SimonM

I am seriously thinking after 6 months of Scooby ownership of selling up , and leasing a new Lotus Exige .

I originally chose my Impreza over an Elise when I first bought the car, mainly due to the standard Elises lack of power. I love the look of the new Exige, and the idea that you are driving a 'pure' race car. I have no need to have a car with 4 seats so I don't really have any praticality issues (apart from getting in and out )

The thing is... I love my Impreza, but I am getting paranoid that everything is breaking... I keep thinking the engine is knocking... the suspension is banging etc etc and I just want something new!

Come on guys.... talk me out of selling!

SimonM

dumpsonscoobs

Will you not be more paranoid in the lotus as it has no sound deadening and harder suspension?
Exige looks the berrys though!
Martin

SDB

I could tell you all about selling a scoob to buy a Lotus!!!

I have to say that the exige is one of the best looking cars in the world (IMHO).

Don't underestimate just HOW far removed from a scooby it will be in every possible way...

Highly Challenging to drive quickly as oposed to extremely easy.
Very Cramped as oposed to very spacious.
Very oversteer prone as oposed to general understeer tendencies (ok, ok, I know, but still )

If you can put up with it and know that the staggering difference in the amount of respect you will need to pay the handling, then I guess it's worth a go. (in fact, if I can have a go, it's a GREAT idea! )

Cheers

Simon

MatthewR

Yikes! Another one considering leaving!

You will miss the Scoob too much... you will be back... they all will...

Seriously though... the Exige has tempted me too... might have to try one out sometime... a lot of fun I reckon...

I'm not helping, am I? lol


Matthew

[This message has been edited by MatthewR (edited 18 September 2000).]

AWD

The Exige looks fantastic but you might find that living with it is harder than with your current Scoob (even if it is falling to bits).

If you can get the Exige on a short term lease you can always cut your losses and get another car if you find it's great for fun but hard to live with.

Good luck... and get those earplugs.

wall

hi,
just gone from an STIV to an Elise 111s (briefly via an S3). If it's anything like my 111 you won't regret it, but I fear the Exige might be a little too extreme (for me anyway). The 111s with the hardtop is practical enough (if you don't mind noise and 2 seats, and are agile enough to get in), amply fast enough, loads of fun, very stylish.....and not too challenging with it's 145hp (I'm no rwd hero and it's fun without being scary).
the exige seems to expensive, can't take the roof off, and a little too scary for my driving skills.

wall

Stanley

Very few European car manufacturers can beat the airconditioning of Japanese cars. With the hot weather here during Summer (lasts for 6 months). I would keep the Subaru and have the Lotus as a second car.

H

Loads
Of
Trouble
Usually
Serious

Nuff said...

GranTurismo

Hello,

My mate as an Elise 160, its fantastic, has been reliable and he loves it. He has a standard Elise before which was always the suspension broke on. I think its becuase they are sprung hasrd and our roads are dire round this way.

They are chalk and cheese to drive. I love the scooby because regardless of the conditions I can more or less drive at a reasonable pace in comfort. I had an MR2 MK1 before which was lovley in the dry, but when it get a bit wintery you were always concentraiting hard on keeping it on the road.

The Elise is more "fun" and more rewarding to drive and quite importantly more fun at slower speed. The Elsie is good to chuck about at 60mph on a twisty bit, but I find the scooby a bit big an better on very fast sweeping roads.
I would have an elise if I could afford it, but only if I had to do less miles.

GranTurismo

Hello,

My Lotus driving mate just email'd me this (Titled "Buy a propper car" the git!!)

PRICE PUSH
There seems to be a real sales push on currently.
* There's 0% finance available on the standard Elise and some dealers
are offering discounts of around £1,500 as an alternative.
* Exige - dealers are offering between £2,000 and £3,000 off the
original list price of £32,995
* We've been told that H.R. Owen in London have a number of 340R's
available and are prepared to let them go for £29,995, saving a massive
£5,000. Contact Tim Kearns on 020 7341 6300

Richard F

HR Owen? Hmmmm bit Lord Snooty in there...

Went in a couple of weeks ago to ask about the Elise. Bloke says "We'll ring you up to arrange a test drive next week." Did they? Whaddya reckon? Maybe the fact I wasn't wearing a suit and talking with a put-on city-boy accent put them off...

SWOLL

SimonM,

I agree that if you are worried about your Imp breaking then a Lotus will scare you sh**less.

