2007 Lotus Exige Review

Specifications

Decisions … decisions … decisions … how does a reasonable person arrive at a decision between the open-top thrills of an Elise roadster and the tauter, racier stance of the new Exige S?Oh, I suppose thirty additional horsepower in the engine bay might be enticing enough.

That’s certainly what caught my attention when I first heard about this specially tuned Lotus, an answer to the question I had after my initial stint in the marque’s wonderful little Elise … “I wonder what this little charmer would be like with a little more power.” Suffice to say, very, very intoxicating.

I, along with a gaggle of similarly enthusiastic media types, gathered next to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway at an ancillary track that I’ve enjoyed on several occasions, the first time with Hyundai’s then new Tiburon, and, as you can guess, the little thriller from Norfolk, England wins out on the fun-o-meter. It’s a serpentine course, ideal for the Lotus, with a few straights that allowed me to wind out its newly supercharged Toyota four-cylinder for all it was worth. The 1.8-liter mill was superb in the Celica GTS with 180-horsepower, terrific in the Elise with 190-horsepower thanks to reworked Lotuselectronics, and with respect to that Roots-type blower, sensational in the Exige S with 220 horsepower and 165 lb-ft of torque, at a lower 5,500 rpm by the way, and with 80 percent of that twist available at only a tick over 2,000 rpm. And if you think that’s titillating information, due to its wonderful six-speed manual gearbox, a remapped engine management system and, for the first time, variable-rpm cam switching, it’ll hang onto an almost linear power curve all the way up to 7,000 rpm, at which point it ebbs away slightly on its way to an 8,000 rpm “redline”. OK, that’s not its true redline, as you can spin it to 8,500 rpm for 1.5-second bursts when you deem this necessary to your go-fast goal … you just can’t hold it there indefinitely. Altogether, the supercharged upgrade is good for 16-percent more power and 20-percent more torque, which is just enough motivation to slingshot this little coupe from zero to 60 mph in a mere 4.1 seconds, or from zero to 100 mph in about 11 seconds … Whew!

Not only does it scoot the 2,077-pound hand-laid composite fiberglass bodied Lotus to highway speeds nearly as quick as an F430, but it makes such an adrenaline inducing exhaust note that it’ll stand the follicles on the tops of your arms at attention as your skin tingles with goose bumps. Oh, I’m not joking. I don’t care if you’re sitting next to me in your glossy new Ferrari or your 911 Turbo, this little four makes a cackling rasp that’ll furrow the eyebrows of any onlooker, and then when I lose you in the corners while you’re trying to control all the power and associated weight of your high-priced exotic, those onlookers will be doubled over in tears of laughter as I giggle my way past the finish line. And before you start making excuses about missed shifts out of the apex of turn 3, or not the right tires for the high temperatures and lack of humidity, realize that the Exige S will lay to waste almost any current production car on a tight course … truly, it wasn’t your fault.

Isuppose that this is one of the things that makes owning a Lotus fun. Not only is it wickedly quick through the corners, and not too shabby off the line either, but you’re able to tromp the $150K+ exotics at a game that’s supposed to be exclusively theirs. And while there a handful of sub-$70K cars that can accomplish great things on the road and track, there are none that look as racy as the Exige S. After all, it starts life as an Elise before getting a “fixed” roof incorporating a Killer B inspired roof duct that sucks air into an air-to-air intercooler. The mid-engine compartment, unlike the Elise, is covered with a sloping, black mesh paneled lid that looks oh-so aggressive and, from the rear at least, appears like an entirely different car, although when sitting inside it’s pretty obvious that its coupe persona could easily be roadsterized if you were willing to take the time needed to remove a few bolts. Bonus, I say, as it’s got the styling of a coupe, which is almost always better no matter which car we’re discussing, plus the off-hand option of open-air travel.

There’sanother bonus too, however, and that’s the look and performance of a supercar, but the new age cleanliness of an economy car … if you can keep your right foot under control. With the added help of better aerodynamics, the Exige S delivers a combined rating of 25 mpg, which when compared to the 10 to 12 mpg ratings of some exotics is pretty heady stuff. Add to that the reliability of a Toyota powerplant and the little Lotus starts to make a lot of sense as a justifiable commuter.

OK, now I’ve probably gone past the point of reason. I mean, have you ever tried to climb inside one of these things? The Elise is hard enough to slip inside when the top is off, but the requirement of contorting your body into wayward shapes that it clearly wasn’t meant to experience day in and day out, what we in the biz lovingly refer to as the “lotus position”, is a prospect I wouldn’t be willing to endure as regularly as I drive more conventional test cars. Call me old … call me a putz … or more accurately call me completely out of shape, but either way call me more of a weekend Exige warrior.

Still, once inside it’s an inviting cabin, unless you’re big on luxury. Other than the thin yet comfortable leather-clad chairs, replete with shoulder “holes” for five-point harnesses that are incidentally available from the factory, as are so many other race-ready items, it’s all exposed aluminum and mid-grade plastics with, look the other way when I say this, rather remedial class panel fit. But then again, who really cares about such folly when there’s an open road or open track to be conquered.

