Lotus Exige Reviews

Driving naked is ill-advised, and possibly illegal, but taking a spin in the Lotus Exige 350 Sport is as close as you’d ever want to get. It's kind of a skeletal vehicle; just bare bones and muscle.

Peter Barnwell road tests and reviews the 2015 Lotus Exige S auto.

You now have a choice of hard top (coupe) or soft top (roadster) versions of Lotus' Exige S following the arrival of the low slung "drop top" this week.

A row of lolly-coloured cars is moving down an assembly line as though the colour sequence had been chosen for maximum effect.

Lotus have for decades infatuated race crowds, become the envy of enthusiasts and even won a Bond girl. Nothing has changed. Back from the lip of the black hole of extinction, Lotus now says it will return to its five-car plan and marks time by delivering a road-going racer that represents the core values of the company founded by Colin Chapman's innovative mind.The Exige S is a hybrid in the sense that it morphs the chassis of the four-cylinder Elise with the drivetrain of the V6-engined Evora. Effectively, it creates a very light, very powerful small car that is fast, fascinating and perhaps a little bit fragile.VALUEIt costs $119,900 plus on-road charges and that puts it in the searchlights of cars as similarly purpose-built as the Caterham and Morgan, as balanced as the Porsche Cayman S and as more street-savvy as the BMW M3 and 335i.The Exige S is closer to the Caterham in its rawness but adds more power, a hint more civility and a roof. Standard equipment is minimalistic - as you'd expect - and really only admits it's now 2013 with the airconditioner, iPod/USB friendly audio, electric windows and the three-mode engine management mode.DESIGNLotus currently doesn't have a lot of money. That's why there's some hint of the Evora from the front. Basically it's a hardtop - though it's unboltable - Exige and only the test car's beautiful $3250 premium pearl white paint makes it stand out more than its sisters.The seats are now made for humans rather than the tipped-up fibreglass bathtubs of the Elise. The fact it sits on an Elise chassis - true, with 70mm added to the wheelbase - means no change to the intimacy of the cabin. Nor to the body-folding techniques owners and their loved ones will practice to become part of the cabin.There is a pair of simple gauges, a scattering of warning lights and LED fuel gauge - all impossible to read in sunlight - and a couple of switches. Bare aluminium floors, wrap-round alcantara seats, and a tint Momo steering wheel complete the look.TECHNOLOGYThe engine comes from Toyota and continues the relationship with the company sealed when Lotus moved to replace the Elise's Rover 1.8 with a 1.6 from Japan. Now it's an Aurion/Lexus 350 V6 that has been tweaked and modified by Lotus to pump through an Australian Harrop supercharger for 257kW/400Nm and a 7000-plus redline. There's a six-speed manual - an optional auto is coming - and Lotus-bred suspension, big disc brakes and 18-inch rear wheels. The engine has three selectable modes - Touring, Sport and Race - to alter engine characteristics and launch control is a standard fitment.SAFETYJust the basics here with electronic chassis and brake aids and no crash rating. There's no spare wheel - just an aerosol can - and even rear park sensors are a $950 option.DRIVINGIt's not as mind-numbingly noisy and bone-trembling shuddering as the Elise, so that was a pleasant surprise. Find a smooth road and a compliant gear and it will cruise quietly and comfortably at 100km/h with only about 2400rpm on the tacho dial.The seats help ride comfort a bit, now padded and unlike the glass tubs of the Elise. Other than a sense of dread at passing SUVs and the feat they will never see me and my 1.1m-high white plastic shell, it coped well with traffic.But not as well as the open road. Long country roads with frequent repair patches of bitumen will bounce the car around and with it, the occupants. Not pleasant. But the long sweeps of Wanneroo Raceway treat it as royalty.The Exige S will flow perfectly through the corners, the direct and unassisted steering picking up every stone and peeled tyre rubber fragment and relaying it accurately to the driver's fingers. Learn how it moves through the arcs and you can apply some more power.And this is where the car erupts. It's more about the push of the torque that urges from just above idle through to a big hit at 3500rpm then on a plateau through to 7000rpm. It's such a strong, effortless flow and the noise from the exhaust - oddly, the supercharger whine is modest - so addictive that you can quickly drain the small 43-litre fuel tank.Sport mode is good for the track but “race” is the best, sharpening the engine further, turning off the ESC and making it feel like a deranged go-kart. You arrive back at the pits tired and smiling and wanting more, the essential emotions of a true sports car.VERDICTSadly, this is at least the second car in the driveway. For any Sunday or any track day or any excuse to leave the house and clear the mind.Lotus Exige SPrice: from $119,900Warranty: 3 years/100,000kmCapped servicing: NoService interval: 12mths/15,000kmResale: 67%Safety: 2 airbags, ABS, ESC, EBD, TCCrash rating: noneEngine: 3.5-litre V6 supercharged-petrol, 257kW/400NmTransmission: 6-spd manual; rear driveThirst: 10.1L/100km; 95RON; 236g/km CO2Dimensions: 4.1m (L), 1.8m (W), 1.1m (H)Weight: 1176kgSpare: none

