Worth the price
That all depends on what you are looking for in a car. An Exige or Elise makes a great track car/daily driver. So if you are the kind of person that will take your car out and really use it to its potential, then a Lotus is great for you, and you can stop reading here. If that is not the case, read on my friend. Before I go further, let us determine pricing so we can loot at some alternatives. A new Exige will set you back about $60k when all is said and done, with the Elise doing about $50k in damages. Not exactly the cheapest cars on the road, but certainly not as expensive as most others in their class. If this will be your primary vehicle, or you will not be tracking it on a semi-regular basis, then you may want to consider something a little more subdued. In the same range you can try out the new BMW 335i, which boasts some incredible stats for a non-M BMW. Decent track abilities, and incomparable comfort and performance for normal to 8/10ths driving. But again, if you are buying a vehicle for the track, then look elsewhere. If you wanted to spend a little more money, a 2008 M3 would work nicely. Do a quick google search, and you'll be impressed. Those 2 above ideas were just a small sampling of the cars in that price range that offer good performance. Now lets change gears: if this WILL be a track car, with little use as a daily driver, you may want to consider the Ariel Atom. *pause while I look at their website*. Well, they changed a little bit in the last year or so, prices went up a bit. Anyway, for about the same price as an exige, you can get a 250whp open cockpit road legal race car. Look on youtube for videos and prepare to be amazed. Anyway, hope this helps somewhat.