Elise & Exige V6 test driven.... some thoughts and questions
Discussion
So thanks to Jamie at Bell & Colville I had the pleasure of a test driving an Elise and an Exige V6 today.
I drove the Elise first and to be honest, it left be feeling a little disappointed. It has been a while since I drove an Elise and the last one I drove would have been an S2 with a K series engine but I remember it being a lot more raw, though probably a bit slower. Don't get me wrong, it was a nice car to drive but it certainly didn't make me feel like it would fill that gap from not having a motorbike that I'm trying to address.
I drove the Exige V6 next. Love it. I want one. The acceleration is brutal, but more importantly its just the sheer usability of that power. The car just inspires confidence. After the drive I drove some of the same roads in my Z4M before heading home an I was slower (despite now knowing the road and knowing the car far better) by a fair margin and the car just felt slushy, bouncy and quite frankly a little barge like by comparison!
Realistically I don't think I could keep the Z4 and run an Exige alongside it though (whereas I could run an Elise and the Z4 i think), which makes it a more difficult proposition but someone offered to buy the Z4M anyway and I'm wondering if I can live without its ability to swallow motorway miles and just have an Exige.
I do question how workable the Exige would be as my main car (its still not the only car I'd have access to). Also how does the older Exige S2 compare to the new V6 version?
I knew test driving that thing was a bad idea... I'm so going to end up spending a great deal more money than I originally intended to!
I drove the Elise first and to be honest, it left be feeling a little disappointed. It has been a while since I drove an Elise and the last one I drove would have been an S2 with a K series engine but I remember it being a lot more raw, though probably a bit slower. Don't get me wrong, it was a nice car to drive but it certainly didn't make me feel like it would fill that gap from not having a motorbike that I'm trying to address.
I drove the Exige V6 next. Love it. I want one. The acceleration is brutal, but more importantly its just the sheer usability of that power. The car just inspires confidence. After the drive I drove some of the same roads in my Z4M before heading home an I was slower (despite now knowing the road and knowing the car far better) by a fair margin and the car just felt slushy, bouncy and quite frankly a little barge like by comparison!
Realistically I don't think I could keep the Z4 and run an Exige alongside it though (whereas I could run an Elise and the Z4 i think), which makes it a more difficult proposition but someone offered to buy the Z4M anyway and I'm wondering if I can live without its ability to swallow motorway miles and just have an Exige.
I do question how workable the Exige would be as my main car (its still not the only car I'd have access to). Also how does the older Exige S2 compare to the new V6 version?
I knew test driving that thing was a bad idea... I'm so going to end up spending a great deal more money than I originally intended to!
Exige V6 will 'swallow motorway miles' much better than the Elise. It has longer gearing with around 25mph/1000 in top (so 100mph = 4,000rpm instead of over 5000). Range isn't the best with 40l fuel tank but you can get a bigger one if that's a big deal.
Can't see any point in keeping the Z4M. Nor having an Elise if it didn't do much for you.
Can't see any point in keeping the Z4M. Nor having an Elise if it didn't do much for you.
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