The exhilarating Lotus Exige, now in its final iteration, could be just what you're looking for if mainstream sports cars don't get your adrenaline flowing

PROS:

+ Thrilling acceleration and handling

+ Glorious-sounding supercharged V6

+ Supercar-like experience and theatre

CONS:

– It’s a demanding car, which won’t appeal to all

– Usability and refinement are weak points

– Ticking a few option boxes can hike the price up

Verdict: The Lotus Exige Sport 390 Final Edition, which celebrates the final year of Exige production, is a compact sports car that offers supercar-like thrills. It features more power than the outgoing Sport 350, and some bespoke upgrades, and it’s an ideal choice for those seeking a truly exhilarating driving experience. 

2021 Lotus Exige Sport 390 Final Edition: the five-minute read

A Lotus Exige has long been the prime choice for enthusiasts wanting a more vivid and engrossing alternative to mainstream sports cars such as the Porsche 718 Cayman and Porsche 911.

The compact two-seat Lotus made its debut back in 2000 and, now in its third generation, it also continues the trend of offering more punch, presence and thrills than the less costly Lotus Elise.

It’s not going to be available for much longer, however, as production ends this year – which is why Lotus has chosen to launch a commemorative Final Edition. It supersedes the Exige Sport 350 in the Lotus range and benefits from a range of upgrades, including more power and features such as a digital dash.

Whichever way you look at it, it’s a serious piece of machinery. A standard Exige Sport 390 Final Edition costs £64,000, for starters, and that’s before you tick boxes for features such as air conditioning and a stereo.

That might sound like a hefty price for a small sports car from a niche brand, but it makes a little more sense when you get to the engine – because, instead of the supercharged four-cylinder engine found in the Elise, the Exige packs a supercharged 3.5-litre V6.

Compared to the Lotus Elise Sport 240 Final Edition, reviewed last week, that means you get 397bhp instead of 240bhp. The bigger engine also pounds out a comparatively hefty 420Nm, compared to the Elise’s 244Nm, and it delivers a thunderous soundtrack that’s leagues ahead of that offered by four-cylinder alternatives.

The Exige might be 207kg heavier than the Elise, with it weighing in at 1138kg, but it’s unsurprisingly much quicker thanks to its extra muscle; an Elise Sport 240 takes 4.5 seconds to hit 62mph, whereas the hotter Exige takes just 3.8 seconds.

A £108,390 twin-turbocharged 523bhp V8 Mercedes-AMG GT Coupe takes the same amount of time to complete the benchmark sprint, which puts the performance that’s offered by the diminutive Lotus in perspective. The additional acceleration and speed offered over the Elise also makes the Exige a better choice for drivers with faster track-day use in mind.

Such heady performance and aural presence, mixed with the Exige’s compact footprint and low weight, result in a far more aggressive and pulse-quickening driving experience. This is a car that you have to sit up and pay attention to – and one that you have to corral and work with to make smooth and quick progress.

Fortunately, it gives you everything required to keep it in check, just like the Elise. It has the same sublimely responsive steering, loaded with feel, and tactile and precise controls. You need that precision, feel and response on your side, because the Exige’s stiffer nature and ability to rapidly pile on and carry speed means everything happens more quickly and vividly.

That, coupled with all that power coursing to the rear wheels, means there’s less of a safety net. This is not a car that will flatter you if you get it wrong when pushing on; if you don’t grab it by the scruff of the neck, watch the road ahead and get involved, it’ll bounce, jar, buck, dive, chew you up and spit you into the verge.

Unlike softer and more compliant options, you also need good-quality surfaces or a circuit to be able to enjoy the Exige to its fullest. If a buyer is after an easily enjoyed sports car, as a result, the impractical and rowdy Lotus won’t fit the bill.

For enthusiasts wanting a high-performance car that demands to be driven, and driven well, the Exige will otherwise prove a tremendously gratifying, exciting and capable choice. This Final Edition represents your last chance to buy a new one from Lotus, though, so you best move quickly if it ticks your boxes.

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Extended read...

2021 Lotus Exige Sport 390 Final Edition interior, infotainment and tech

The interior of the Exige is a comprehensively pared-down affair. If you want carpets, floor mats or sound insulation, you’ll have to pay for them. Even a stereo is a cost option, along with air conditioning and cruise control.

You do get the new TFT instrument pack as standard, however, but its usefulness is debatable. Personally, I found it not as easy to read at a glance, compared to the old analogue gauges, and there were some issues with reflections. It’s just something worth keeping an eye out for, lest the initial overwhelming Exige experience means you overlook it before buying.

