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The latest Lotus Exige S is bigger, faster and more lavish than its predecessor.

Test Drive: Lotus Exige S

The Lotus Exige S rolls gently into the windswept Shek O beach car park, with just a hint of rasp. The two-seater's entrance is so low-key that passers-by glance rather than gaze at the British supercar's gleam in the January chill. Shek O villagers are used to Lotuses, however, as many owners meet here on Sundays. The marque is popular in Hong Kong, usually among young or menoporschial thrusters: 220 of its cars were sold here last year, and mainly the Elise, says Eric Wong, the chief executive of dealers Richburg Lotus.

Forty-one of the latest Exige S have been sold for HK$1.152 million each in Hong Kong, including this test car. Its lines suggest Lotus has at last luxed up its look under the supervision of its Italian design director, Donato Coco, who worked for Ferrari, and previously drew up the stylish C3 Pluriel for Citroen.

The Exige S is 260mm longer than its predecessor, at 4.084 metres, to fit a 345hp, supercharged version of the 3.5-litre Toyota Camry V6 block. It is also up to 38mm wider, at 1.082 metres, "for enhanced stability", Lotus says.

The model's lavish design seems a departure from its spartan roots. The Exige was first built as a track car in 1999, and proved a noisy enthusiasts' road drive. A 1.8-litre, 218hp Exige S was a rampaging delight on the 's test drive in 2007, for example, but today's model is in a different league. Lotus has improved the steering, brakes, suspension and comfort, to produce a dream car with 46 per cent more power and 74 per cent more torque. The new Exige S weighs 1,176kg, but that Camry V6 is tuned to deliver 400Nm of torque and 293hp per tonne for a top speed of 274km/h. It sprints to 100km/h in 3.96 seconds - more than a second faster than the 326hp Porsche Cayman R, Lotus says, and is reportedly 0.1 seconds quicker than the Audi R8 V10 (about HK$2.85 million).

Such boasts sound bizarre in Hong Kong, where there are more than 300 speed cameras, and motoring enjoyment has largely evolved into jerked sprints between lights. This Exige S is well equipped for that, but critics might wonder where this particular test car is heading after its delivery in Hong Kong: to the roar of a mainland racetrack; or - like so many underused supercars here - caged for third-gear screams to remote Sunday brunches; or doomed to pent-up idling in tunnel traffic?

Despite rave reviews in the West, the Exige S is horrendously overpowered for Hong Kong's clogged roads, but help is at hand from Vancouver-born racing driver Darryl O'Young, fresh from a podium finish in an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 at the Dubai 24 Hours. A few years ago, he and I first exchanged professional and amateur cornering and gear-selection techniques in Porsche Caymans on the Zhuhai International Circuit, and then went our different ways: he drives Chevrolet Cruzes in the World Touring Car Championships, while I ride to our reunion on a No9 bus.

So, I tell Wong that I would be happy to drive the Exige S around the Shek O car park, and then watch and learn from O'Young's driving on our return to town.

Wong hands me the keys, and I soon recall that Lotuses are probably the most inaccessible cars on the road. You don't just open the door and get in; you have to stride in across a wide protective side bar that can cause you to rip your trousers or over-hitch your skirt in the thigh-clinging humidity of Hong Kong. Some Lotus owners find the manoeuvre an endearing reminder of the marque's track traditions; others have had their trousers tailored to accommodate it, but it is still a barrier to entry to Lotus. The marque forgets that newly rich males like to look smooth, especially in a fastie, and women don't necessarily want to show their panties to the world as they lunge or swivel into their seats. I scuff my size-46 shoes on the way in, find the driver's seat is snugly supportive, but recall the Porsche Cayman S (HK$1.061 million) is far more accessible and tons in just 4.9 seconds.

The interior of the Exige S is a dark "mancave" of metal and black, with fine side vision, and a narrow rear window that forces you to use mirrors to check your rear-quarters. It gives you a fine frontal view, but its bulbous wings are potential parking blind spots.

Lotus has fitted a Dynamic Performance Management switch that adjusts the drive mechanics and safety electronics for the driver's mood. From a "Touring" around-town setting, the driver can switch to "Sport" mode, which provides more driver interaction and increases the maximum revs from 6,800rpm to 7,200rpm. In "Race" mode, the Exige S adjusts its cornering ability to the track.

It has a sporty rev that rises to an exhilarating roar over 4,700rpm, even in Touring mode, thanks to smart plumbing in its silencing system. Acceleration is outstanding at this setting. The Exige S soon spurts to an unprintable pace, but is controllable at low speed, and has lots of reassuring safety electronics.

The gear lever can have the recalcitrant clunk of a classic MGB, however. Lotus devotees might prefer to wrestle with their knobs, but such quirks undermine the stunning design, remind a buyer that this model sells from £52,900 (HK$647,779) in Britain, and reaffirm the view that Hong Kong motor traders are spec-bleating, first registration tax collectors for image-conscious motorists with more money than sense.

After a short run to the near end of the Shek O Road, I am ushered into Wong's Evora, while O'Young returns to Wan Chai with a Richburg executive in the test car. Wong reaffirms his dealership's and owners' club's commitment to track day training and safety, while O'Young later makes predictably positive remarks about the car's handling and speed. But it would have been educating to see either of them handle the Exige S in "Sport" or "Race" modes.

Worse, there are two elephants in the cabin of the Exige S. First, the test car seems a late arrival in Hong Kong, having been launched at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show. Second, Lotus has been rocked over the past year by reports of production delays; the sacking and replacement of a high-profile chief executive; the shelving of a grandiose 2010 plan to produce five new models, and, as Britain's revealed last month, a "thumping pre-tax loss of £115.2 million in the year to March 31, 2012, against a previous loss of £21.4 million". Wong sounds optimistic for the marque, of course, but that balance sheet's a shocker. So, if you must thrash between traffic lights in Hong Kong, you might hang back from Lotus until its accounts improve, and look at the more parkable Volkswagen Golf R (about HK$450,000), which tons in 5.7 seconds. You'll save a fortune.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: A case of misplaced thrust
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