340Elise

I believe that. I have owned all three cars (NA Elise, Exige S and Cayman S), and I can't see the Cayman beating the Exige S in anything other than top speed. The lack of torque in the 2006 Exige is made up for in the 2007 S. And although the Cayman may be able to pull the same or possible higher g's on the skidpad, I think the Exige S will take it in the twisties every time. Besides, you cannot go by the testing of just one article. From my experience of reading multiple tests of both the Cayman S and Elise/Exige, I would say that on average the Lotus comes out on top even with just the test numbers.

Someone mentioned that the Exige in this test had the A048 track tires and the Cayman the PS2's. I think this can be a disadvantage for the Exige at times depending on the condition of the tires. How many times have they been heat cycled and what kind of temperatures did they see during transport? If they get extremely cold, that can harm them considerably; and they get greasy quick after so many heat cycles. These test cars are often used by many magazine editors, and who knows what this one has been through.

Finally, I don't know if they mentioned who was driving the two cars, but I can see the drivers pushing the Cayman to 10/10ths much sooner than the Exige, and these editors are not always the best drivers.

My 4 cents (one for each paragraph)

mooty

same ownship cost?
rotors on GT3, the cheaper cup car rotors are 600-700, lotus rotors are about same price but last 3x longer.

tire cost are 1/2 of GT3 and last 3x longer

fuel cost

Turbo4ever

Yesterday, I have driven the 997 GT3 in Speed Yellow . I have to say the enigine is just awesome and the sport button really waken up the car!

However, the car still feel heavy and big compared with my 700KG Lotus. I have found mid engine car is still the best, even tho the GT3 is very good at handling. Still, the engine is in the wrong place. By the way, what a nice car and I am looking forward for my new one, probably a GT3 in Riviera Blue or maybe an RS, but I don't really need that wide end and the GT3 is so great for street use, best in both world!

Terry L

A belated comparison - when I was tracking my 2005 Elise (upgraded suspension but no engine mods), I could run a little faster than a well driven and track prepared Boxter S on most tracks. Both cars were running track tires.

340Elise

It is best to own both the GT3 and the Elise/Exige. Both great cars with big grin factors!

Turbo4ever

340Elise, did you test drive the 240S?

How was it?

340Elise

check out post #56.

LA964RS

what's the rumor on the 2009 Exige?

cobrien

I haven't heard too much. I still keep hoping the GT3 version will make its way here (see http://www.pistonheads.com/lotus/def...?storyId=15990), but when I last checked with my dealer at the end of '07 it sounded like it wasn't going to happen.

Kevinlpl

Owned both. different, both fun, in different ways. Thats what make each car unique. Both are a blast to drive. To me it is largely about who will you run with. If all your buddies are Lotuses than buy a Lotus if they are in GT3s than there you go. If price is an issue, Lotus. If room matters, GT3. You have had some excellent comments early in this post about handling charactoristics so I will not repeat, only to say I would agree with their assessments.

Buy Drive, Enjoy!

hkim80

Are you absolutely sure that you can get a 2007 exige S for under 50K? I only see one listing on autotrader that's listed for under 50k. If I could get a black, low mileage 07 S for under 50K, I would be seriously tempted to buy one. SERIOUSLY.

10 GT3

There is a huge difference between how they handle and how they perform. The Exige/Elise are small, lightweight and nimble. You are never going to have a larger 60% heavier car that will handle better. it is simple physics. I say handling in terms of placement and nimbleness, not in terms of overall grip or track times. i like driving an elise over the Exige due to the open feeling of the car, with the top off where you feel like you could just reach out and touch the curbing on ever corner.

Despite the light weight of these cars, the severly lack power and especially torque. They are most disadvantaged going up hills. Hence, despite the good handling I consistantly see them struggling to keep up with Boxster S models on the track. They are definitely not a competitior for a GT3. They won't even be close. At the Nurburgring the NA version of the Exige only ran an 8:32, which is actually slower than a Base Cayman. If you are looking for a great driving experience, they are great cars. If you are looking at the fastest track times, they are not.

340Elise

In a real test of driver skill all the cars would be 100% identical and extra mass added for the light weight drivers to match the heaviest driver. Anything else is cheating. So if you care more about the experience, and getting better lap times by racing against yourself in the same car, then the power deficit of the Elise/Exige should not be an issue.

And again, you can now buy a 240 hp Exige with a great torque curve, and have it bumped up to at least 265 hp safely. Or you can buy a 2005 Elise, make sure the motor and tranny are solid, install a Blackwatch Racking supercharger kit, and end up with a lighter car than the Exige with more power. It is also very easy to get a Federal Elise below 1900 lbs, even with a SC. Do some power to weight calcs and see what you come out with compared to the GT3. The SC's provide excellent torque for these little cars.

340Elise

Unless the market has drastically changed recently; which I highly doubt, then yes you can. I'm not saying they are all over the place, but I bet I could find one within a weeks time (if not a day) if I did the research.

To give you an example. I sold my 2007 S with about 5K miles on it for $52K in November of 2007. This included a set of expensive black BBS wheels instead of the stock forged wheels, about another $500.00 of extra parts, and a spare tranny worth at least $1K.

Right after I sold it I almost (not kidding, I missed it) bought a 2007 KG Exige S with every single option available including the LSD for $48K. That one only had 2 or 3k miles on it. I actually had a deal with the guy, but someone local made a deposit and he sold it to them.

Since then I have seen several going for around $48K with miles under 10K for sure.

Do you want me to find one for you? I know the cars very well and would be happy to help you. I can tell you what you need to look for when buying a used one, and which aftermarket parts are quality and which ones are junk. You will find it pretty difficult to find one that doesn't at least have an exhaust mod on it; and 90% of the mods are good quality parts since there are very few companies who sell junk for these cars. The ones that do are immediately exposed on ET. Sector 111, Forcedfed, and Blackwatch Racking are all good aftermarket companies with quality parts and excellent customer service. 95% of the aftermarket parts in the US will come from one of these three.

Stephen

cobrien

I agree with 340; I think you'd be able to find a car in the price range you're looking for. My local dealer still has several new '07 Exige S's available which I'm sure they're pushing to get rid of. Sounds like a good time to make a deal on a used '07.