Why The Lotus Exige Sport 350 Is The Perfect First Supercar
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ม.ค. 2023
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In today's video, I drive the incredible Lotus Exige Sport 350. Part of the third generation of Exige, this car is powered by a supercharged Toyota V6 - making it stand out from the S1 and S2. Today prices are on the rise, with good examples now costing almost as much as they did new - but are they still good value?
#Lotus #Exige #V6
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weird. I was just wondering what you're favourite Elise would be?
James, what’s keeping you in that open-air prison called Britain? What’s keeping you from coming to America like your wiser, more rambunctious ancestors? 🤷♂️
@@citizenfour9622 Customs and Border Control
Would it make any sense to reupholster full interior in quality leather and try to make it quieter inside so you can go for longer journeys without a headache?
@@8359s no, it's not the leather that's the issue it is the design, lack of sound deadening and there's no way round it.
In truth it's quieter than if you took a Fiesta and stripped if out
That was my old car. Owned from 3 months old for 2.5 years. Some of my mods are still there. Nice to see it’s still being enjoyed.
What do you drive now? Why did you sell it?
Fantastic looking machine 👌
Bought the earlier Lotus Exige V6 with the Ferrari style glass engine cover 5 years ago with 17,000 miles on the clock for £38,000. Its now valued at around £45,000. Its a truly special car. I’ll be keeping it for at least another 5 years yet! ❤️
@@TTOOS you’ll need to hurry. The exige was discontinued in 2021 so the prices are climbing on what is already a rare car. Your best bet is Pistonheads or Bell & Colvill in surrey. Mine is the “base” model, but dont be fooled...its an absolute rocketship! Good luck!
@@TTOOS yeah...power is addictive. The base model is still supercar quick in terms of acceleration (0-60 around 3.7, 0-100mph in around 8 seconds). I will also do a 460bhp upgrade at some point, and probably still not be satisfied with that😂🤦♂️
In Germany, you need to pay something like 70k Euro😢
Wow Im jealous. Exige really are the best
It's only going to go up in value
Having had a 410 for just over a year I can say they are utterly brilliant. It’s right at home up here in the Highlands.
more Lotus content please ❤️
I own an Exige 410 and a 991 GT3, agreed my GT3 sets faster lap times on track, but my Exige is more fun and it is the Exige I have more fun in on track days even if I am lapping slower, it beats the GT3 on fun and it is far cheaper to track as well.
Exactly! To some track times mean everything, but for me a Lotus was always about "feel". The problem is people can't measure that, so it didn't help sell cars to the masses
Is the Porsche pdk or manual? I keep doubting to sell my lotus for a manual 991.2 gt3 but after having driven one I still don't know if it is worth double the price and probably triple the running costs.
Great cars, owned a 350 then a 430 over 6 years. Nothing at the price comes close to either for interaction and fun. They do have foibles but they add to the character. They are not good cars for potential owners seeking instant gratification and want cars that flatter them. These cars grow with you and it takes time to tune into them and get into their groove. A Porsche can be driven by almost anyone with great results but after a while can become anodyne. You have to 'get' a Lotus and what it is and then spend time to get to know it. When you do know it, it will thrill and excite beyond almost all others. Unfortunately it means an Exige is not the car for everyone but if you're tuned in to it it's the only car for you. I did a fair few 10+ hour days in mine, all round Wales and up to Scotland through Northumberland and never had a problem with comfort either, IMO ride comfort is better than any contemporary Porsche GT car. Cost almost nothing to run, I don't think any of my 6 services were over £500 and nothing ever went wrong either. 30+ mpg. I Also didn't lose a penny when I sold both of mine so overall running costs are tiny. They are not perfect, the gearchange is just OK and the Elise has better steering and occasionally there were issues with rev matching due to the Toyota engine mapping. The biggest improvement to a 350 is to uprate the suspension to Nitron's like in the 430, the 430 rides so much better than the 350, which was a surprise to me. Overall they are amazing cars, very thrilling, very analogue and visceral but at the same time comfortable (AC / cruise / nice seats / decent boot) and affordable to own and run. I have now owned 2 Exige's and 2 Elise's and hopefully will own another in the not too distant future.
