Exige.

 

I can think of 10 cars instantly that I`d rather spend 25 k on Scott than one of them, nice looking things though

 

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1101475.htm
http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1087771.htm

Both are better cars than the Lotus but this would get my 25k....

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1247780.htm

 

Thats where people go wrong though!! If you read some of the reviews it reckons if your short ie: mr average, you can struggle to reach the pedals! I've sat in a VX220 and they are remarkably long for your legs etc!

Neither of those cars are like the sort of thing I am thinking of.....wanting a Go-kart for the road not a big heavy Jap bus or a common evo or a rich mans toy like the porker.
I should just sell the cossie and keep the 205 really LOL

 

Have you driven one? I thik you will drive one and think there good and fun but be bored after an hour in 1, trust me the novelty soon wares off. If i wanted a useless inpractical weekend car i'd have an atom

 

mate of ours has recently sold her exige due to being made redundant. was the 218hp version. went well, sounded ace, looked fooking ace. was orange too lol.

she done a track day in it and loved it, and it was used every day BY A WOMAN!

like petrol tho lol

if i could afford one, id have one in the garage

 

Like these and did consider at one point, if it is strictly for a track toy then could be a very good choice.

 

has no one heard of a trouser pocket for keeping your wallet phone etc in....? if people buy a small sports car for its practicallity then people definately havent got a clue what their buying.

and as for vx220 they are a vauxpile what more can i say

 

I would buy a evo 8 myself.

 

think I might do an experience day at silverstone in one and see if I like them.

 

NO THEY DON'T!!!

they are ridiculously economical you bell end!

 

Exiges rock and I guarentee a well driven one will piss on most things. The other thing that Lotus's have is there own track day club. "Lotus on Track" is the biggest track day company in Europe. Its awsome value, very very well run and its where you will find all the real track enthusiasts.

We had two guys in GT2's come once and they went home at lunch time, because they were being pissed all over.

I'm not saying they are the be all and end all, but they are the best thing round a track that I have ever driven.

Plus mod it with some proper power and they are virtually unbeatable.

I had Porkie in mine the other week and we were out on track with three slick shod Radicals, we had AO48's on and we stayed in the middle of them for about three laps, until the tyres on my Lotus melted.

My car is 790Kg's, I weigh 85kg's and Porkie is probably 86kg's lol. so we weighed almost double the radical.

 

Yours and Porkies weights must be 'dry' weights then Bicknell!!


I can certainly confirm that they are slightly nippy with awesome grip though

Get a cheaper S1 - throw the k series back in a metro and get an audi 1.8 turbo lump in it!!

 

Had the press car for a couple of days! Was a mental headcase of a car and if I'd have kept it longer I would be dead!

Would love one as a 'toy' if I had the cash.

 

Sean, yours is not STD though lol

 

the guy that lives oppostite me has just bought one, its a LM 111r. think its 180bhp or sumit, and hes 6'5 ish an he has no problems gettin in and out. its red and has 2 white stripes. its a nice car, but he looks abit of a boob in it. and parked next to my cossy it looks abit crap in my opinion.

have u driven an RX7 ? i could recomend one of those. 5K for a decent car, then 3K for a really really top notch single turbo conversion 500bhp. and then 2K for coilovers and MASSIVE D2 8pot fronts and 4 pot rears. strip it out and sorted.
10K for a mind blowingly fast motor. thats what i did recomend it all day!

 

Now that sounds like a good idea.

 

Have a look at this video. Shows how a car with half the tyres, half the brakes and probably not far off half the power of the stuff around it, mix it with the big boys.

Give the Lotus in the video another 150BHP and you have my car )

http://vimeo.com/7006749

 

OMFG.... what a video!!!!

did you see the 911's go!!!!!

is that a supercharged Honda or Toy Yoda engine?

 

Brilliant cars, would take one over a cossie all day long!

 

I'm guessing this was directed at me lol, i bought 1 not because it was a nice practical car but for the reason it was a small sporty car. You must have some fucking deep pockets mate if you can keep you house keys, mobile, wallet, sun glassses, and cd cases in.

If you want a performance machine that doesnt have to be practical at all and only used on sunny sundays then you buy a motorbike. All the down sides of a motorbike with non of the perks

 

Sean good video. Poor driver though, must be heart breaking doing all that work in the bends to watch them just fly by on the straights.

 

Yota Engine, no more than about 280bhp

 

whats involved in getting them faster then?! lol

 

Put an Audi in the back! ;o)