Exige 260 vs Ferrari 355.

From this week's Autocar.



You can get a new Lotus Exige 260 and used Ferrari F355 for around £45,000 - but which closed, two-seat, mid-engined, out-and-out sports car should you spend your money on?

Autocar asked Andrew Frankel to test both the £45,950 Lotus Exige 260 Cup and a 1999 Ferrari F355GTB, on sale at Foskers Engineering for £42,995, to get an answer.

It's worth noting now, though, that this F355 is a very good car - with 28,000 miles on the clock, the bodywork is unblemished, the interior no more than lived in, and the extras such as the Fiorano handling kit all in place. Sound cars can cost £10k less.


On the road

Frankel explains that the Lotus stuns at first, then inspires. The supercharged 1.8-litre motor delivers 257bhp with the subtlety of an axe in the back. But if you are in the mood, its tiny dimensions, sub-900kg weight and sublime chassis make it possibly the most thrilling means of getting across a British public road.

Yet the Exige makes the ageing Ferrari feel as sumptuous and comfortable as a suite in the Dorchester. The F355 was based on the old 348, albeit evolved beyond recognition, and has a 380bhp, 3.5-litre V8. It's easy to place on the road and blessed with body control.

On race or track the Exige would romp away. It may be 100bhp shy of the Ferrari, but the F355 weighs half as much again. Their power-to-weight ratios aren't far off, though, and while the Exige will pop 4sec 0-60mph runs all day, the Ferrari needs just 0.6sec more.

The Ferrari is more practical, too. Having someone in the passenger seat is fun, whereas the Lotus is best savoured alone, as a selfish pleasure. The Ferrari loves wide, open spaces, the Lotus small, confined circuits.


The ownership proposition

Foskers will service a F355 for £550 a year, but every three years or 15,000 miles there's an engine out cambelt change that will cost £1500. Earlier cars are inclined to blow their exhaust manifolds, at £1000 per side. F1 gearshifts are largely trouble-free, but reduce clutch life 20 per cent - and a clutch change costs £2000.

By contrast, an annual service costs around £450.

However, F355 prices are rising, whereas the Exige's value will drop, especially if used regularly.


The conclusion

Frankel concludes that the Exige is Lotus's most exciting car, if you discount the lunatic 2-Eleven, but says he'd still pick the Ferrari.

He says: "Albeit for rather different reasons, the Ferrari is just as pleasurable to drive, a whole lot more useable and, well, a Ferrari. The F355 is simply one of the greatest cars ever produced by the most coveted supercar manufacturer on earth."
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Interesting, but what about a 3 year old exige? or a well spec'd Elise? Audi engined cars with 300BHP can be had for 15K and the servicing costs are minimal.

Of course I'm a little biased, my Elise is the best bang for buck but sports car I've ever owned. Better than the 328 and better than the westfield and assorted tin tops. I couldn't stretch to the full ownership costs of a 355, so maybe that makes the difference.

Different cars though, the 328 is loads more comfortable a better GT car. The elise is a much more chuckable road rocket with low ownership costs, it will never have the kudos of a F car, but for sheer driving pleasure its hard to beat.

Just my thoughts of course...

 

355 is and will continue to be for a long time in the future........ an absoloute classic.

 

Always thought i'd buy an Exige. Probably should have.

 

I did, it was great fun.

I'll buy another Lotus at some point when I have the room. IMO they're the best value toy car you can buy today, especially the S1 Elise for ~£9k.

And, the actual closing paragraph from the printed article,

"But the F355 needs no such qualification; it is simply one of the greatest cars ever produced by the most coveted supercar manufacturer on earth. One day not far from now, people will look back, marvel at the time when one could be bought for 30 or 40 grand and kick themselves that they could not afford one. I know I'll be one of them."

 

Values have certainly lifted in 7 years!

Apologies for grave digging, I have an itch for an exige roadster and reading every thread with the word "lotus" or "exige" in it.

 

Smart man

 

Were these service costs correct for a 355 -- even in 2010? Seems ridiculously under-estimated. Or does the UK have significantly less "service bloat" than the US?

 

A lot of the independents offer a 'fixed price' service menu, even today, so the £550 quoted for an annual is what I was paying back then. Obviously the £550 is really only an oil change and some filters so you're almost always going to find other things that need doing...

If you're genuinely interested I just dug out my old 355 spreadsheet and it appears I spent a total of... (drum roll)...

£8,600 on maintenance over the 4.5 years I had it (Feb 2010 - Nov 2014). I think I don't have a copy of the first service invoice, so you can probably add about £1000 to that total. Let's call it a round £10,000 - so about £2,250 a year. This wasn't exactly a no-cost-spared approach because I was 25 and I couldn't really afford it, but it got everything done by the book when it needed to be done.

Highlights include:

* £1540 for a new clutch and Hill bearings
* £1650 for the belts (+ service)
* £1720 for an annual service with a couple of other small things (I think this one included plugs and a gearbox oil change as well actually, it's not clear)

The £1720 service was a good example of a £550 fixed price annual where you need some other things doing, that sound inconsequential but really increase the cost.

If I still had the car, I think it's safe to say the figures would be significantly higher.

 

Thanks for the info. I think there's probably more "bloat" on service costs in the US. I don't have experience with the 3555, but I think around the mid/late-2000's, the going rate for a 328/Mondial 3.2 belt change and service was typically around $5k in the US (versus $2640 UK assuming 1.6 $/GBP). I never had to do a clutch replacement, so I don't know what the going rate was, but I'd have been pretty thrilled if it was only $2464 (1540GBP @ 1.6) in the US.

 

FWIW a major on a 355 at a US Dealer is currently around $8k USD - Depending on season here in Colorado- that's assuming no "while your in theres"

I do mine every 5 years so plan/budget for it- and do the annuals/bi-annuals religiously to minimize the variables at major time.

I paid $75k for my 1-owner 1995 Giallo GTS in 2010 - I think I made a good decision

But my GF has a 2009 Lotus Elise SC and it's fantastic- I think anyone who chose the Exige rather than 355 also probably made a good choice. Would love to have both!!