If you are really serious about your driving, about pure unadulterated 'drive feel', you'd be hard pressed to look past the new Lotus Exige S V6 Coupe.It's a raw experience right down to manual (non power-assisted) steering, nearly rock hard seats, cabin access with a high degree of difficulty and a rigid, racetrack-bred aluminium tub chassis.You can feel every dynamic event affecting the car through the wheel, the brakes and the seat of your pants. You can hear the whirring, bellowing engine just behind your head.This is all well and good but what you really need to appreciate is all of this Porsche beating performance is available at less than half the price of the German thoroughbred.The test car (ours had expensive option packs) is pitched from a starting price of a snip under $120 grand - about half what you'll pay for a Porsche 911 which wouldn't see which way the Lotus went.Take that back to the Porsche Cayman at around $150 grand and it's the same story. But the two Porsches are much more civilised everyday cars with nice seats, easy steering, premium audio, luxury goodies and relatively mild manners when you compare them to the Lotus.This is the latest Exige two seater and comes this time with supercharged 3.5-litre,V6 power courtesy of the Lotus Evora and before that, Toyota.Yes, it has a Toyota Avalon heart beating amidships - but the engine is substantially modified from it's whitegoods beginnings.The supercharger is a Harrop 1320 unit mounted neatly to the right top of the compact V6 which resides, on display, under a glass fastback cover.It drives the rear wheels through a six-speed close ratio manual transmission after transiting a lightweight flywheel and button clutch arrangement.Power output is a hearty 257kW at 7000rpm with 400Nm of torque available at 4500rpm. It's enough to propel the 1176kg Exige V6 from 0-100kmh in 3.8 seconds, a figure we actually achieved with the help of the launch control system. Gets 10.1-litres/100km too.The aero package includes a flat undertray, front splitter, rear wing and rear diffuser and ride height is extremely low. The Exige S V6 looks impressive on the road with elements from both the Lotus Elise at the front and the bigger Evora at the rear.It's longer and wider than the earlier four cylinder Exige and looks the better for it. Inside is functional and tight but there's aircon, cruise, a power outlet, OK audio and two drink holders.The instrument pod looks like it came off a motorcycle but who cares, this car is all about the drive.This car is an ANIMAL. We didn't even have it in Race mode and it's frighteningly quick, totally engaging.Not only in a straight line either because it corners like a big racing kart limited a tad by a lack of weight over the front wheels.Go through the Exige's spec' sheet and it's all the real deal in terms of performance component suppliers. AP four piston brakes, Bilstein dampers, Eibach springs, Bosch tuneable ECU, Pirelli Trofeo tyres in 17-inch front and 18-inch rears. The aluminium suspension is double wishbone both ends and the car can be dialled in within certain parameters. It all looks to be hewn from solid billet aluminium covered in swoopy fibreglass/plastic bodywork.We marvelled at how much get-up the Exige has -  instantly available under the right foot. It punches hard right out of the blocks through to the 7000rpm redline and then the same again and again through each gear. Wow, makes your head spin.Then, backing up the go department is an impressive dynamic package that is deceptively comfortable despite being set up hard. The dampers must have some sort of tricky blow-off system for sharp bumps because the car floats over normally jolting bumps.No other road car comes close to this level of connection with the driver though we have yet to drive something like a Caterham Seven which we suspect would be kinda similar.Lotus facilitates this back-to-basics race car drive experience with a tiny steering wheel, mechanical feeling  gear mechanism, minimal noise deadening and four-mode dynamic control including stability control `off' and launch control.

