The first time you get on board – well, you fall down into the cockpit – you start looking at the world from a new perspective. You’re literally leaning on the chassis without any kind of filter, to the advantage of a phenomenal handling transmitted to your body straight from the inputs that your back is able to live. The arms stretch out enough to grab the small steering wheel, which, of course, is not equipped with power steering and so it’s heavier than usual – aspect that once the car is moving, vanishes almost entirely. The legs are crooked towards the pedals but it’s not as terrible as it may seem and the support for the left foot is surprisingly good, even during long distances. The Exige Sport 350, despite having grown up and having become perfectly capable of offering the versatility of a more traditional sports car, maintains that structural rigidity and the nervousness typical of Hethel’s creatures, but evolving further more.
Having driven it for several days in any circumstance (except on track), I have faced the fateful question – would I buy it? Or would I be able to use it as a daily ride? Before revealing my own personal opinion, we must take into account some of the waivers to be taken into consideration and to which a sports car focused on lightness and the best driving purity must undergo. I’m talking about onboard comfort, that for the exception of climate and stereo, doesn’t provide nothing else. Then the small luggage compartment behind the Toyota V6, which overheats and will not be able to accommodate more than some small bags. After the first painful maneuvers getting in and out, this last action is much simpler by first putting both feet on the ground – the Sport 350 requires attention in terms of road bumps, due to a low ground clearance of its front splitter, and also in terms of visibility. At the rear parking sensors are crucial, especially because the Sport 350 has a plastic louvered engine cover, which obscures a good 90% of the rear visibility.
Fuel consumption is good, also thanks to the lightness of the car, and here I am not going to talk about how satisfying it is to drive (especially fast) ‘cause the full review will be on July number. However, I would like to praise its traction controls (remember that I’m talking about everyday usability) that will be guardian angels of the inexperienced drivers, preventing disasters especially on slippery asphalt. Ultimately this is a toy, a weekend car suitable for fun on track and on winding roads, but one of the most pleasurable surprises of this evolution of the Exige S is that it has further moved the purse of purity and of driver’s involvement, managing to maintain a relatively friendly nature, only becoming extreme at your very command. Yes, I would buy it, but I would rather use it on the right occasion, so as not to fade the magic you really want to experience in the right moments, because after all it can do so many things, but it has been built for a reason in particular: for having fun.
Words by Alessandro Marrone
Photography by Andy Williams