Nissan GTR

[DrBru]

So what do people think of 2017 onwards Nissan GTRs....A comparable experience compared to exiges in terms of driving experience with the added benefit of more practically??

[Escape]

I don't think there's much comparison, the GTR maybe be powerful and fast, but is a heavy computer controlled car, not an analogue driving machine like a Lotus.

[C8RKH]

36 minutes ago, DrBru said:

A comparable experience compared to exiges in terms of driving experience

Nope. GTR is around 600kilos heavier, so 50% more than an Exige. GTR probably faster thanks to it's turbo's, DCT etc but it's a bit like bringing a 50calibre machine gun to a knife fight isn't it?

GTR is an amazing car, but totally different to an Exige in my humble opinion.

[rykchiu]

My view having recently driven a friend's 2018 GTR is that whilst it's undoubtedly a lovely and very fast car with plenty of mod cons and practicality, it's a totally different drive compared to the Exige. As already said, it's very much aided by loads of tech that helps with traction, grip, etc to keep what is a very heavy car (compared to the Exige) on the straight and narrow. The GTR has buckets loads of torque and pulls hard and fast, though doesn't give the same visceral and raw feeling the Exige does. Feedback through the steering is night and day between the two. In the words of the friend who owns the GTR and who drove my Exige - "your car is so much more engaging to drive! The steering feel and general feedback you get is unreal compared to my GTR". In summary, I'd say the two cars aren't really an apples to apples comparison. If you're looking for more something more practical than an Exige then I'd say give the Evora a go or dare I say it (spit spit), a Porsche GT3....(diff price bracket of course).

Edited May 28, 2021 by rykchiu

[DrBru]

I honestly love the exige but I guess im struggling due to the fact that I cant really find what I want at the right price second hand ( I never buy brand new)

Ive got a 100k budget....80k will be for my "toy" and the other 20k for a new family estate. I have previously considered a 911 turbo s  (but would have to be  a 7 year old car) or an RS6 but Im at the stage of my life where I think i only have this one opportunity to buy something stupid....Hence I think my preference is the Gtr or exige

80k pretty much buys you a nearly new GTR or 410/430 cup. I guess im just struggling to justify spending 80k on the lotus where ideally Id be more comfortable spending around 410 on a used 410 which appear few and far between.

[rykchiu]

I see your dilemma, third world problems lol!

Have you driven the GTR? If not, I'd definitely get my hands to test drive one if I were you. It is a brilliant car in itself and you never know, you may fall in love with it even thought it's a different driving experience compared to the Exige.

[390ja]

I have come from an M2, so many cars these days tick the same box as that car, very capable but only exciting once you’re at ridiculous speeds. The Gtr also falls into that from the drives I’ve had.
I nearly went for a big luxury motor but decided I wanted back to basics while my bones are still young enough to cope with it..

Every drive of the Exige is an event, even at slow speeds. You can go out for a drive at perfectly legal speeds and still enjoy the drive. I don’t feel the Gtr will do that.

I haven’t driven a 430 but don’t feel I’m missing too much in my 390, especially if comparing with non lotus alternatives. I would personally hold out for the right Exige, but as said above, probably get a drive in both to see what suits you and your expectations best.

Looking at used prices, you’re also in Porsche 718 cayman gt4 territory, they would certainly be on my test drive list.

Edited May 29, 2021 by 390ja
Added Porsche.

[DrBru]

im honestly in such a dilemma .....Ive thought about RS6, turbo s, exige +family car and GTR + family car and i have been debating what to get for quite some time with Covid etc preventing me from getting the test drives I need

 

i have to admit im leaning towards the GTR because I feel like I will get so much more of an overall package compared to the Exige

if I could afford a newer turbo s Id get that for the 4 seats and RS6 is at the bottom of the list even though I love it...but it will depreciate the worst out of the options

 

Ultimately I am going to have to drive a few to decide but even if I go down the route of a 410 or 430 cup I feel as though Ill be waiting a while for the right car as not many come up for sale often especially the 430s

[C8RKH]

28 minutes ago, DrBru said:

not many come up for sale often especially the 430s

That might give you an idea as what their owners think of them.

[MAG]

I've driven an 18 plate GTR. As others have said, night and day difference to the Exige. The Exige has one purpose and that is to directly connect you to the road and the feelings of acceleration and speed. If you are even considering "practically" then look else where as it's a purpose built tool. The GTR is essentially a modern mass production saloon car with a lot of tech and a very powerful engine to allow it to go very fast. But in my opinion it's a disconnected experience. A bit like the difference between being on a Zoom call or meeting in person.

[Jack]

IMHO, you would never compare a GTR to the Exige.....totally different animals.  Grand Touring car vs Sports car.  The GTR is a fine touring vehicle.