Also, after seeing Tiff driving an Exige on TG last week (if you are going to buy one) I would hold back some money for a chiropractor and a healthy supply of earplugs mate. I think his other comment was that if you plan on driving more than about 10 miles at a time in an Exige you will need to pack yourself in ice. (It gets a bit hot in there)

rjc

I had an MY99 Elise and have a MY00 Scooby. The Elise is slower in the wet but much more fun. Just sold the Elise to get another, faster one.

You can't compare these two cars. They serve very different purposes. For a start the Scooby has four seats and is very quick in all conditions. The Elise/Exige needs loads more respect, especially in the wet. Its just you and the car, no ABS, no power steering, etc.

As previously stated it will be much more fun at slow speeds. The Exige can be had with aircon now and it's a must. The Exige is a 'true' sports car and will need more attention to keep it reliable. Expect to replace parts regularly.

Step out of the Elise/Exige and get into a Scooby and it feels like a bus. Lots of body roll and a huge steering wheel.

If people think the DBM paintwork is soft, then check out the Elise paint finish. Touch it and weep.

Some comparisons at:

IAN LOVETT

I went for a test drive in a demo 111 Elise on Saturday and was very tempted by the 0% finance deal on a 160 that Peter Smith Sports Cars had in stock. I was quoted £24840 on a new 160 Sport with the 0% finance payments at £299 per month and a big final payment dependant on the size of the deposit. What put me off? The £8500 p/x offer on my 54K '96 UK 5 door Impreza Turbo with full dealer history and Prodrive 17" alloys. That's £16340 for a car which is great fun and brand new but I suspect slower in 90% of the driving conditions we all encounter every day. Oh, and I suspect that 2nd hand Elise prices are about to drop substantially as the Dealer hinted that the Lotus finance deal was to clear Elise stocks prior to an announcement at the Motor Show. Changes in spe'c?
I'm gonna keep the Scooby and leave the money in the bank and see what happens in the next few months.

[This message has been edited by IAN LOVETT (edited 19 September 2000).]

rjc

Rumour has it that the Elise mk II will be shown at the Motorshow. Should feature a new meaner body, based on the M250, with a V6 engine as an option. Also a lot of minor updates to improve usability and reliability, along the lines of the VX220. hopefully much better looking.

I think the Elise Sport 160 will be quicker than a standard UK Impreza turbo most of the time (Here in Suffolk its dry most of the time). It's only in the wet that you would feel more confident cornering in a Scooby and then it's got a severe weight disadvantage. When I test drove the Sport 160 in the wet I found it much better balanced than my standard Elise and with more grip as well.

The basic law of physics still apply in a Scooby (well in mine anyway). It's a heavy car to throw round the corners despite the huge amount of grip.

When I get another Elise, I'll do a back to back comparison on a track and see which one gets round the track in the shortest time. My money would be on the Sport 160 in the dry/damp and the Scooby in the wet but thats only down to my driving ability.

I've been round Brands with Dave Minter (Lotus test driver) in a Sport 190 and I was amazed. I've done some silly things in my time but my legs wouldn't work after 7 or 8 laps. Turned to jelly. I've yet to get in a Scooby with someone that really knows how to drive one but I'm open to offers :-)

AWD

rjc

A little point - the Subaru is not a track car. It is meant for rallying or haring around country roads (although it is still pretty hot on the track).

Bajie

Call them and arrange a test drive that way.
I've never managed a test drive when I went into a dealer. Except for the Subaru.
Most of my friends arrange by the phone so when they get there the dealers have already committed.

rjc

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by AWD:
<B>
rjc

A little point - the Subaru is not a track car. It is meant for rallying or haring around country roads (although it is still pretty hot on the track).

[/quote]

I know that but, neither is a standard Elise. It doesn't have enough power for most UK tracks. It's at it's best on twisty B-roads and then it's only my driving ability and the road conditions that are the limiting factor.

Like I said in my first post, these cars should not be compared really. I was just replying to Ian's point that the Scooby is faster on 90% of road conditions. I don't agree having driven both cars. Over a standard Elise maybe. The sport 160 takes the standard Elise adds a stiffer suspension with zero body roll, better balance, more grip and noticably better acceleration. The Exige takes it one step further.

The Scooby is a great car (a classic in fact) but I don't think of my Scooby as a sports car. Yes, it's very quick and I love it but it's no Lotus Elise/Exige.

