BMW i Series vs Lotus Exige
What's the difference?

BMW i Series

$88,900 - $233,400

2026 price

View pricing & specs

Lotus Exige

—

2017 price

View pricing & specs

Aston Martin Vanquish

Lamborghini Aventador

Mercedes-Benz A-Class

Mercedes-Benz A35

Mercedes-Benz A45

Mercedes-Benz AMG GT

Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Mercedes-Benz C43

Mercedes-Benz C63

Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class

Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class

Mercedes-Benz E-Class

Mercedes-Benz E53

Mercedes-Benz EQ-Class

Mercedes-Benz EQS

Mercedes-Benz S-Class

Summary

2026 BMW i Series

2017 Lotus Exige

By Emily Agar

By Stephen Corby

Safety Rating

Electric motor type

Electromagnetically Excited

Supercharged V6, 3.5L

Vehicle type

Battery Electric

Premium Unleaded Petrol

Electric range

805 km

10.1L/100km (combined)

Energy consumption

18.8 kWh/100km

Battery capacity

108.70 kWh

Seating

Likes

Great driving range
Spacious cabin for the whole family
Excellent real-world efficiency

Unassisted, unadulterated steering (at speed)
Beautiful balance and stiff chassis
Gearbox

Dislikes

Optioned wheels hurt range
Fussy ride on rough roads
Missing features for flagship grade

Sheer impracticality
Heavy steering (at low speeds)
Getting in and out of it

2026 BMW i Series Summary

We’re in the new BMW iX3, the first production model to arrive on BMW’s Neue Klasse (new class) EV architecture. We’re testing the flagship 50 xDrive, and it begs the question: has BMW actually managed to make its next generation of EVs feel like a proper Bimmer? Buyers expect a lot from that badge when it comes to ride and handling, so does this electric SUV actually deliver?

View full pricing & specs

2017 Lotus Exige Summary

Driving naked is ill-advised, and possibly illegal, but taking a spin in the Lotus Exige 350 Sport is as close as you'd ever want to get. It's not so much that you feel you've left your clothes at home, but that the car has shed its accoutrements, and indeed its very flesh, leaving you with a kind of skeletal vehicle; just bare bones and muscle.

What this punishingly hard and fiercely focused machine does to your bones and flesh is best described as extreme chiropractry - in particular the stress of ingress and egress - but fortunately it makes up for the moans, bangs and bruises by fizzing your adrenal glands in a big way.

The question is whether the fun is worth the suffering, and the $138,782.85 price tag.

View full pricing & specs

Deep dive comparison

2026 BMW i Series 2017 Lotus Exige

Verdict

The BMW iX3 50 xDrive is a seriously quick electric SUV that earns points for its family practicality, while its impressive range could go a long way towards easing range anxiety. The ride isn’t always as settled as I’d like, but for the most part, this is a well-executed premium EV.

Verdict

To say the Lotus Exige 350 Sport exists at the very pointy end of motoring is a sharp understatement. It is, in essence, a track car that you’re somehow allowed to drive on the road, which means it's hugely compromised in various ways as a vehicle for day-to-day use, yet it's not really fair to criticise it for those failings, because commuting was never its intended purpose.

While it would obviously shine in its natural environment of a race circuit, the fact is you could also enjoy it enormously between track days if you pointed it at a suitably smooth and winding bit of country blacktop.

The performance, handling, steering and stopping are all fantastic, in the right conditions, and you can see how someone might justify it to themselves as a far cheaper version of a ($327,100) Porsche 911 GT3. The difference being that a Porsche doesn't make you fold yourself up like a pocket knife every time you get in.

The Lotus, then, is a car for the extreme enthusiast, only. And possibly for nudists, too.

BMW i Series vs Lotus Exige What's the difference?

Summary

Deep dive comparison

Verdict

Verdict

BMW i Series vs Lotus Exige
What's the difference?