The twists and turns of the aforementioned road course are a plenty, and as you might expect the Exige S dominated the course like nothing I’ve ever tested there before. Its prone to controllable oversteer if pushed beyond its limit of adhesion, something I teased out of the car turn after turn being that it was just so much fun.One particular set of curves forms an elongated “S”, kind of like two esses stacked atop one another, at which point I was able to bounce the rear end from one curb to the next as if I was clipping the tops off of each mogul on my way down Chunky’s Choice … one of my favorite old bump runs at Whistler.

It’s just as agile on the open road, but I wasn’t about to start brushing up against any curbs as they’re not so forgiving when designed for draining water … or whatever curbs are designed for in an area that only gets nine inches of rain annually. Just the same, I enjoy production cars on a good stretch of highway just as much as on the track, if not a little bit more when as nimble and grippy as the Exige. Such little input effort goes so far, many thanks to close to 100 pounds of downforce and the exclusively developed Yokohama A048 LTS performance rubber (part of the optional Sport Pack), although I probably felt more comfortable when not pushing it to its maximum as the test cars only came with the standard brakes, which consist of APs and Brembos in the rear, enhanced with ABS. These are superb on the road, but only a truly great driver, which I’m aspiring to become, will stay off them enough on the track to keep them amply cool.

We must have been quite the sight, what with more than a half dozen brilliantly hued mid-engine exotics whipping up the desert dust on our way to, nowhere in particular. The superbly paved roads (no frost heaves to contend with here) weaved their way through mountainous red rock protrusions and dry river gulches, cacti and sage adding a grayish greenery to our peripheral vision as the azure skies above enveloped us in what would otherwise be a scene oftranquil beauty if it weren’t for the screaming four-bangers behind our backs and frenzied pace of our tour.

Of course, it’s not all about performance. Lotus supplies a few luxury and convenience items to make that previously mentioned “commute” more agreeable, such as those sport seats I spoke of earlier, although they’re covered in black cloth in base trim, and padded in a firm but particularly comfortable foam shaped with the contours of most body types in mind, while their deep bolsters dole out tough love hugs that’ll keep you in place during hard cornering. The standard roll ‘em yourself windows are a throwback to the past, and while their beautifully crafted aluminum components may make you want togo no further in adding on features, and the ease at which you can lean over and roll the passenger-side window up or down, the electric lifts are lighter weight, believe it or not.

These come as part of the Touring Pack, which also includes black leather seat upholstery and door panels, an upgraded Alpine audio system with an auxiliary adapter for iPod junkies, plus an interior stowage net on the rear bulkhead. More on the luxury end of things, there is additional sound insulation to make the cockpit more civil, plus full carpeting (almost a shame being that the aluminum floor panels are so rich on their own).

If you really want to stand out from the crowd on track days, you can pick from eight additional “Lifestyle Paint” colors, over and above the ten available metallic finishes.And to help protect the paint, Lotus offers Star Shield clear paint-protection film for a little bit extra.

And then there are extras that will change the Exige’s driving dynamics, some to rein it in and others to let it loose. For instance, traction control might be a good idea if you don’t trust an overzealous nature behind the wheel, although it only monitors rear wheelspin so it’s quite effective without ruining all of the fun and can be completely defeated on track days. Speaking of track days, Lotus also offers a Track Pack that includes adjustable Bilstein shocks (tweakable for compression and rebound), threaded spring perches and remote front reservoirs, plus a five-way adjustable anti-sway bar up front, and a safety harness mounting bar to take advantage of those holes in the seats I mentioned earlier.You can also get a limited-slip differential, which more evenly divides power between the rear wheels and therefore lets you punch it more aggressively out of low-speed corners without getting out of shape, much appreciated in the autocross crowd. Of course, there are even more available options (Lotus will pretty well do anything you want … to a point), but the base car I tested, as well as the one with the LSD should suffice for most peoples’ “needs” … a little lotus therapy after that long, hard day at the office.

So, what does all this therapy cost? Well, somewhere in between a Mazda MX-5 Miata and that Ferrari F430 I’ve been recklessly comparing it to throughout this review, with leanings toward the former. Bone stock it’ll set you back a reasonable $56,990, but as expected that price can climb with options, although not outrageously.Ante up for the comfort-oriented Touring package plus, to offset its softer interior edges, the Track Pack, limited slip and why not lifestyle paint, and it’ll hit about $60K, which is a lot more than that little Japanese runabout will set you back and a heck of a lot less than the Italian, and while I’m not about to infer that it’s a better choice than either comparative ride for the 9 to 5 grind, or as awe-inspiring a performance machine as the latter, you’ll have about as much fun with it as you can in any rival.

Certainly the Exige S isn’t for everyone, but for the true enthusiast who reveres performance-oriented driving dynamics with the same puritan rigidity that John Galt takes to capitalism (or should I say objectivism), this is as undefiled a road car that money can buy.