Five new models remain firmly in Lotus' future as the company this week threw cold water over rumours of ill health.Disruptive publicity has blanketed Lotus but the fragile sports-car maker now says it's only direction is forward. It has also enforced a closed-book approach to announcing future product - though some grains slip through the floorboards.The latest is conformation that the five-car line-up is going ahead, with the Esprit the first expected to be launched in late 2014.In Perth to launch Lotus' latest supercharged Exige S, Lotus Australia marketing manager Alastair Manihera says the $119,900 Exige S will be followed by further variants of the Exige, Elise and Evora.He also confirmed that Lotus in the UK has ``turned off its PR machine and plans no forward communication''. Pity.But Mr Manihera says the five-car plan is a definite and that demand is so strong for Lotus product at the moment that the company has opened a second production line."We are in full operation and stock is coming through,'' he says. "We have eight road models available and a ninth - the Exige S Roadster - due in Australia later this year. For Lotus, it's business as usual.''The five models planned by Lotus, displayed at the 2010 Paris moor show and shown to Carsguide at the factory in 2011 are the Esprit, Elite, Elan, Eterne and Elise. The innovative city car, the Ethos, is off the books.The Esprit is targeted for release late 2014 and wears new engineering including a rumoured 4.8-litre 456kW V8 engine, while the Elise is a new car carrying the old name and the Eterne is a four-door to take on potential rivals including the Aston Martin Rapide.Funding for the plan was to come from then owner Proton but now has been bankrolled by Malaysian firm DRB-Hicom that bought out Proton's share in January 2012.Meanwhile, Lotus will import 35 Exige S examples this year and 16 are already sold. The 35 is made up of 25 coupes and 10 roadsters that are expected in Australia in December.For 2014, Mr Manihera forecasts 120 cars for Australia and 30 for Western Australia. "That's the target,'' he says."Then we have to ensure that the factory can make enough cars for us. There's a lot of people very interested but won't commit until they've driven the car."I think also people want to be assured that there's continuity of Lotus product. On the one hand it looks bad if there's no publicity from the factory and that creates rumours but on the other hand, Lotus is flat out making cars."The Exige S is the halo car that shows that Lotus is refocused.''The Exige S Roadster loses the roof, rear spoiler and front splitter and gets a softer leather for the upholstery. The topless version, which will cost about the same as the coupe, is 10kg lighter than the coupe at 1166kg. "It's the best way to dry your hair,'' says Mr Manihera."It is limited to a 233km/h top speed (the coupe runs to 272km/h) for safety reasons as it doesn't produce the same downforce as the coupe.''The supercharged Exige is promoted as the beginning of new Lotus push in Australia. It was shown in Perth to prospective owners - five have already been sold - in a pearl white paint. Buyers will pay an extra $3750 for this coat but will also have to wait.Mr Manihera says the paint process is complex and takes a long time. "The idea is to drop this paint option until production gets up to demand,'' he says.The Exige S, which uses the same Toyota-sourced V6 engine as the Evora S - and sharing the Australian Harrop supercharger - pumps the same 258kW/400Nm but the Exige's sub-1200kg weight clips almost one second off the 0-100km/h time, now down to 3.9 seconds.A three-mode Lotus Dynamic Performance Management (DPM) system allows drivers to switch between Touring, Sport and DPM-off settings. A Race Pack option will offer a fourth mode (Race) for maximum traction, a launch control function and optimised suspension tune.The Exige S has AP Racing four-piston calipers over 350mm ventilated and cross-drilled front discs and 322mm solid rear discs with ABS.Lotus road models now in Australia are the Elise 1.6, Elise Club Racer, Elise S, Exige S V6 Coupe, Evora manual and automatic (called IPS), and Evora S supercharged in manual and IPS.Race-only cars - including Exige V6 Cup, Exige V6 Cup R, Evora GT4 and GTE - are also available for more serious players.

Ever wondered what it would be like to be fired from a slingshot?

Nosing into a city street someone volubly denounces me with the word that rhymes with “banker.”Harsh ... must be the collar and tie.“I'd rather have a car in this colour,” I tell the sturdy yeoman with the loud shirt and mouth to match, “than have to be wearing it to work.”If it's not easy being this shade of green, it works on the Lotus for the same reason as old mate's clobber. This low-slung projectile is in constant danger of becoming a mobile speed hump for a bargee in an SUV. It pays to be visible.If this hue is not for shy and retiring types, then neither is is the 2008 Exige S, least of all with the $11,000 optional Performance Pack.This is good for 179kW/230Nm, equalling the limited edition Sport 240. There's new instruments and alarm/immobiliser. The power hike comes via a Magnuson/Eaton M62 supercharger, faster flowing injectors, higher torque clutch system and an upsized roof scoop. So the Exige S PP can achieve 100km/h from standing in 4.16 seconds.The 245km/h top speed is barely short of the track-only 2-Eleven that recently made carsguide gibber. As always with Lotus, the key is found in the power to (light) weight equation; 191kW per tonne. At 935kg, this is a pocket supercar for a mere fraction of the ask.The hero feature combines the launch control and variable traction control function from the 2-Eleven. A dial on the steering column selects starting revs for optimum standing starts. Shove down the loud pedal (seldom is that term for the accelerator more apt than with Lotus), let go the clutch and almost immediately the horizon has become the foreground.The traction control's degree of intervention is similarly adjustable, to the extent of 30 increments, from 7 per cent tyre slip to all bets off. The launch function, which we sampled on the 2-Eleven, was not set up on our car. That might be as well, because while the Exige S is a track-day rapier we perversely did some 500km on the goat-tracks that pass for public roads in NSW. On the more isolated of these, the Exige shakes a few rubes from their reverie.Torque surges on smoothly from about 3500rpm, the power 1500rpm later, and crescendos massively until eight grand. If you tire of this visceral rush, then you're tired of life. The accelerative thrill is matched aurally with a supercharged whine that — mere centimetres from the back of your head — sounds otherworldly. Steering that's unadulterated by assistance completes the Lotus equation.Ride is, of course, awful on all but the state's ever rarer expanses of smooth tarmac. Yet the fact we went out for a bit of a steer and just sort of kept going for 500 clicks, says everything. SnapshotLotus Exige SPrice: $114,990 (Performance Pack $11,000)Engine: 1.8L/4-cylinder supercharged; 179kW/230NmEconomy: 9.1L/100kmTransmission: 6-speed manual; RWD 

