380 and 350 drive back to back !

[dank]

So I just had a great test drive of both Exiges, the new 380 and the 350S at the amazingly friendly and knowledgeable Bell And Colvill.

I had a vx220 for 4 years, so was used to the overall platform that the Exige / Elise is based on, although i am now driving a 911 ( 996 ) Turbo, i am thinking of moving back to Lotus for the raw, race car, responsive feel!

The 380 looks amazing in the metal. Very race car looks, low and mean, and the blue is a fantastic colour. I was worried the car would look a little overdone with all the new aero and carbon, but it actually works very well. The rear wing and diffuser looks particularly good!

Once the car was fired up and reached temperature, I got a feel for the cabin, snug, covered in red stitched alcantara, felt very special and very raw! The exhaust note is just incredible, truly epic, growling and snarling at low revs, and then when revs get higher, it screams like a race car, very very loud, but just sounds phenomenal! I was quite surprised by the clutch, and how stiff it was, but having just driven my 996 turbo down there, that was to be expected. The open gait gear shift looked great, and the short shift box felt very good and precise and stiff. I loved the rifle bolt gearbox of my vx220 and haven't found anything that felt as good, but the 380 was very close to that feeling again.



Driving the car, it felt very taught and responsive, the steering was fantastic, very pointy and light when moving, very heavy at low speed and manoeuvring. Performance was not quite as ballisitic as I thought it would be. It might be the way it delivers the power, unlike my turbo, but it didn't feel like a sub 4 second to 60 car!

Overall it was a fantastic drive in a stunning car, whether it justifies the 20k extra price over the 350S I don't think so, its so track focused you probably couldn't live with it day to day, traffic driving and car parks would be a real pain, but on track it would be a real weapon.







I then jumped into the white 350S and took this for a decent spin! In all honesty i think the 350S is the Exige for me, it has 80% of the 380, but with far more everyday usability, and 20k less to buy! They also said I could have the 380 exhaust added as a £1500 option, which would be fantastic!

Anyway great to drive both back to back, certainly has given me food for thought on next car purchase!

cheers to Jamie at Bell and Colvill

[Munkeyfeet]

I did exactly the same thing and also came to the same conclusion.

Ended up buying a 350 through Hofmanns in Henley as they had an unregistered car available and it meant i could beat the tax increase on the 1st april.

Jamie did my test drive, great guy.

[dank]

Munkeyfeet said:

I did exactly the same thing and also came to the same conclusion.

Ended up buying a 350 through Hofmanns in Henley as they had an unregistered car available and it meant i could beat the tax increase on the 1st april.

Jamie did my test drive, great guy.

Did you go for the 380 exhaust, standard 350S exhaust sounded lovely, but 380 was something very special, imagine that sound echoing down the welsh valleys!

[dank]

[Munkeyfeet]

No, my car has - full carpets, two piece brakes, air con, stereo, full leather, Sound deadening, cruise control and floor mats.

the 380/400 exhaust is too loud for tracks, 2bular are making a track exhaust now for it but if you won't go the track route then the 2bular road system sounds better for half the money.

mine is:

[dank]

Munkeyfeet said:

No, my car has - full carpets, two piece brakes, air con, stereo, full leather, Sound deadening, cruise control and floor mats.

the 380/400 exhaust is too loud for tracks, 2bular are making a track exhaust now for it but if you won't go the track route then the 2bular road system sounds better for half the money.

mine is:

very very tasty!

[FocusRS3]

Thinking 350 or Club Racer with some Nitrons and harness bar with belts .
The CR hasn't got the short shift box but when "sorted" is VFM