Test drove new Lotus Exige S and older model Elise

[Shinigami]

I'll have some pictures of the Elise later tonight (TT was there during the Exige ride, so I hope he'll post his pics as well sometime), but what can I say.

The Exige hauls some serious ass. The ~220hp makes it quite fast, with the supercharger whine adding some panaché, and it's a really nice looking and handling car in general 8)

Too bad it's a bit on the expensive side... for an extra 30%, you can buy a similar SLK AMG like mine, and IMO, it's just a bit more "car" (but admittedly, some don't like all the extras of the SLK, and would prefer a more "true to heart" track car like a Lotus).

The older model Elise, which was a British Racing Green, had 170hp, and also was very, very quick. However, the horrible, totally scary brakes kinda ruined it. I mean, even planting down hard on the brakes while going 30kph, would still take more then 30 meters to stop =(

After warming them up a bit (and possibly getting rid of the layer of rust), they got a bit more effective at stopping the car, but you really need to downshift in order to stop the car... otherwise it just goes on and on...

The noise it makes was also a lot louder, less comfortable, etc... I say, if you want a Lotus, and you get to choose between an older model, and a newer one. If the price is not a problem, get a newer one. It just feels more solid, makes a more reassuring noise, less wind noise as well, better insulation, etc... etc...

In fact, I'm not sure if I broke that car during my driving session, because during some hard accelerations some 10 minutes into the drive, the engine began making a windy noise, somewhat... like empty, as if a hose broke off or something? =\

Still a cool car, but noway would I use something like this as my only ride. A newer Exige maybe, but not this older model Elise... just didn't feel "safe" and "reliable".