Lotus Exige expert car review verdict

14/20

‘Changes direction like a housefly. Quite possibly the only car that delivers this sort of thrill without having to wear a leather flying helmet and look like a complete pillock.’

Our verdict

The track-attack Elise with a bolted-in roof and fixed wing. Still the same basic power unit, but with significant suspension revisions and some very serious tyres, the Exige will take on the twistiest of roads and leave you grinning for a week.

Comfort

A fixed roof means that there's not even the escape of sunny days to make getting into an Exige a pleasurable experience for those of us not into physical torture. It's loud, angry and never stops shouting about what's going on in and around the car. Tiring as hell, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

3 out of 20

Performance

The Exige comes with a supercharged 1.8-litre Toyota four-pot that produces 218bhp. That means a 0-62mph time of 4.3 seconds and atop speed of 148mph - but that doesn't tell the whole story. The Exige is about what goes on in a corner, and what goes on in an Exige is quite a lot. You just can't beat it for sheer exuberance.

20 out of 20

Cool

Utterly brilliant, totally impractical and one of the only cars that can carry off lime green. We love it.

14 out of 20

Quality

The Exige really hasn't got much in the way of stuff to go wrong, but build quality looks to be super strong. Track day abuse seems to be shrugged off by all but the tyres and perhaps clutch, so it's a good thing to get involved with.

8 out of 20

Handling

If the Elise is high-def then the Exige is everything the Elise is, plus broadband and a free phone line. The steering really has to be felt to be believed, and the sheer cornering force is a joy once you work out how to get the best from the car. This is not a slow-in fast-out motor, but a fast-in-carry-speed-and-fast-out kind of car. And yet you could still use it everyday. If you were mental.

17 out of 20

Practicality

Hahahahahah. Sniff. Hahahahahah. Excuse us. No, not really. See the Elise, then knock off all the bits that had you thinking ‘I could just about manage with one then...'

4 out of 20

Running costs

Surprising mpg (you'll get about 31.0mpg even with the S'charger) and low-(ish) C02 mean that the Exige is OK to run. Group 20 insurance isn't great, but residuals are solid.

10 out of 20