Exige S or Cayman S?

[SMG]

I am currently deciding between a '07 Exige S or the Cayman S, and was hoping for some guidance from current Exige owners. As for the purity of the design and purpose, I'm thinking Lotus. The Cayman S is a nice looking car, but the Lotus is in another league. I realize that the two cars are at different ends of the spectrum with regards to just about everything, and the minimalist nature of the Exige really appeals to me. I know this car wouldn't be an every day drive, nor would I want it to be, but I was hoping to get some reassurance about the car's general realiability. I'm assuming the Toyota sourced engine is not going to be a concern. How about the rest of the vehicle. I have heard some horror stories about earlier Lotuses... what has been the experience of owners with this car? The heart is saying Exige, I'm just hoping to convince the head. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[alexandertg4]

Apples or Oranges? Only problems I have really had is A/C relay(fixed), Window Regulator (fixed) and shifter (fixed). Other than that, great car if you can deal with the rattles.

[s14roller]

Depends on what you want. The exige will be a much wilder car and will be more specific in being something like a track car and standing out in terms of appearance whereabouts the Caymen will be an overall better car imo.

I had a 02 911 that I sold a few months back but will be looking for an Exige since it'll just be a weekend car anyway. The Porsche is something you can drive daily if you wanted to...and be totally comfy doing so.

[Ian]

Depends. Are you a man or a woman?

Small print:
Photo credit to Sonnythebull. I am not implying the Porsche Cayman is a girl car. Nor am I implying that there is anything wrong with being gay. I actually like the Cayman very much, I just like the Exige better

[slipstream]

Originally Posted by SMG

I am currently deciding between a '07 Exige S or the Cayman S, and was hoping for some guidance from current Exige owners. As for the purity of the design and purpose, I'm thinking Lotus. The Cayman S is a nice looking car, but the Lotus is in another league. I realize that the two cars are at different ends of the spectrum with regards to just about everything, and the minimalist nature of the Exige really appeals to me. I know this car wouldn't be an every day drive, nor would I want it to be, but I was hoping to get some reassurance about the car's general realiability. I'm assuming the Toyota sourced engine is not going to be a concern. How about the rest of the vehicle. I have heard some horror stories about earlier Lotuses... what has been the experience of owners with this car? The heart is saying Exige, I'm just hoping to convince the head. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

There is no convincing the head where this is concerned. If you insist on making this a rational decision, go with the Cayman. It is a great car (not so sure if it's a great value once the options start piling up).

The Lotus simply makes no sense at all in any practical sense. If you can live with that, you'll love it. If you expect a car that is screwed together flawlessly with little or no unexpected maintenance here and there, you won't.

But you are right on one thing...the Elise/Exige does go a long way towards putting to rest somewhat the Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious Lotus reputation. Most of the current problems with the car won't leave you on the side of the road. Some will, most won't.

[Bgwilly31]

Originally Posted by Ian

Depends. Are you a man or a woman?

Small print:
Photo credit to Sonnythebull. I am not implying the Porsche Cayman is a girl car. Nor am I implying that there is anything wrong with being gay. I actually like the Cayman very much, I just like the Exige better

I think this pretty much answers your question. Lotus FTW

[6_speed]

I chose an <b>Elise</b> over a Cayman <b>S</b> (and a Z4M).

An Exige S should not require any further thoughts.

[jspielberg]

I love my '05 Elise, but if you insist on being able to parallel park without risking $10K in front and back clam damage, you might want to consider the porsche.

[shay2nak]

hey, Ian
what's the name of that color? lol...

bubble gum, salmon or straight up pink.

[shay2nak]

the exige is a lot easier to work on from my experience. In the Cayman, you don't even see the engine...any work required they have to drop the motor out (according to dealer). Lots of labor = lots of dollars. as far as maintenance goes, I would say porsche is going to be way more than the Lotus.

[s14roller]

Originally Posted by shay2nak

the exige is a lot easier to work on from my experience. In the Cayman, you don't even see the engine...any work required they have to drop the motor out (according to dealer). Lots of labor = lots of dollars. as far as maintenance goes, I would say porsche is going to be way more than the Lotus.

On that note though, I don't think the Lotus or the Porsche will need a whole lot of repair outside of normal maintenance. While I can't speak for Lotus yet (but assume the Elise/Exige are super reliable, I know Porsche in general is very reliable.

[Z-dculus]

what kind of answers would one expect on a lotus forum? lol. I vote EXIGE!