Do you remember what version of Nitron suspension you put on ? I can see a potential to have to put new coilovers on my 111s in the not too distant future as the car's ageing and has done a decent amount of mileage. I'm just wondering which version might work well based on your experience
@@joshjames6397 Hi, the Exige 430 CUP came with Nitron 3 way adjustable as standard. It was much better than the 350's standard Bilstein's (I think). If you want to spend some money the Nitron 3 way are excellent but I also had Nitron 1 way on my S1 Elise 160 and they were sublime at half the price. Either way you cant go wrong with Nitron's.
@@bispal
I have a S1 Exige with supercharged Honda and Nitrons.Driving perfection!
What in the world of normal cars comes close to this experience?
Awesome! Thanks for sharing, if you don’t mind, how tall are you? I’m 2m (6’6”) and a bit worried about leg room, just saw a video of AutoTop NL in one of the old ones I believe and was super tight. I was looking into an M2 or Cayman, but a more analogue, hydraulic steering, lighter vehicle is much more appealing to me. (Never drove a Lotus, but sure I would just love it).
So true about the Lotus community. One of the reasons I ended up buying the car. Out of all the cars I've owned, only one community beats the Lotus crowd and that's the Noble folks. I still enjoy my S2 Exige much more than I did my M400, however.
I’ve had one of the first (red) and it reminded me of a group C car from past century. Only one bad point…the engine that refuses to rev. It just doesn’t have the same explosiveness that other sportscars have. It was a 9,5 though.
I have the V6S and with some careful packing skills you can do a long trip with it. Did >1k miles to France and back this summer. Ride comfort I'd say is decent for what it is (better than the E90 330i I had before). One mod worth considering is fuel tank expansion as you have stop pretty regularly on a motorway cruise. Love the thing tho :)
Totally agree on the final comments - had the privileged experience of driving one of these back to back with a 430 one wet day at my local track, and the Exige was FAR more entertaining than the 430, which I actually felt a bit disappointed in as it was the first Ferrari I'd driven on the track and it just felt far more numb and un-engaging than I expected. No doubt the terrible weather didn't help, and of course both cars were rentals so the Ferrari might not have been in tip-top condition - but the Exige just felt really special and got my adrenaline up in a way the Ferrari did not.
I recall when I purchased my chrome orange 🍊 Lotus Exige back in 2005 it was so much fun to drive it took corners better than cars worth 3X more! Here in US most people didn’t even know what model it was… people young & old stopped to take pictures asked me to slow down on the highway so they can record. Biggest mistake was after leaving the underground parking of our Football Stadium 🏟️ mob of people just surrounded the car, parents kids girls people of all ages smiling wanting to take closer look snapping pictures… was scared to drive with that many people all over even my gf back then got jealous of the car & didn’t want me to drive it 😂 anymore! Great memories & totally agree with the assessment of this video! 🍻
Every car should have a porpouse and the 350 sport has it,because it makes me smile everytime i go to the garage.
People is obsessed with performance datas and forget the pleasure to drive.
Who cares if other cars lap faster or have more high speed.....for me in life its all about EMOTIONS.
Thanks a lot for your videos and honesty💪.
Good to see some Lotus content back on the channel. Really enjoyed your 380 review!
I must agree about the Lotus owners club, I bumped in the Lotus boys from North Yorkshire at Caffeine and Machine, top blokes 👍
Love your intro sequence. I hope your sponsors like it too - it's actually a reason to watch your channel!
Loved getting our hands on a Exige S! Completely agree that it is a supercar!
Hopefully you get your hands on an Emira one of these days. The interior in those things is a huge step up for Lotus. Harry Metcalfe has a very nice example, perfect color combo IMO.
Tbh it's a downgrade. Has awful screens instead of gauges and a stupid touch screen.
@@LawrenceTimme Agree. If one would place a Lexus badge on it, you'd wouldn't know say wow. Its overweight and boring. Not a sense of occasion like the S3.