The Exige’s interior isn’t hugely comfortable, either, and noise can be a problem – but, on the grand scheme and given the car’s focus, that’s not necessarily a stumbling block for many buyers. Few, after all, will be racking up several hours and hundreds of miles behind the wheel in single stints. And, on track, facets such as its beautifully positioned and weighted controls will hit all the right notes. 

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2021 Lotus Exige Sport 390 Final Edition practicality and load space

This isn’t designed to be a luxury long-distance sports car – and, if you’re in the market for something that purely ups your heart rate or is intended for track work, its refinement and practicality foibles will probably be moot.

There’s little in the way of storage in the two-seat Exige, but its small boot can accommodate soft overnight bags. With a little planning, and with appropriate luggage, you can probably fit in enough to make longer trips viable. 

It is, however, worth thinking long and hard about the realities of living with such a car. It might initially seem fantastic but some might find that the practicality, range, comfort and refinement issues soon blunt their enthusiasm for it. If you’re just looking for a fun car that you can jump in and drive anywhere, you will want to look elsewhere.

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2021 Lotus Exige Sport 390 Final Edition engine

It may well be the case that you’ve tested an Elise and come away unimpressed by its four-cylinder engine and acceleration. If that’s the case, and you’re looking for something with more muscle and aural presence, make a beeline for the Exige.

There’s only one engine option, which is a mid-mounted supercharged 3.5-litreV6 that drives the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox. The engine produces a stout 397bhp at 7000rpm, and a useful 311lb ft of torque from 3000-6700rpm, and it sounds immense.

The Final Edition is a terrifically quick car, in part thanks to the engine’s output and in part because it weighs just 1138kg. Lotus states that 0-62mph takes just 3.8 seconds, which is terrifically quick – a manual Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0 takes 4.5 seconds, for comparison.

Its efficiency also isn’t bad, given its capabilities, with Lotus claiming a combined average of 27.7mpg. The Exige has a comparatively small 48-litre fuel tank, however, but the resulting short range is unlikely to prove a problem for most.

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2021 Lotus Exige Sport 390 Final Edition driving

It would be easy to fall into the trap of just thinking the Exige is a quicker and faster Elise, which might diminish its appeal given its price, but the reality is that they offer very different experiences.

Get the Exige moving and the gulf between it and the Elise will make itself known from the moment you stab the accelerator; the Elise accelerates in a swift yet easily controlled and pleasant fashion, whereas the Exige instead launches a devastating assault on every single one of your senses.

And, when you’ve gathered your wits enough to clang the shifter into the next gear, it’ll do the same again – whereas the Elise won’t attack the next ratio with the same fervour.

Then there’s the noise. The sound of four cylinders simply won’t cut it for some, and even less so when muted by modern emissions control systems and turbocharging, but not one single person would deem the supercharged Exige’s note neutered. It growls, then it shrieks, and every decibel screams pure performance.

The Exige is a different beast in the corners, too, as it’s sharper, stiffer and more immediate than the Elise. That, blended with the V6’s power and presence, results in a sports car that serves up a far more exhilarating and focused driving experience – and one that demands your input and precise control.

How much fun you can have in the Exige is entirely dependent, unfortunately, on the road upon which you drive it. If you’re on a tatty, potholed and tumultuous country road, the Exige’s less forgiving, stiffer and rowdier manner can make for a tiring and exasperating driving experience. The Elise, or similarly softer alternatives, has the compliancy and forgiveness to allow such roads to be more easily enjoyed.

On the plus side, the more powerful Exige is a better match for faster circuits, if that kind of use is what you have in mind. Also, if you’re acclimatised to more formidable cars, the performance of the Exige won’t disappoint – whereas you might quickly get bored with what’s on offer in the four-cylinder Elise.

A Lotus is a niche choice at the best of times, at the end of the day, and the full-on Exige doubly so. Buyers wanting a sports car that’s easily enjoyed, or a car that will flatter their driving, should steer well clear.

If you instead want a truly involving, exciting and rewarding driving experience, the end-of-the-line Lotus Exige 390 Sport Final Edition is hard to beat – and it’s well worth trying if you find the usual slew of sports car recommendations anodyne and uninteresting. 

Specifications

Price from: £64,000 (base)

Engine: Supercharged 3.5-litre V6 petrol

Power: 397bhp @ 7000rpm

Torque: 420Nm @ 3000-6700rpm

0-62mph: 3.8 seconds

Top speed: 172mph (limited)

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