Lotus Exige pair pack a wallop

Lotus Exige S V6 in action on The Farm - a private race track out of Sydney.

Lightness and power make for an explosive combination

I'm partial to Lotus. I've been a fan of the brand since I was a kid and Sir Colin Chapman's F1 cars lined up on my bookcase. And while the company's had some shocking years for various reasons the British-ish sportscar brand still does it for me.

We now have an official dealership in New Zealand and it's not utterly alien to see the cars on our roads.

The brand's relatively late arrival does mean, however, that it may be a tougher fight against last Saturday's Driven cover car, Alfa Romeo's svelte 4C, when it arrives. But while both are light, quick and handle like sportscars are meant to, they've got very different personalities.

The new Lotus Exige S Roadster has just gone on sale here, joining the edgy Exige S - and while neither are going to become the next Suzuki Swift in terms of sales, they both are pretty sound enthusiast propositions.

The two Lotuses are hard-edged compared with the vast majority of machines on the road. There aren't cupholders, air-con isn't dual zone, there isn't a digital infotainment spectacular at your fingertips and the seats don't massage you. In short, it's a stripped-back sportscar that cares more about weight-saving than electric wotsits and touchscreen thingamajigs.

With no official importer in the past, there aren't many earlier Exiges here, but as this is the third series it does mean a bit more refinement, although it has more weight than the original as part of that process and stretched by 25mm to fit the six-cylinder engine.