Since you have the Audi go for the Elise. I believe everyone is gtting off track also, are you interested in the Cayman non S model as I am reading? Me personally, I would only put the S up against the Elise, if not go Elise!

 

You already have a daily car. Go for the Elise. You should be able to find a low mileage Elise in the mid to low 30k. Add another 10k to supercharge it, you'll run rings around the Cayman S easily. Not to mention it'll still be cheaper than a new Cayman non S.

I'm a closet Lotus fan. Pardon my bias.

 

I see you are comparing a non-S cayman, to the elise.

The best thing for you to do is to schedule extended test drives with them, get a feel for them, and hopefully it would be clear to you which one suits you better.

 

I am a huge elise fan, i test drove the Exige 'S' the other day and was thoroughly underwhelmed by it. It has smooth and fast delivery, it's light and the handling is fantastic, but for a street car it would be a pain in the ***.

It really didn't feel that much faster than my current S2000 and for 75k i would simply not buy one.

Having said that, a standard elise will be even slower. I know these cars are phenomenal track machines, but unless you plan on doing quite a few, i would honestly say get the Cayman, and this is coming from a guy that isn't that impressed with Cayman's.

The best thing to do is have a test drive, it really can help you make your mind up.

 

another way to test out to see if the Elise is right for you is go to your nearest Enterprise car rental. I believe they are still renting out the elise for the day. Try it out for a day to see if the car is what you want it to be.

 

Only car: Cayman
Second car: Elise

 

i would do it this way...

cayman>elise

exige>cayman

cayman S>elise and equal to an exige S

since youre saying either a base cayman or elise, go for the elise, otherwise step up and buy a cayman S or 1 year CPO cayman S.

 

one more thing to add. if you were going to drop 75K on an exige s, why wouldnt you just go out and buy yourself a 996 GT3, which is quite possibly the best car to come out of a factory EVER! seriously, id rather spend the extra 5-8K to get a used 996 GT3 than buy a brand new exige s.

 

thank you all very much for the input, it sounds like i should stick with the saying "porsche their is no substitute"

 

I've got both. The Cayman is an awesome car, comfortable, balanced, very nice. The Elise, on the other hand, is a revelation. If you want to go around corners and get more road feel than you can imagine, the Elise wins hands down. If you've already got a daily driver, go with the Elise! I'm also faster and smoother with less effort through my favorite mountain roads with the Elise compared to the Cayman. The Cayman is my daily driver, though, and its great (although I want to change tires and dial in the suspension some, I've heard some camber changes can go a long way)

Nothing connects you to the road like an Elise unless you go even more radical with something like an Ariel Atom!

BTW - the suggestion to get a used 996 GT3 is an interesting idea, although I have heard that is an extremely uncompromising road car. And twice the price of a user Elise! The Elise, although small, impractical, allergic to rain, and devoid of creature comforts, actually rides really well in the street, all things considered. I actually think it has a better ride than my Cayman (19", PASM + Sport package, even with the PASM in the street setting).

That said, though, the Cayman is still a great car, and I'm sure you'll love it if that's what you end up with.

-- Gordie

 

I'm a big fan of the Lotus. So.... that is where I would put my money... actually I would buy a slightly used Elise and put the savings into getting it supercharged.

 

Daily Driver = Cayman
Weekend/Track = Lotus

Cayman your going to mod? Well then thats the ticket right there!

 

The question you need to ask yourself before making a desicion is what are you going to do in the car? I understand it is a second car but is this going to be a track car or a fun weekend toy or road-trip, mountain cruiser. The Lotus will beat the Cayman on the track but in my opinion there is no better all around sports car than the Cayman S. I love mine. It's my daily driver and fun weekend car. It's great in traffic, open road and mountain curves. It's comfortable and relatively luxurious and my girlfriend even enjoys riding in it and driving it when she can pry the keys from my hands.
so for the track--Lotus
for everything else--Porsche, there is really no substitute

 

one more thing i forgot to mention: I got my Cayman S Certified-- it was less than a year old so it had just over 5 years of full factory warranty and I paid what I would have for the base Cayman I was about to get.

 

I would get the Cayman S because I don't hit the track often enough to justify the Elise and in pretty much any other environment I'd rather be in the Cayman S. Since you are considering the base cayman though, I recommend a used S or a boxster.