If SimonM can live with 2 seats then I would be talking him into buying an Exige, not out of one. Just don't expect every day practicality and the comforts you get in a Scooby.

StanS

iTrader: (3)

I've owned 5 Lotii, first was a Mk3 7 in 1971 ! Do they offer as on optional extra the towed net yet, to catch all the bits that drop/vibrate off ?? They are really great when they work, but they tend to need too much TLC whereas the Scoob just seems to go.
Whatever - enjoy !!

Stan

Floyd

iTrader: (9)

I had a test drive in one, pre-arranged a couple of weeks in advance. The car they gave me had a poxy bit of post-it note on the rev counter to indicate a max 4000 rpm! How was I supposed to DRIVE the thing?
The vinyl?? trim was already wearing through on this new car where you slide into the seats. It sounded like a rain storm from underneath, when I went down a B-road as there was zero sound proofing. The second hand cars on the forecourt had bits falling off and poor paint...

Decided that the scooby was far better after that.
F

SimonM

Well .... you've not done a very good job of talking me out of it have you....


<B>Highly Challenging to drive quickly as oposed to extremely easy.</B>

mmm... Well I drove an Elise (which according to EVO is harder to drive) at Bruntingthorpe, and only spun twice in six laps of a coned course

<B>keep the Subaru and have the Lotus as a second car</B>

If only you new how much I'd like to be able to afford to do that!

<B>Can you live with 2 seats?</B>

Yes... so it looks like an Exige may be on the cards

<B> don't expect every day practicality and the comforts you get in a Scooby</B>

Comfort, practicality... who cares about that

<B> Call them and arrange a test drive that way</B>

I'll be one the phone to JCT600 in the morning to arrange a test drive. Only issues I've got are:

Monthly cost (obviously)
Insurance - How much more than a UK Scoob?
Getting in and out - I'm quite large

SimonM



SimonM

andrew h

Why not keep the scoob and buy a used elise instead of the exige? I have and I love them both. Although having three kids I need the scoob.But I must admit to being tempted to with an exige and then buying a cheap runabout,but that idea keeps being dismissed every time I drive the scoob,and it is relatively cheap to extract more power from the standard elise.ANDY

TonyC-Evo Lurker

The exige is tough to get out of if you are small (like me) so you might find it even harder. its more difficult than the Elise as the roof has no flex.
It has a very noisy cabin.
And it gets hotter than a gorilas armpit after about 5 minutes of driving.
After a long journey expect to arive as a small, greasy spot - although that might make it easier to get out of

I'd buy one !
(I loved my old 1971 lotus elan - it just ran so infreqently )

TonyC

DavidBrown

I've got the best of both worlds now (well, by Thursday I will have)

190 BHP Exige + 245 BHP UK Scooby

Done my maths, and that works out at around 270BHP/Ton for the Exige.. oh yes.. and a 0-60 time of around 4.4 secs. oh indeedy..

I considered a bog-standard Elise but figured I wouldn't feel much straight line difference between that and my Scoob and may feel left wanting..

Also, I reckoned it'd be primarily used for track days.. and the Exige seemed to be the kiddy..

<B>Insurance - How much more than a UK Scoob?</B>

Actually, about the same (for an Exige) - Although it's rated as 87/100 as a crash risk, compared to the Scoobs 65/100 the theft/repair costs are far higher for a scoob allegedly so the costs are the same.

I have to start out with ZERO NCD on the Exige (and 2 prangs in 3 yrs to compound matters) as my NCD is on the Scoob.

Worst quote: £7500 Norwich Union Direct
Best quote: £2400 Norwhich Union (through a broker) - So much for "Direct" insurance being cheaper

<B>Getting in and out - I'm quite large</B>

There's large and there's large. At the end of the day, you're not going to use it to deliver bread, and you're not going to be jumping in and out of it every 2 mins.. Once you've learned the "knack" (i.e you become immune to being hurt) you can get in OK.

Oddly, the drivers side is easier to get in despite the encumbrance of the wheel, as you have something to hold onto while getting in.



[This message has been edited by DavidBrown (edited 10 October 2000).]

Nightmare

Elise Mk II is here......
go to

carl

Evo thought the Vauxhall VX220 looked like a MkII Elise...

DavidBrown

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:<HR>Originally posted by carl:
<B>Evo thought the Vauxhall VX220 looked like a MkII Elise...[/quote]

Or is the other way around