Lotus Elise, Exige and Evora - What's the Difference? Which one is best for you? 

FANTASTIC video. You've explained more about Lotus and their cars in under 18 minutes than years of Lotus' marketing team have ever done. Lotus CEO should personally deliver you a cheque (not joking). If Lotus are reading this; James has single headedly done more for your brand awareness than you have over years. You have amazing cars yet no one has a clue about them. Get out there and show what your cars are all about. Deliver amazing customer service, get people test driving your fantastic driver focused exotic cars and Lotus will grow. It's business 101. Well done James. Incredible entertaining content again. :)

I named my daughter (born 1999) after the Elise, unfortunately I couldn't get one in the USA. Still a dream car for me.

Perfect presentation. Great job! Light is right

Elise - the lightest, cheapest, not heaps of power but fun to drive. Not very practical as a daily Exige - a more hardcore, expensive, Elise. More power, bigger brakes, a bit heavier, v6 versions a bit longer? Impractical as a daily also Evora - practical, liveable, touring capable. Completely different design, was made with this intent. Not really a track car. The most expensive. Less road noise, comfortable, satnav, ac standard, easy to get in and out of, 2 + 2 seats. Still does these things at lighter weight than rivals, because Lotus.

You got me into Lotus.Well,I have been liking the Evora since its debut,and now the 410 is just so perfect...the only thing is the price is so close to 911 and R35.

The evora has been my dream car ever since I saw the original in 2008. Great video James.

What a great presenter and so clear with his information, best reviewer out there in utube land! Subbed!😎🇦🇺👌

The Exige is fine for longer journeys too as long as you don't mind a bit of noise. Did a 1000 miles in 4 days in mine, no problem. Superb car :-)

As a US resident, I'm hoping to get ahold of an Evora as my dream car. Being that i'm poor out the wazoo and don't even have a license to drive, it's a long shot. Maybe I'll get a DSM Eclipse to start off... Anyways, thanks for the great video. Not even their website helps this much.

Great overview! As a Lotus driver myself agree with almost everything you've pointed out in this video. I use my elise S2 111S as a daily, and it has all the basics you'd need for daily use.

Not gonna lie. I knew on 1 lotus car before this weekend. When I stumbled upon this channel. Now I'm looking for an evora as a fun weekend car, with air and stereo.

Perfect! 5 years later but this video is very helpful. Was wondering what are the differences - I might even go and buy one now☺️

Brilliant Video, very interesting & so well narrated👌 look forward to watching more!

Fantastic video again sir. I might head up to Strattons and have a look around!

I'm six foot seven, and this video is dangerously fantastic.

I love listening to you talk about these, such a podcast voice

Great video. Very well spoken and you really helped clarify my questions about the lotus line up. Thank you.

I didn't realize the depth of the Lotus line-up or the spec versions available. Great knowledge for the future. Now a little for the past. The Lotus Exige and Elise are available here. There are 3 Exige's (2 are the 1.6L N/A and the other is 1.8L Supercharged in the orange & black colour scheme) and 2 Elise's.The 2 Elise's are plated but; if I'm not mistaken; are limited for show & race track point to point only to the Autobahn Club here on the outskirts of town. The Sport 22o, which he gave me a ride in since he knows me all too well; is spec'd for the track. I fell in love with it...from the passenger seat! I am trying to talk him into moving from driver to owner since I Want to drive her, and she's a minx. My current project car was inspired by the Lotus V8 Esprit's of the 90's

Thanks for the comparsion line up! Excellent, now I want an Evora 400 GT!

Best lotus educational video by far. Thank you.

Once again James, a great video and undoubtedly your best one so far. Great presentation and well edited. Keep up the great work.

By far the best video of Lotus cars, in RU-vid. Great job......

Mate, you are complete Lotus encyclopedia! Well done!!

Recently back from a driving trip around the coast of Scotland. I saw a Porsche Boxster and Lotus Exige absolutely destroy 40+ miles of B-road. Watching and trying to keep up was a blast! Love the content btw, really good.

Brilliant and informative and helping me with my first Lotus purchase. James - many many thanks.

Really nice review and I think that in fact I am actually into the lotus brand because of it

Tremendous review! I've learned quite a bit watching your channel. Keep it going Jay and thank you for your perspective!

i still can't get enough of this diffuser of the cup 250.. saw one a few weeks ago on the Autobahn, it's absoloutly amazing the aero on this car

I must admit that at first i thought "Oh no, not another Clarkson-klone wanna bee vlogger, but now you're my go to guy for super easy listening quality content! Nice one!

