355 or Lotus Esprit?

Go for which ever u like, the 355 has the looks, but the esprit is awsome. I would go with the 355 GTS, but thats just me.

 

performance is similar, advantage to the Locus

id say hit the 355

 

355 likely to be more relaible. Drive them both. How much does the Esprit weigh? It looks light. Look at the Elise while your there, little tiny KILLER CAR.

Ken

 

Had a 02 Lotus now have a 97 355. Both are awesome cars. Had much less problems with the Lotus mechanically. I don't think you can go wrong either way.

 

If the name, heritage, look, It must be the 355.
But Performance and only performance, It's the Esprit. With a little modification, Not only it can surpass the 355 but the 512TR or the 360., yes, 360. It's so fast that you wonder why people buy Ferrari for performance.
My Esprit S4, with no cat, header, turbo upgrade, I reached 180 mph easy and handling at 180 mph is dead stable... but The 360 at 175 mph the car feel like it is floating in the air. However, in stock form, its performance is about the 355 or even a little less...
The Esprit is very reliable only when you drive it regularly. It is no garage queen type. It can never be one. You need to strech its legs every week, if possible. If you keep it lock up for about 3 weeks stright, problems will occur. And you end up hate it. That's what most people end up...because they miss understood about the Esprit....
take a look at this web it's all about the Esprit.
http://www.lotusespritworld.com/

 

Get the F355, it will offer a much better driving experience and sound.

Not to mention the Lotus is arcaic, a VERY old design.

 

I think they are both awsome cars. I'd take ethier one, but if I had to get one i'd take the Esprit.

 

Being i sold my 99 lotus 6 months ago to get the 355 gts, i will tell you the 355 is a MUCH better car. I have said this before and caught some heat for it but Imo, the Lotus has no soul. yes, it looks good and its fast but the interior is cheap, the steering wheel is from a camaro. there engine sound, well there is none. Why do you think you can get one so cheap.? the 99 i got sold for around 85k, i bought it with 5k miles for 42k and it was hard to sell. I have had a lot of cars from porsche, nsx, ect.. and the Ferrari is a great, fun car. I have had zero problems with mine.

vince

 

I owned a V8TT and it was faster than a 355 and handled extreamly well at high speed as well as in the twisties. Maybe I'm a better driver than my friends who had 355's or I just got lucky. I will say that the 355's are a better built car and very solid by comparison. For example just going over a speedbump the Lotus rattles whereas the Ferrari barely makes a niose.

What to like about the Lotus:

The engine, you can do lots to make it faster...I had the boost increased on mine which made it scary fast.

Fantastic handling

Brakes are solid AP racing.

Very light ~ 3K lbs

Less expensive to maintain...you can get GM, Ford, Toyota parts as cross reference

Very Exclusive...looks more expensive than it really is. Also, you will get asked what kind of car it is and when you say Lotus, they will ask, " who makes a Lotus."

What not to like:

Tranmission, transmission, transmission...the achillies heal of the car.

Exhaust Sound, not as good as a F-car but OK, sounds more like a Mustang on steroids. I had the exhaust removed and straight pipes added.

Interior is just fine, good Connelly Leather, but cramped and if you are greater the 6' tall, you will have a problem fitting into the car. As well the footwell is cramped if you have bigger than size 9.

Resale value for the first 4 years...then they hold up.

In the end, get what you like and make sure you DRIVE THE CAR.

MB

 

I hate turbocharged cars ,ok in a straight line ,push you in the seat hard fast ,but the lag sucks.When you are driving at or near the edge the turbo lag is a hard thing to deal with,not for the faint of heart,
I think it is cool that the 355 gets about the same or very close to the same preformance with NO TURBO!!!
GET THE 355
DAVID

 

If you have big feet get the ferrari as the lotus pedal box is very small common fault on th esprit for years

 

The transmission is/was sourced directly from a Renault 25. One of the main reasons for Lotus stopping production of the Esprit is that Renault have stopped makig these transmissions

So if you get one and you ever need a new gearbox...

 

Lotus like, Vince, do not understand Lotus Esprit. Steering wheel cheap, yes, get a new one of your taste. No engine sound?, get the sport exhaust. Modify it. There are also many cheap things like the bushing in stock Esprit, change it to the PolyUrietain ones. The Esprit is not ready made supercar. The 355 is a ready supercar. But with modifications and care of the owner the Esprit can surpass the performance of the 355. Look? that's up to each individual taste...

 

Now that's the man who understand the Esprit...

 

I have a friend who is selling a white XR180 Esprit. It's the track version of early Esprit like CS/GT3. Beautiful car.

 

You've come to the wrong forum for unbiased opinion on Lotus, but to quote Jeremy Clarkson in the British Top Gear TV show....Ferrari have built their ultimate car and called it the "Enzo", if Lotus ever do it they'll call it the "Colin".......

 

The Ferrari driving experience is like no other. A Ferrari is a Ferrari. A Ferrari will always be a Ferrari. Period. End of Story.

 

We've had both, and definately prefer the 355.
In the year we owned the Esprit I think it only spent 5 months with us, being driven. The other 7months is was as Lakeside being fixed from: Broken turbo - thing just went pop! Brake caliper seized up and stuck on, making the disc Red-hot!, Oil cooler leaked, and the one that did it and convinced us to sell it; Pistons flying out the engine...
It was a fantastic car, so much fun and is really quite similar to the 355, but in reliability stakes the 355 wins it (for us anyway, each car is different!).

Foxy x

 

I currently own a Ferrari and Lotus Esprit (Elise on the way). Most of the posts are correct. The Esprit is an amazing car for performance. On a track, you will not only beat the 355 but you will beat the 360.( I have done it, with pictures to prove) The sound is great either way and the looks are great. Most people think that my Esprit is a Lamborghini. Definitely, do not get an Esprit before 1998. The engine and brakes change dramatically. However, a 98 can have a ECU upgrade from Lotus for $500 and give you 2004 performance. Handling of the Esprit is only beat by the Elise. You can spin it around a cone and reverse direction like a go-cart. The footwell is small and wearing dress shoes is a problem. I have size 11 feet so I wear driving shoes to help. In addition, I am only 5'9" and have to squeeze to get in. Once inside there is plenty of room. The wife has to wear pants because getting out of the Esprit with a skirt becomes a show. On the lotus sites you can find how to modify the footwell. One of the biggest problems with a Lotus is the battery. Sounds rediculous but the battery goes dead easily. I thought it was my problem but a couple of Lotus mechanics reinforced my suspicions. Very little problems and much cheaper to maintain than the Ferrari. The front is only about 4 inches off of the road so go over bumps and driveways real slow. The f-car has a lot more clearance. The f-car has the mystique and Lotus does not. True enthusiasts aspire for the Ferrari, it does not matter that it gets beat by a few seconds on the track. It only matters to Schumacher and he doesn't lose. Lets face it most of us only play at being race car drivers. Get the car that you heart tells you to get. Either way, you win.

 

There was a test in Classic and Sportscar magazine recently on the two- their conclusion was that the 355 was a better car in many respects, but the Esprit was so good, and such good value it was hard to see why one would want to spend all that extra money...

But that said, I'd go for the 355!

Robert.

 

PATPONE, why did you say i do not understand the lotus? i have owned it and many, many others. Do you own a 355 and a Lotus TT? If not, maybe its you that does not understand.

vince

 

I owned aa Esprit V8 GT and it was, I thought the best, until I got myself a 355 spider. Now that is everything a supercar should be...

Go for the 355

Simon

 

The old adage:

LOTUS=Loads Of Trouble Usually Serious

Simple really.