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I've owned both and Elise NA and M400. I've driven the S220 and S240 a few times but did not own one. I'll attempt to answer your questions
Overall I preferred the M400 for around town road use and backroad carving because the power was intoxicating. However, the car is not very reliable and will require someone familiar with a wrench. The Lotus was a LOT of fun for autox but on track in HPDE's with long straights (VIR, Summit Point) it was just slow. I didn't do all the mods and when I owned the Elise, the mod options were much less but it was a let down at times. The best way to describe the Noble is it's the Elige grown up
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With all that said, and this will sound backwards, but if I were to buy again, I'd buy an Exige. I like to tinker with cars but I'm not a mechanic or want to be. I want a car that is reliable and I never worry about. My Elise had 40k miles on it, multiple track days, autox, etc. with 0 issue. My Noble had 8k miles with bi-monthly visits to the shop to fix something random. Weekends at the track would always be a follow-up with a fix needed for something.
- Driveability and general purpose use - The M400 is much easier to get into and much easier to drive around town due to the suspension being softer and a general smoother ride. However, the M400 doesn't have a boot/trunk so it's kind of a pain to buy groceries if someone else is with you. You have nowhere to put them. Also the radio is really far away but I never used it.
- Power - M400 is ridiculously fast and out to kill you. There are no nannies (no abs, no traction control, etc). It's scary fast, literally!
- Handling - M400 handles great but the Elise is just amazing. It's a gokart and I miss the general fun you have driving the Elise. It's balanced and confidence inspiring where the M400's handling is excellent but the power can put the car on edge very easily. The M400 is very controllable but the Elise wins in this category.
- Sound - Subjective but I preferred my M400 because I had straight pipes and it didn't drone like the Lotus's tend to do.
- Reliability - Lotus
Overall I preferred the M400 for around town road use and backroad carving because the power was intoxicating. However, the car is not very reliable and will require someone familiar with a wrench. The Lotus was a LOT of fun for autox but on track in HPDE's with long straights (VIR, Summit Point) it was just slow. I didn't do all the mods and when I owned the Elise, the mod options were much less but it was a let down at times. The best way to describe the Noble is it's the Elige grown up
With all that said, and this will sound backwards, but if I were to buy again, I'd buy an Exige. I like to tinker with cars but I'm not a mechanic or want to be. I want a car that is reliable and I never worry about. My Elise had 40k miles on it, multiple track days, autox, etc. with 0 issue. My Noble had 8k miles with bi-monthly visits to the shop to fix something random. Weekends at the track would always be a follow-up with a fix needed for something.