The Exige S is a bit quicker all the way around, acceleration, handling, etc. that the prior generation Cayman S. I think the new Cayman S with more power and further improvements, really take the car to another level, that I'm not sure even the Exige S260, with 260 hp and lots of track suspension, launch control, brakes and other equipment, can really match.

As far as driving the Exige a long way...it's all a matter of what you like. I currently own a 2007 Exige S with the Stage 3 exhaust. It had the base interior, which means NO sound insulation ( I've since put a lot of leather in there, but still no sound insulation).

I have also owned an 05 Elise.

I've driven both from the Baltimore, MD area to Buffalo, NY and back on overnight trips. About 450 miles each way.

No problems. Not stiff, not bothered by the drone or ride. All in all a nice ride.

But if you need cold a/c, supple ride, high fidelity audio, the ability to hear a cell phone conversation while driving, and minimal road noise, might not be so pleasant for you.

 

It is a nice car, but having such money I would look for another car.

 

i keep falling more and more for the Exige S. but i'm out of the country most of the year so i'm trying to figure out import laws etc.

stupid question does the roof come off on an Exige S?

 

GO for it!!

 

Absolutely. It goes on and off with the exact same hardware, tools, and steps used to put on/take off the optional hard top for the Elise. There is the mistaken notion that taking the roof off will cause more flex in the body/chassis. Not so. The body/chassis combo is exactly as on the Elise, which was designed to be a soft top car with the hard top an option. The body is not a stressed unit at all in terms of chassis.

A lot of guys (myself included) also do the soft top conversion on the Exige, so you can take off the hard top, do your open air motoring, then put the soft top on exactly as on the Elise. All it takes is a soft top (about $500 used and fairly easy to find) the fiberglass support rods (usually come with the top), about $15 worth of grommets (into which the ends of the support rods go) to install in the roll hoop (the grommets in the windshield are there from the factory) and faith before you drill into the roll hoop to install the grommets that your measurements are absolutely accurate!

The only thing to remember with the Exige S is that when you take off the roof you are removing the wider portion of the scoop that feeds the intercooler. So with the roof off the lead opening in the roll hoop is smaller, so you'll get significantly less air pressure going through the intercooler. Not a problem just bombing around on public roads, but an issue if you're tracking the car. Should have the roof scoop on and functioning if you're tracking.