Excellent video you are very knowledgeable about Lotus. I would take an Evora....although the basic Elise would make a fun little hobby car

I've driven past that dealership so many times, always admired the beauties

Nice cup holder on the cup 250 although unusual placement, think i prefer mine on the inside of the car! Joking aside, great vid well explained!

Well done James - Lotus should pay you for this. The reason people don't buy the Evora is that they are just too expensive.

America grandfathered in the S2 111R Elise in the states through 2011. Since then, all we’ve had access to that’s current is the Evora line. The Elise are becoming coveted cars in the states because you can’t get them anymore and because, well, it’s a LOTUS ! Their depreciation bottoms out around $30K for a decent specimen.

Now I know why I was confused. Ace video m8.

Brilliant video! I have lost count of the times I've asked mates at track days what the difference between the Elise and Exige is and hearing the rubbish even owners come out with! Now I have a good idea thank you! It sounds like the Evora may be right up my street to replace my current old X5, kit car Seven and bike engined track car with one decent, reasonably sensible, livable car! I'm just getting a bit too past it for the extreme stuff these days maybe? 😆

_I'm thinking of getting a lotus and I live in the Miami area so it's quite possible to obtain one, and I love the brand_

I still rewatch this video years later. I would give 1million thumbs up if I could.

Great video James! Informative explanation and comparison. Your production quality keeps getting better too. Congrats on the 2k subs!

Good on ya Jay I hope your safe & well. 👍🇬🇧

Thanks for a very informative video, just exactly what I was looking for.

Brilliant video, thanks for being such a great Lotus (unpaid) Ambassador

Great run through the different models of Lotus you can get. I've had my Evora now 3 years and loved it. It's had some issues but what a car. I'm looking to put a 2Bular exhaust system on my car soon and have you seen or better heard of these. Anyways thanks and might one day see you in Stratton MC.

Thanks Man. It's the Elise then. I have been having a few sleepless nights about this, Steve Brisbane Australia

great video JM, thanks for the clarity and objective understanding of the cars. I know you only covered the new models, but the plethora or variations of elises (elisi?) when looking at used examples can be confusing - at least we know how each model line positions itself, thanks

Great presentation and detailed overview, thanks! Miss the 3 x S1 111S's I was lucky to own a lot.

Great and competent review. Nok I totally understand the Lotus Range and what I should go for👍🏻☺️

As ever, an excellent, concise and honest appraisal of the Lotus range. I'm a bit of late comer to all things RU-vid and enjoying these videos - sorry a 20th century cliche😁. Considering all of Mr J's car reviews so far it's a Lotus Elise (for weekend and Summer use) next to a late edition DB9 for me😊😍. Now, where's my lottery numbers 🤔

Excellent informative video about Lotus current lineup of car offerings. Lotus should call you for help! 🍻

Yeah great video!! I have an 111r(sc compressor upgrade), I also really, really like the design of the exige, especially the 350 sport, but for the windy roads and also the speedlimit in the swiss mountains a 4 cylinder is the better joice to me.

Wow, didn't know I needed this video but I've always been rather confused about the Lotus line up. I would love to have any kinda Lotus. I love their philosophy and knowhow.

Picking up my 2013 Evora in white next weekend.

Had an Evora 400 pull up next to me at traffic lights the other day while on a driving lesson. It sounds beastly.

Great video. Basically, I want them all.

Thanks for this. Not just the good info, it's helped me to make a decision. Started taking lotus seriously in the late 90s with the Elise. It was a real car, like a cross between a Catherham kit and a manx buggy. Only better. And it came after years of MX5 production, so standards were higher. It's always seemed like the step up from an MX5. After this run down, and despite liking all of them, I still reckon the next step is an Elise with decent power and a few mod cons. I've got the MX5, now to make an Elise work in my life :-). Yeah, first world goals. I want everyone to experience the pleasure of spanking a car across the landscape.

Thank you for the video. it was really informative. I really like Lotus and living in one of the best countries in the World for public transportation, I'm considering to get an Elise. I don't really need a car to use on a daily base, I just want fun :)

I came here seeking additional info on the Elise, but left thinking more, perhaps Evora. Makes me wonder, am I growing old already? Well, I did, after all, move to Florida. Thanks for the excellent vid.

Excellent descriptions! Thanks.👍

I love my Exige S. I had an Elise for a couple years then upgraded and it’s on a whole different level

Good job fella.

