[jkolb]

I have an Audi S4, as well as an Exige S. Drove the Lotus exclusively for a few weeks and just got back in the S4 - it acted like a Buick Regal! Not really, the acceleration was still there, the great brakes, and I know how well it corners, but the difference between the Lotus and the S4 was like night and day. The Lotus connects you with the driving experience in a way that no other car that you can drive on the road can. Driving the S4 is like driving with a bunch of filters between me and the road. No question that the S4 is a magnificent piece of engineering, but much of that engineering is heavy and isolates the driver from INSTANT feedback. Everything I said about the the S4 goes for the Porsche Cayman as well. With Porsche I think you need to go to the GT3 in the current lineup, or back to the early, light weight race cars based on the 911 to get the same feeling. The closest analogy that I can draw is that the Lotus is a high performance motorcycle that you wear.

I'm in my early 60's and my wife has almost crossed that threshold. We both thoroughly enjoy the Lotus and are looking forward to driving it to Aspen later this summer (1100 miles). Only challenge is that we have to FedEx our clothes! Fun!

Jerry