Thank you for your videos mate; they're always a pleasure to watch.
As an owner of one of these, I cannot agree more with you on all points.
It's been my daily for the last 2 years.
It is an amazing car; the drive..., the feel...each time you get into it - it never fails to make me smile.
With a great community of passionates, good support overall for parts and tech tips, value for money, ease of driving to & from the track with bags/tools/extra fuel in boot and front seat, low wear on brake pads/discs/tyres; it's hard to find anything else comparable.
And yes, the soft top...a must-have; gets fitted at the start of Spring and doesn't come off the car until Autumn.
It may not keep up with Porsche Cup cars but who cares?
You're bang on; for those who haven't driven one - bloody go and get in!
Bucket list car for me… strangely though I want an early s3 with glass screen and no spoiler, just looks so good to my eye 😎
Great video mate, I’m nearly a year into owning mine and love it!
Hey Jay, I’m part of the Porsche club R2 in Scotland. I recently went on an event a few weeks ago I think on the 8th of January with George and Kaitlin and they had your 968. I must say that it looks great in person and it is great you are lending your car to them until they get a new Porsche after selling their Cayman. 😊
bloody brilliant. When I had my Evora and people said Lots of Trouble Usually Serious, I loved quoting the Toyota Camry engine reliability stats.
I think these sound fantastic.
Looking forward to the buying guide!
Somewhere, somewhat local to me, is a couple (I think) that both regularly enjoy their Lotus Sport Exige on the absolutely beautiful B roads of my gorgeous home state of Kentucky.
Sir, ma'am, whomever you are, most people don't seem to bat an eye at your eccentric choice of sporting automobile, but I certainly do. I envy you.
I may be a hillbilly, like the rest of these folks, but I can appreciate a proper enthusiast when I see one.
Looking forward to the buyers guide on this!
Great film James, look forward to your buyers guide. One thing that’s worth noting on Exige V6 is : track or road use? I agree with your comment that they all have similar torque output, so on the road the pace feels similar. However, once you add heat from heavy use, the larger, charge cooled SC, gear box oil cooler, better brakes and suspension will all add benefits on the 410 onwards.
Jay, Watch your channel from the very beginning. Bought the only one on road here in China elise s1. Than bought 612 you bought f12. You have your blue gallardo i bought gen1 gallardo spyder. You have s2k i bought fd2 track car. You have your 430sc i bought 675lt.. But i found elise s1 is the car i will kept forever(feel s1 elise more Lotus than v6 exige and evora)🎉 Love form china
The exhaust note is incredible!
Learnt alot, great vlog Jay. Please keep up the good work, i really do enjoy your channel. ✌️👍
Thanks Ian!
Great video James - and you’re so right. I very much regret selling mine!
Just sold ex410 mine jay… you originally put me into it 2.5 years ago after your review. I paid £81k for it new and got £74k for it, probably the best value retaining car I’ve had. Only £7k depreciating in the time is something pretty special. I sold it because I just didn’t use it. It didn’t give me 1 iota of trouble.
I'm glad to hear you had a great experience!
I had the original exige which was a wonderful car, but only kept it a short time because my back was destroyed by the then bad roads! The roads now are even worse so I assume this car is designed to be a weekend car! Looks great by the way
For me you always stand for Lotus 👍
Great review James…very pertinent too with our channel having just performed a first drive of the Emira that we are releasing shortly. Makes for an interesting comparison for us.
Keep up the great content, always look forward to your videos and always a good motivator for us to keep pushing hard at RR.
Keep up the good work gents! We must meet up again soon
It really sucks these aren't available in the US
And this is why I own an Exige 390 :) Amazing cars
Nice to see, cheers
Not an Exige, but I recently bought a British Racing Green 2011 Evora S. Took it out for some exercise on a sunny winter day here in Toronto.
All I can say is...God bless Lotus.