The Elise used to be my dream car and I've been wanting one for a while. However I am really starting to like the evora even though I used to dislike it

Great stuff James. Your production quality has always been good, but you're looking a lot more comfortable on camera these days.

Amazing!! Another great great video! I love Lotus and really appreciate your channel for giving an awesome insight about these wonderful cars! Thumbs up! - I like all the cars you mentioned but especially the Elise Cup 250 and the 1.6 standard version. In the country where I live are high taxes for cars like the Exige and Evora. So you're definitely right keeping that in mind. I think that the Elise 1.6 is a perfect car - an awful lot of fun & not that expensive - in terms of taxes, consumption aso. Moreover I think that is an USP which Lotus has to "use" in their strategy, especially for countries with higher taxes for cars. That's what I tell my friend/people around me here and helped some of them to their first Lotus 😊 - maybe you think about a video about the 1.6 version?😉

This video deserve more views!

My dream car is Exige 380 tuned to 460hp by Komotec. Supercar killer. Nice video! :)

Well narrated and good quality all-round 👍

I've always been a fan of the evora from when it was announced. After this video, i feel that it is the car I want for sure. The 400 looks much better than the previous generation. Not that they looked bad, because they looked good too!

Great review! Thank you for making this.

Thanks! from Barcelona Spain

I miss you on Top Gear Australia!

Great video! I loved that blue Exige. Too bad not available in the States. Also, please post a video of that Amazon woman that was in the background at 15:29. :)

Great explanation! Thanks 🙏

Thank you for the detailed video

Good job Jay

I'm in the US and a lotus elise is my attainable dream car. I hope they do sell the next gen Elise's and exiges in the US when they make it, especially since elises on the used market are still in the $30-$40 thousand range.

Clear explanation of the Evora

Nicely put together & very informative James. I did get to visit Stratton recently but they were fresh out of s/h Elise's! :(

The older style exige. I love that car. There's an 08, black on black. Only 7k on the clock. They want 60,000... I wish I could buy it. It is one of me dream cars...

Excellent work, sir.

Just subcribed! Very good and usefull information, and very nice cars, although unfortunately, I've never driven one of these....thanx!

Brilliant Analysis. thank you.

Another great piece of work - I'm really working hard to find a way of getting an evora - my 911.2 is lovely but the evora has way more soul Can you give us all an update on how yours is performing now you've done 13k miles ?

Great video mate!

great video . straight on topic full of useful information !! well done !

Lotus Elise vs Exige is an odd question. However, the only real question that has ever intrigued me is Lotus Evora vs Porsche 911; and to that, my heart has always began to lean a bit more to the Lotus Evora.

Superb video, once again. Many thanks James.... Your a bad man BTW... That Exige... Oooh!

best lotus video ever :) after seeing this video i would think on buy me a used lotus evora later on

Great video, thanks. Very informative (not that I can actually afford any of these). As for presentation, I don't understand why so many presenters these days film from the side while talking to a different camera. What is the reason for it? To me it just looks like a mistake.

The interior shown at 7:40 is beautiful, IMO.

I liked the look of that Aston the the background.

Nice content!!

Brilliant.

I drive the Evora since the first Model was launched. I own the second one, an S of January 2013. Together I drove with both a total of 100'000 Miles. Conclusion: I loved every mile I drove. The Evora is for me "the car". Anyhow: I will keep the S caus especially the interior desing is much nicer than the 400er etc. series. The S design is simply: fine... no Legobuttons around. The same with the outside: basic design lines as originally in the project Eagle concepted. In the sum of all aspects (longjevity; driving, handling, space, maintainance and... fun: the Evora is it! I really dont undestand, why not more of those brilliant cars are sold. Who cares: I am totally happy and pround to own it.

Very well done!

I usually gravitate toward the middle ground in comparisons like this, but my first choice here would be the Evora. If I really can't justify spending that much, my second choice would be the Elise. The Exige is a distant, distant third.

Oh! that's the best video of lotus

great informative video!

Great video James, mabruck. 3-Eleven ?

It would be fun to review a lower cost Lotus against a popular hot hatch of the same price. If someone buys the hatch for just fun driving, the added utility is only there for the next owner. How does an Elise compare to a same price hot hatch? Fun, laptime? And of course, respect from the local scenes. Football car park for guys, field hockey and disco for the ladies.

I went with a delorean and a lotus esprit s2, a true OG driving experience for my weekend cars