As for track duty, while you can take your GTR to the track and have some fun, my friends modified GTR (and he is a very good driver) gets routinely spanked by either my 211 or V6 Exige.  And, when I say spanked, I mean the GTR is 6-8 seconds a lap slower, even on tracks with relatively long straights. Don't even ask about consumables.... what a nightmare.... he's constantly replacing tires, brake pads, rotors, etc.   

[C8RKH]

On 30/05/2021 at 08:07, MAG said:

A bit like the difference between being on a Zoom call or meeting in person.

I have a feeling that a lot of GTR owners get more satisfaction from sexting than actually shagging.  Let's face it, the GTR and sexting both use computers to simulate the real experience.

[Trevxige]

I've had 4 over 9 years, covered over 100k miles.

They are completely effortless to drive, so much torque, and the DCT is heaven, but over the years other manufacturers have caught up, back in 2008 it was quite something. I guess on a Lotus forum most people won't like a DCT car, but to me the downshifts are amazing and make the car.

Main thing is you do feel the weight, although it hides it well, braking hard several times in row and you feel like you're trying to stop 1 and 3/4 tons. 

My last one was a 2016 model, and I had a Lichfield stage 4 up to 650 bhp, which really is quite savage and great fun. The Exige 410 will feel a little flat by comparison, but much more fun at the same time. The Gtr is a bit too good at everything (except braking hard on track) and lacks a sense of occasion. If you step out of an Exige and back into a Gtr it feels like the seating position of a normal family car.

Something to bear in mind which many owners don't even realise, is that the facelift Gtr came out on a 66 plate and has ASE (active sound enhancement) which plays trumpet like noises through the Bose speakers. You can't turn it off by any controls, but can by entering a code to access the service menu. Then the car is too quiet. Gtr's need an aftermarket exhaust to make a decent sound, most fit a Y pipe at least.

Tyres last about 9k miles, brakes are very expensive but front discs last about 25k miles normal road use (Nissan quote 3.2k for front discs) nobody buys them of course. Nissan charge around £165 per hour for servicing.

They are great cars but I became bored of driving them, hence why I'm here. 

[DrBru]

Very useful to hear everyones thoughts and I appreciate that I am on a lotus forum so the exige is always going to come out on top...

I think this decision would be a lot easier to make if there were more second hand examples of 410s and 430s on the market but as they are not im basically looking to spend around 70-80k on an exige and I guess im just struggling to spend that amount on an Exige if im honest

[Inversed]

It's worth thinking about depreciation of each car aswell. Supply of new Exiges will be 0 next year, so we can expect less and less cars in mint condition on market.

I would like to say that I was in a market for a new fun car this year and I've kinda rushed into Exige FE when I saw they are going out of production. I was also thinking about GT-R, but what drew to Exige was as said final editions and a lot less expenses in terms of maintenance. Cars are really not comparable, GT-R is probably quite easy to live with, while Exige is just not really usable. Why are you looking only into 410,430s? I think 350 and 390 FE are more interesting choice for normal use, 410 and 430 is just too much I think.

[DrBru]

Granted I think the running costs of the Exiges are going to be far less than say a GTR or something like a turbo s...Ive driven all of the Exiges and whilst the 350/390 are really good, i did think there was a fair difference with the 410 etc. 

 

I actually believe the prices on the Exiges won't really drop and could even increase in the future but Im still stuck trying to get my head around spending 80k on one....If I could find a second hand 410 around the 60-70k bracket I would def go for that over the other cars that I have mentioned but haven't seen a single 410 under 70k other than the odd one in a colour that I dont like

[Trevxige]

Speaking of values, GT-R's are on the rise, I sold my 16 plate 10 days ago for 5k more than I could have sold it for a year ago. 

The Exige 410 is the sweet spot for me. There were two under 70k that I was interested in, I know one sold today for asking price.

I think if the Emira doesn't live up to expectations when we find out what it's all about next month, the Exige range will hold up very strong over the coming years. On the other hand, if the Emira is a beautiful, 500bhp, dct, 1100kg car, I'll be putting my name down. Exige prices will then likely fall but not drastically I guess.

 

[delta3]

8 hours ago, DrBru said:

Granted I think the running costs of the Exiges are going to be far less than say a GTR or something like a turbo s...Ive driven all of the Exiges and whilst the 350/390 are really good, i did think there was a fair difference with the 410 etc. 