Hi JayEmm (James),
Would you be willing to do a video on how you do your videos and what equipment you use, cameras, mounts, microphones, editing programs etc ? With your experience in the film industry and having spent quite some time on YT as creator I think it will be interesting video for the less experienced and curious ones .
I seem to remember that he did one a while ago.
I've owned my 2015 V6S for 5yrs. Run as a daily now having completed over 55k miles. Driven up and down to Scotland with ease and no discomfort. My 5th Lotus and a keeper and for what I've spent on it, made up for in lack of depreciation.
A seized pully caused by a failed bearing has been the only engine issue. Replacement serpentine belts can be in short supply.
I’ve got an S2. You can get good audio…. But it requires a sub woofer (as detailed in Seloc Tech wiki) I’ve gone through a few iterations of head unit upgrade (currently similar Sony version of that you showed in the 350) and even with factory fit speakers elsewhere it’s the sub that makes the difference.
I currently drive a series 2 Elise (k series engine) I’d live something like this in the future and I agree it’s definitely an affordable supercar love this spec and the sounds
I have watched your channel for a while but as you have a Lotus👍😀
Very excited for your emira review
Looks and sounds glorious
Another great review and a Lotus! Would love you to get your hands on the new Emira. If I can ever afford one you can drive mine!
Every flavour of fabulous!
Fantastic video James
As a Miami Blue 350 owner I agree with all you said though I am biased.
Can't see myself selling mine for anything other than a 600LT, which is more than double the price.
Fellow V6 (410) owner was disappointed on the steering of the 600LT and in the end did not consider it a worthy upgrade...
Thanks jay
Brilliant!!!
I'd love one in a Violent-Violet colour! Here in New Zealand it'd be a hilarious handful and soooo good.
Considering swapping my I8 for one of these. More of a weekend toy. Great video
I certainty plan on having one as my first supercar!
Great video, lovely car... Although, for some reason, I do suddenly find myself in need of a shirt with vintage style (Shure SM55 or similar?) microphones on it! :)
Brave review.....
While acknowledging the usability, fit and finish of the new lotus, my heart goes for this model, a drivers car.
You could be the king of Cars And Coffee!
James talking about how Porsche owners are bad always surprises me, because up here in Scotland, i've rarely met a bad owner. Gone on a few meet ups and runs with my Cayman 987.2 and everyone i've talked too has been super chill, friendly and curious about my car, even though most of them have much better Porsche than me, but that doesn't matter to them. So I wonder if it's Porsche owners down in England that are bad lol
It's very possible - people who attend meets I consider "enthusiasts" and they don't represent your average buyer now
1:31 Hi Jay, I'm putting a V6 Vectra VXR engine into a Tigra Twintop (been done plenty of times in Corsa C's.) I agree big engines in small cars is always an intriguing prospect.... possibly dangerous... but intriguing, nonetheless.
Hi James, did you do a buyers guide on the S3 Exige? Can’t find it 😊
Having used extensively your videos to make my purchase last year of a GT410 I’m looking to add to the Evora and SC Elise 😊
Thanks
Blue is the best colour for those for me. Ido like the 380 wing better but having tried the 410, 350bhp is more than enough off the track.
Lucky enough to have a 420 and I have to say (numbers prove it) it’s the same lap times as a friends gt3 992 but….. I feel like I’m going faster!! So saying that, Track days aren’t for lap times, they are involvement, as much as I love the look of a GT4 for the same money they just aren’t as raw and about twice the cost per track day, tyres, and brakes alone! Shout out to Matt Becker who was instrumental in the handling, he certainly listened more at EAGIT than I did! 😂
Would love you to do a series on most fun at in the UK for (insert cash bracket) eg 20 grand, 30 grand, 60 grand etc etc
I love this car
I really must get a go in a lotus....
Holy shit I own a supercar!!
Really though they are very special cars, very, very little else delivers the package that the V6 manages to. I've looked at GT3/4's (too boring, too big, too capable, almost too good), Caterhams/Atoms (more fun in the right conditions but you end up driving them 2 months out of the year), old Lambos (really special but a pretty rubbish drive), really the only thing that tempts me is a McLaren but then your running costs go up tenfold 🤷♂
I'm not tired of it, it handles anything you throw at it, gets smashed to bits on track and never bats an eyelid.
