Lotus Exige S 2006 Review

First Drive

'Performance through lightweight' was the guiding principle of the late Colin Chapman, founder of Lotus, the UK-based car company that has produced some of the least compromised sports cars over the last 50 years.

And while the Lotus Exige S at 935kg is light, like the naturally aspirated Exige on which it's based, it's the additional supercharger added to the Toyota 1.8-litre, four-cylinder engine that takes Lotus' latest road rocket to another level of performance.

With 162kW/215Nm, the 'supercharged' Exige produces 21kW and 34Nm more than the standard Exige, propelling it to 100km/h 0.9secs faster, or a supercar-like 4.3secs. With a power to weight ratio of 173.8kW/tonne, Lotus reckons it's one of the most powerful production cars in the world for its engine size, and after driving it, who's to argue?

But with a top speed of 235km/h, this is no supercar in the traditional sense, although a pricetag of $114,990 makes it one of the best value road rockets available.

The Exige S is a hard-core, finely-honed sports car in every sense. Just getting into it requires a degree of athleticism, and the correct technique, to prevent a pulled muscle.

Once in though, you sit low to the floor and the new Probax sports seats provide excellent support and comfort. Forward vision is reasonably good although the additional intercooler on top of the mid-mounted engine blocks rearward vision, making the rear vision mirror redundant.

Lotus now provides such comforts as air-con, a CD player, and a few useful storage holders, but otherwise the stark, minimalist interior shouts bare-boned sports car right away. Externally, the only differences to the Exige's wild, fibreglass body are a new rear wing which is colour coded, as are the front splitter and side air intakes.

While fully homologated for the road, think of the Exige S as a track warrior you can drive in public, although not regularly. It's teeth-chattering ride makes traversing B-roads a chore, conversation often impossible above the vibrations and noise of the engine at higher revs and the safe use of the solitary drink holder (the first in any Lotus) totally ridiculous. On smoother roads it's more tolerable, but in essence the taut, tightly-controlled suspension tune is best suited to marble smooth racetracks.

But while tough on the fillings, it's an easy car to drive; the clutch is perfectly weighted, the short-ratio six-speed gearbox shifts obediently and steering inputs via the tiny Momo wheel provide instant, rewarding response. The car feels fluid and balanced on the limit, with just a hint of understeer when really pushed.

With eighty percent of torque available from 2000rpm, the Exige S provides exhilarating acceleration, surging strongly from standstill with no let up all the way to the screaming 8000rpm rev limit.

But it's on the racetrack where this car really shines. Over numerous laps of the tight and twisty Wakefield Park circuit, the Exige S demonstrated its race track prowess, demonstrating none of the sloppiness normally experienced in road cars let loose on the track.

Straight out of the box, this is one of the easiest and most forgiving cars to drive fast on the track. The supercharged engine punches eagerly out of corners, while the lean-free chassis and gargantuan grip levels allow for blistering corner entry speeds and a serious load up of g-forces before the street legal Yokahama competition tyres give way. The $7000 Super Sports Pack, with adjustable Bilstein dampers, adjustable front anti-roll bar and ultra-light black alloy wheels, provides even better handling.

Like the rest of the package the brakes, including AP racing twin-piston callipers up front, inspire enormous confidence, never fading despite repeated hard braking.

But with only two seats, no cruise control, a tiny boot and an uncompromising ride, this is a car strictly for the purists. Masochists might like to drive it to work every day, but as an incredibly addictive weekend weapon that can be driven rather than towed to the track, little comes close for the price.