 

I actually believe the prices on the Exiges won't really drop and could even increase in the future but Im still stuck trying to get my head around spending 80k on one....If I could find a second hand 410 around the 60-70k bracket I would def go for that over the other cars that I have mentioned but haven't seen a single 410 under 70k other than the odd one in a colour that I dont like

i'm sure by now you are well aware of the differences between the 2 cars. night and day. there's a reason exige prices are what they are. it's an experience that's hard to match by any car. but if you're ok with spending 80k for a gtr, but "can't get your head around" spending 80k for an exige, then it seems your mind is already made up. perhaps you should go over to the gtr forums.

i gotta say, the fact that someone is cross shopping between the 2 boggles my mind. 😂

[chumaxa]

Of course most of the people here will praise for the Lotus, we are here generaly for the same reasons. At the end of the day they such different cars, diffferent end of the spectrum, it should not be too hard to decide, just depends on what makes you connect more to a car, the use of it you want, the GTR is an engineering masterpiece, but where you sit a bit more as a spectator, but if this is what you are looking for, it is fine. I do not really get the comment about the money, because a 40k GTR will give you almost as much compare to a 80k GTR ? Same as the Exige market I believe.  But if there is one point where there is no discussion, it is the maintening cost, I  know people with GTRs, they are just way more expensive to maintain, and if they go wrong, it starts to get exponential, again this is not really a reason not to buy one, just a factor. 

[Exx]

The only answer is : try them both, even if it can be hard to try an Exige, you can find someone here to get you in as a passenger

Otherwise you do not have possibility of rent one on track or road for one hour ?

[Ali tuck]

Why don’t you have a look at evora 410/430- will give you that bit more practicality ,still plenty quick enough awesome sound,handling etc- you’ll be pleasantly surprised!

[DangerousDave]

Personally i'd get a rs3 with some mods over a gtr unless i was going for for 2000hp+

[DrBru]

Thanks guys...very interesting to hear your views....So, the reason I was considering a nearly new GTR is that I see some of the older ones as just too high risk..There are so many out there that have been absolutely thrashed so Id only buy a nearly new one with warranty...

 

Completely take your point over running costs as well; the GTR does sound unjustifiably high if you stick with Nissan (which is why most people go down the Litchfield route) - I think its basically going to come down to what I can find for the best money as I see them both as awesome cars!

[Trevxige]

DrBru, maintenance isn't that high on Gtr's.

All mine had a 3 year service pack, then after that services are 12 mnths/9k miles and very reasonably priced at one of the main aftermarket tuners, Lichfield, AC Speedtech, Kaizer etc.

They also have an annual optimisation service, which is geometry, clutch learn, intake balance, and this is free for the first 3 years at all Nissan NHPC's.

The expensive items are tyres and brakes discs, but you'll get 10k miles form a set of tyres and 30k from front discs / 50k from rear discs.

If you don't plan any track days nothing will be expensive and reliability is second to none. If you do plan track days, the engine and gearbox oils get very hot and need replacing to maintain the warranty.

You should take one for a spin, I think you'll love it.

 

... the performance for a big heavy car is unbelievable, and absolutely effortless, it was in a different league when it came out but other stuff has caught up now, hence why I needed a stage 4 to keep them at bay

[Smudge]

Well just an opinion. I have owned 2 VX220's an Elise and an early Exige. I have also owned 2 GTRs the first a 2010 model and the second a 2014 model. Depends what you want from the car. The GTR is actually a practicle everyday car, it has a huge boot and at a push you can get small people in the back. The GTR is amazingly quick and also a really viseral car to drive, yes there are a lot of aids, but most can be switched off (I would not advise it away from the track). It is actually a very engaging car to drive (I suspect many of the people that talk about it being computer controlled have never driven one). On maintenance the first GTR was expensive, servicing every 6 months and some iffy reliability. The second one was acompletely different kettle of fish, yearly services at OK prices and super reliable, anything from 2012/13 should be OK. Tyres were crazy expensive initially cause there was only 1 to be had (It was the same on my VX220), but subsequently others became available, so now pretty similar to an Exige (£1000-£1100 a set) The GTR is heavier so likely to wear stuff out quicker, but not so much as you might think. On the whole I dont think there will be a lot of difference in maintenance costs. If you want a car that can be used everyday comfortably the GTR is the one, if you want a trackday tool, the exige beats it hands down, anything in between will be your own call.

On 09/06/2021 at 06:30, delta3 said:

i'm sure by now you are well aware of the differences between the 2 cars. night and day. there's a reason exige prices are what they are. it's an experience that's hard to match by any car. but if you're ok with spending 80k for a gtr, but "can't get your head around" spending 80k for an exige, then it seems your mind is already made up. perhaps you should go over to the gtr forums.

i gotta say, the fact that someone is cross shopping between the 2 boggles my mind. 😂

There are a number of £65k-£70k 2019 exiges available now....