Am I going to regret this? Elise vs. Exige

[111R]

From the other side of the pond, I've had both - one of the first 111r's in 2004 and now a std. Aubergine S2 Exige.

I was more than happy with the 111r but the Exige is an even purer and more precise driving experience. I changed because in my heart had probably always wanted an Exige, weather in UK hardly warrants softop (although sod's law this year there's been a heatwave!) and the cost to change was more viable long-term than upgrading the Elise to Exige dampers, A048's etc. plus I love the aesthetics.

If you are questioning the initial decision already - one day you'll find yourself back at dealers buying an Exige like me....

John

[sechsgang]

Im going through this right now...

for me however...it would be a track car/DE/autox car only...Ive got a M3 ZCP for DD and outright speed isnt an issue...


The way I understand it is...the Exige is the superior car in that WITHOUT modification, it will outperform the elise on a tight track with lots of curves. You can also run in a purely stock class...more then you can say for the elise with mods.


However...if you want the advantage of both, it looks like its best to mod an elise...


I dont know yet...but i think im going to just order an exige and leave it damn near stock...

[RichS]

I finished up a business trip in San Francisco on Friday. Saturday morning I woke up early and drove down to the Lotus dealer in San Carlos (Boardwalk*). I spent almost an hour staring at their Exige and Elises.

I've pretty much decided to go with the Exige. I like the look of the Exige clams better. There is no 'cut' line across the front of the Exige like there is on the Elise. The Lotus emblem is embedded into the front clam on the Exige while it sits on top of the Elise clam. I'm also not a fan of the little protuberances on either side of the 'plate holder' on the lower part of the Elise clam. I also like the mesh grills. At the end of the day if I got the Elise I might regret not getting the Exige, but if I get the Exige I doubt I'll regret not getting the Elise...

Thanks for all the feedback and input.

Now I've just got to decide if I should drive the Exige 2000 miles to get it home or ship it for $1400...

Rich

* Wow! What a bunch of pompous asses! Stupid "DO NOT OPEN THE DOORS" signs on the Elises and Exige. When I asked a junior sales rep (I forget his name, but he tried to tell me that the Exige had 'a little more power out of the box' than an Elise) if I could sit in the Exige to get a good feel for the view out the back, he said sure. He carefully opened the door and then thanked me for asking. I got in the car and he walked over to another rep who proceeded to yell at him for letting me sit in the car (OH! The HORROR! THE HORROR!). "We don't let anyone sit in the car!"

I was also told that the Club Sport was a 'much better track car' than the Exige.

The reps were talking to each other and junior sales rep asked why someone was actually going to be able to take a test drive... Pompous rep replied "When you buy an 80K Esprit from John, then you get to take an Elise for a test drive."

I'm SOOO glad that I'll be dealing with Neil at Autostrada for service and not these guys.

[CertifiedCC]

I used to like the elise better, but now i like the Exige but I ended up with the Elise. Not a big deal they both look AMAZING!

[RichS]

Wow. Blast from the past here.

I suppose I should say that I ended up with an Exige and I'm very, very happy with it.

Also, my comments about Boardwalk are very old now. The old sales management has moved on and the new guys are very nice.