And yes I bought 'safety' orange 🤣
I had an Exige S2…best handling car ive ever had…& I’ve got a 911 992 Carrera S now🤔
I has S2 220S, and then a 997 C2S… and although the Porsche was a handsome car it never gave me the fizz of the Lotus so went back to a 240S.
That giant TV on the dash sure does get in the way of the vents, not a fan. I realize it's an aftermarket thing though, just something I wouldn't do. The car sounds wonderful!
Actually it doesn't really affect the vents that much - it was a concern at the time but in reality still works very well
There’s a Sony version of that type of head unit (XAV-8050D) which allows you to adjust the vertical offset from the 1 DIN slot. That’s what I’ve got in my S2 and I’d say only the bottom 1/3rd of the vents are obscured.
I'd love one of these. Failing that an MR2 SW20 V6 swap Ideally Supercharged.
Because, as you know, The MR2 is the best car ever made.
Luv and Peace.
This is my car and I also have a V6 swapped SW20 :-) get one of them - you won’t regret it!
Always wanted one, by the time I can now afford one pretty much, they’re just going up and up and up and that’s frustrating. I fancied an Elise Cup 250 but think I might splash for the Exige….
Love the exige ❤
It’s such a shame we couldn’t get the road legal V6 Exige here in the states.
Crazy that US missed out on the S2 Exige. It’s a proper bit of kit & the V6 would have suited American tastes for bigger engines & where fuel is as cheap as water!
@@drew699 exactly right, it was because of new smart airbag law in US that we missed out. And this in a country where it’s legal to ride bikes and drive golf carts on the road. SMDH 🤷
Put a reminder in your phone for Jan 2037, as by then they will fall under the excempt law 👍
Happens to the S1 Elise right now...
I really like the new (last) photo in the intro better than the old one that looked like you were drunk. Still a little silly with the kissy face but much better than the old one. Love the videos!!! Bye bye!!!
Someone noticed! Thanks David
10:17 NICE
that's a beautiful car. I'd do the Toxic Green. go loud or go home 😂
Have you done the buyers guide video yet at all?
I've been shopping for one of these for the past few weeks, so really looking forward to your buying guide. I've noticed (in photos of a few examples) what appears to be severe stone chipping around the rear side intakes. Not sure if this is a common problem, repairable, avoidable, etc? I'm also unclear on how tolerant these are of being parked on a drive all-year round, rather than being garaged; would they need a cover, etc.
I'd be cautious if I was unable to garage it, if you wanted to keep it long term. Stone chips are unavoidable with the low noes and the protruding intakes. The intake repairs will have to be done with the panel in situ a that bit can't easily be removed. But obviously it can be cleaned, repaired and resprayed and PPF'd after.
I don't have severe stone chipping on mine, just an odd couple on the front, nothing really around the side intakes (bought used with a couple chips so no point ppf). There are places you can get them touched up/repainted.
Mine lives out on my drive all year, the previous owner did sell me an unlined car cover, but although I strapped it down tight, during the high winds at the start of 2022 it did rub on the paint and so have never bothered using it again and haven't bought a lined/fleece one yet. Absolutely no problems from leaving it out, just keep an eye out for bird droppings; and if it has been raining and some water has got through to the engine bay there can be a slight squeaky sound to start with until it warms up. Only concern I would mention is that I'm getting moisture on the inside of the windscreen atm, but I'm rarely using it in these low temps, and it's entirely feasible I didn't bolt the hardtop back on plumb as I was in a rush swapping back from the soft top, so could be a slight crack in the seal somewhere letting moist air in.
It has been 100% reliable so far (knocking on wood).
You have to keep these Cars undercover. These and Elises have Grills above the Engine Compartment which means Rain goes in, all over Ancillaries. Infuriating. My Elise has done less than 15K miles and the Engine compartment looks like it was pulled out of a Lake. It is the only thing I can criticize though..!!