[pchop]

it's well debated on both forum so check out the thread below and you may want to do a search on caymanclub.net as well.

http://www.caymanclub.net/cayman-cha...usexige-s.html

[Ian]

Originally Posted by shay2nak

hey, Ian
what's the name of that color? lol...

bubble gum, salmon or straight up pink.

I'm fairly certain it's called "hairy thong fuscia."

[STANLEYYY]

Don't buy a CaymanS ...buy a 997s AND an Exige S.

[fishguy]

Originally Posted by slipstream

There is no convincing the head where this is concerned. If you insist on making this a rational decision, go with the Cayman. It is a great car (not so sure if it's a great value once the options start piling up).

The Lotus simply makes no sense at all in any practical sense. If you can live with that, you'll love it. If you expect a car that is screwed together flawlessly with little or no unexpected maintenance here and there, you won't.

But you are right on one thing...the Elise/Exige does go a long way towards putting to rest somewhat the Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious Lotus reputation. Most of the current problems with the car won't leave you on the side of the road. Some will, most won't.

Kudos for what i see as an honest answer.
if you want a fragile little POS thats fun to drive, then the lotus is the car, if you want a car that can be repaired by a dealer near you, that wont be in service for a long time for some thing that should be routine then go with the cayman.
if it were me, having owned a lotus already, i would go with something other than the lotus.

[Stephen]

Originally Posted by SMG

I am currently deciding between a '07 Exige S or the Cayman S, and was hoping for some guidance from current Exige owners. As for the purity of the design and purpose, I'm thinking Lotus. The Cayman S is a nice looking car, but the Lotus is in another league. I realize that the two cars are at different ends of the spectrum with regards to just about everything, and the minimalist nature of the Exige really appeals to me. I know this car wouldn't be an every day drive, nor would I want it to be, but I was hoping to get some reassurance about the car's general realiability. I'm assuming the Toyota sourced engine is not going to be a concern. How about the rest of the vehicle. I have heard some horror stories about earlier Lotuses... what has been the experience of owners with this car? The heart is saying Exige, I'm just hoping to convince the head. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Basid on what you wrote, I think you are more than ready for the Exige S. I have owned botht eh Caman s And and Elise and an Exige S. I like them in this order: Exige S (my new Dec delivery Porsche GT3 may take that spot), Lotus Elise with FF 275 or 300 hp kit, 997 Turbo, regular old Elise, Cayman S, Carrera S, Boxster S, BMW 135i coupe, bmw V-8 M3, Bmw M coupe. The new Audi M 1 (or whatever they call it) and the Ariel Atom also fit in there somewhere in the upper percentile.

I am 6' 3" and weigh about 235 lbs. I use my Exige S as a daily driver with no problems. Even when I had the Gayman S in the garage, I just could not resist driving the Exige. There is no comparison. the Cayman cannot hide it extra weight.

[cstetter]

Originally Posted by fishguy

Kudos for what i see as an honest answer.
if you want a fragile little POS thats fun to drive, then the lotus is the car, if you want a car that can be repaired by a dealer near you, that wont be in service for a long time for some thing that should be routine then go with the cayman.
if it were me, having owned a lotus already, i would go with something other than the lotus.

The only thing that is fragile is the body when it gets hit. And it depends greatly where you live - I have 3 or 4 service facilities within 20 minutes drive and the wait is not long at all for repairs. Not longer than they were for my E55 anyway.

Yeah, we know that you moved on - you never fail to mention it in any of your thousands of posts. Good riddance, dude. You sound like a broken record.

[fishguy]

Originally Posted by cstetter

The only thing that is fragile is the body when it gets hit. And it depends greatly where you live - I have 3 or 4 service facilities within 20 minutes drive and the wait is not long at all for repairs. Not longer than they were for my E55 anyway.

Yeah, we know that you moved on - you never fail to mention it in any of your thousands of posts. Good riddance, dude. You sound like a broken record.

bait taken LOL @ you,(hence the popcorn emoticon)

actually many here sound like broken records with the "parts are falling of my car" posts, and the "fender bender, just cost $10K to repair" posts.
or the "my car is taking 2 months to have fixed "posts.
the truth cannot be given with novacaine i guess, but i know it hurts.
I know that your post is not too well researched either. just look up the thread where a small block of wood on the road totaled an exige by damaging the ALUMINUM chassis.
cstetter;809247 if you dont like my posts, just put me on your ignore list like a grown up, otherwise TS, and deal with it.
there are more reasons to be on this forum than being a Lotus cheerleader.
beleive it or not, there is some really good info on tools, tracks, and lots of other stuff.
sorry your panties get bunched up so easily.

[ducatiexigeowner]

cayman..08 exige....