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Lotus Exige S road and track video review

Most cars, it must be said, are designed from the outset to be mundane; to run quietly and smoothly, to deliver good fuel economy, to cosset the buttocks of their occupants and generally to not offend. But every now and then cars like the Lotus Exige S come along and present an entirely different agenda.

As we discovered during our video review, the Exige S is actually pretty bad at the everyday stuff we take for granted. Its 3.5-litre V6 is relatively thirsty for fuel, its lack of power steering will male you feel like you’re wrestling a wild animal every time you attempt a three point turn and the entire world will know what colour knickers you’re wearing when you get in or out of the thing.

But none of those design foibles matters because the Lotus Exige S fulfils its primary design brief to a tee: its incredibly good fun to drive.

That 3.5-litre V6 has a whopping great supercharger attached and kicks out a healthy 345bhp and 400Nm of torque. It’ll hit zero to 60mph in 3.8 seconds and can top 170mph flat out. It is, for want of a better description, properly bonkers.

Deploying all of that power is surprisingly easy. The Exige S may be slightly feral in its nature, but it features Lotus’ sophisticated Dynamic Performance Management system which, when used properly, actively helps make you a faster driver. Keep your foot planted to the floor (even round corners), nudge the brake occasionally when you’re headed for something solid-looking and it’ll do the rest.

Watch the video above and you’ll see what we mean. It is fast, fun and frankly, makes everything else look a bit fussy.

 

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