Not only does it go like a bat out of hell, but a Lotus of any kind commands attention like few other cars on the road. And the rarely sighted Exige is no exception.CARSguide recently took possession of the S version, and it didn't take long to discover there's no sneaking about unnoticed in this machine.A stop at the lights in George St saw tourists whip out their mobile-phone cameras for a quick snap. And filling up at the service station inevitably involved a “Lotus” conversation.The S, which is about a second quicker than the “normal” model, hits 100km/h from a standing start in just 4.2 seconds. And you feel every bit of the ride.The near $115,000 asking price is just one of the costs of driving a car such as the Exige.Because this car is designed for racing (and, in the case of Lotus, that's not just a marketing line), it has been stripped of almost every possible creature comfort.It has no rear vision whatsoever. It's loud, hard, rough, impossibly difficult to get in and out of, and is one of the most uncomfortable cars we've ever driven.It's also a hell of a lot of fun and, for a road car, one of the most thrilling driving experiences one could hope for.You sit so low to the ground it feels as though your backside will hit the road each time you go over a bump.Even a Holden Barina towers over you when you pull up to the lights. In fact, with doors open, it's not too much of a stretch to touch the tarmac from the driving position.And you notice every bump, with the worst of them coming close to taking the wind out of both driver and passenger.Really, it's a car that is best suited to smooth roads, which can be rather hard to find in NSW.Although stripped of most comforts, the Exige still comes with a reasonable safety package, including driver and passenger airbags, ABS braking and a traction-control program (which, naturally, can be deactivated at the touch of a button should the driver be in a brave frame of mind).Despite these safety features, the Exige feels very unsafe. Not only are you nearly completely blind to what's happening behind you, it feels as though nobody else can see you, either.And for those in larger 4WDs and SUVs, that's probably an accurate assessment. They simply would not know you were there unless they made a meaningful effort to look down.So defensive driving is the order of the day in a Lotus.For everyday use, the lack of comfort and the lack of sight make for a pretty demanding car and, in some cases, a downright stressful experience.Get into some tight corners, on the other hand, and the Exige is as involving a drive as money can buy.The small, 1.8 litre, four-cylinder supercharged (the normal Exige is atmo) Toyota engine sits just behind your head. So when you put your foot to the floor, you can barely hear yourself think. You can also feel the heat rising from the back once the engine really starts to spin.The (unassisted) steering is razor-sharp, throttle response is instant, and handling is, as you'd expect, superb from the grippy, semi-slick tyres.The trick to getting the rather small Toyota engine to propel the Lotus so quickly lies in the overall weight of the car or, indeed, lack of weight.You see, the Exige is one of the lightest cars on the road, at about 935kg. This gives it an enormous power-to-weight ratio and explains the tremendous acceleration and stopping power.The super-stiff chassis and very low centre of gravity, combined with the semi-slick tyres, are the reasons it holds on so well around corners.If you're thinking of parking an Exige in your garage, just make sure it's not your daily wheels. Over the week or so we had the car, we were well and truly sick of its harsh nature by day two or three.But it would be an absolute riot to drive on a track, or even for a Sunday spin up your favourite country road.Forget the Lotus for everyday use — unless of course you're willing to suffer for performance, and you have a very good relationship with a chiropractor. Fast factsLotus Exige SOn sale: NowPrice: $114,990Body: Two-door sports coupeEngine: Supercharged 1.8 litre four-cylinder, 2ZZ-GE VVTL-i, 162kw/215NmTransmission: Six-speed manualFuel: Between 7 and 9 litres per 100kmSafety: Driver and passenger airbags, traction control and ABS