@@buzzdarkyear5145 Yes, that's the concern I've had. Given the way the 'boot' opens it looks like it would be possible to put a weatherproof sheet over the engine bay grill/window and clamp it down with the boot lid, which would presumably be less hassle than a full or half cover. There's probably a reason why this isn't practical. I did find a 'Race Boot Lid Engine Cover' for the S2 that looks like it would solve the issue if an equivalent were available.
@@Phildanutter I had a similar problem when trying to cover my S2000; even when careful cleaning it before adding the (lined) cover, muck would get underneath it and high winds would blow it about and scuff the finish. Many thanks for the feedback.
Hahahaha that’s my old car. Looks even better in the flesh.
All I want for Christmas... is.... damn! Maybe next Christmas :(
Oh my God. The wiper and indicator stalks look almost straight out of my old Omega. Vauxhall Omega. If I bought an Exige then I would get the weirdest, strangest type of nostalgia...
Lotus is underrated
Man I wish you could drive these on the roads in the US....
I am a huge fan of the of the Exige...for me it's the best car Lotus made. Awesome video man.
That makes sense about the transmission, the Auris diesel has 300 Nm or 221 ft-lb of torque...not sure if there is a hybrid version, but it should have more.
Now I see the real reason some K-swap them.
It looks fast
Mega cars. Just got ourselves a 380 😎 😊
How about the seat height? Are the seat rails angled so that the driver height rises as the seat is slid forward?
Awesome video. PS- I love Lotus...but that Gearshift is actually Hideous. Just because everyone says it looks good doesn't mean it is.
HI James/Jayemm. Is the elige like the lotus evora in which you have to take the rear clam off and pull motor just to change a wore out clutch. my least favorite feature of the sexy beautiful evora. - Is high cost/high labor hours just to replace clutch. almost to the point that if someone was able to remove part of the frame to access or dropped to service clutch. thanks Mike
It's similar yes, but the clutch lasts a long time so I don't think it should be an issue
is there any gearbox upgrade for theese ?
Hey James, I understand you may get a lot of email from viewers...do you answer them at all?
I sent you one a while back regarding the Legalis Type R exhaust system from Fujitsubo that you were ordering for your GT4 Celica.
No big deal but I thought you might have at least acknowledged it with a couple of words in reply, otherwise it's hard to know whether you actually received it?
regards
G
Dear Stan…..
Did he make the buyers guide?
I sure wish we could still buy new Elise/Exiges. It's unfortunate that there aren't any stripped down sports cars available today that aren't trying to be luxury cars at the same time. I don't want luxury. I want manual steering feel, fun, a roof, and a trunk...and a/c & heating.
Well no other manufacturers could make this type of car and compete. Renault tried with the spyder, Alfa tried with the 4c, caterham tried with the 21, vauxhall had their VX220. All fairly short runs. Now even Lotus have given up. The market for these cars is tiny. Everyone wants a car that can do everything all the time. few want a track only car (7's, Xbows, radicals, mono's etc), hardly anyone wants a car that falls between the two.
"Affordable" is such a relative term.
Waht type of navigation do you have mounted on this Exige and how is it fixed. It doesent limited the wind screen - perfect. I need to know how that thing is fixed! Thank you in advance.
It's an Alpine Halo, paired with a Focal sub and amp behind the seats and new Focal speakers all round
Why is the 350 exige your preference over the 380?
I own a 350 Sport Exige. I didn't buy it as a daily driver but more as a weekend toy. For me personally I think that it is the perfect drivers car. Basic but not to much as to be hard work or unpleasant. I think the cockpit is perfect for what a driving car should be. I always feel a sense of occasion when I take it out.
I would love that but could never afford it.
That's what I thought as well 10 years ago, but don't stop trying to go for it! In my case I saved up, traded up cars through the years and kept a close eye on the market for that one car 👍
had to laugh when JM was talking about the Car Vertical history check ' see if it's been used as a taxi ' .. then cuts to a Lotus Exige
Ring Taxi maybe!
😂