Everything I intended to say has already been said.
I got a used Jaguar to replace my 944 as daily driver as I needed something reliable.
The Lotus, wasn't built to last.
Chapman's philosphy was to a build a street car that would last just long enough that everything would break at once as soon as the car left the dealer lot.
I looked at the Lotus Espirit's for a while, but you either get one at a premium in good condition, or spend a premium to attempt to bring a normal one to good condition. I couldn't find the former, and found lots of ways to potentially spend money with the latter.
The 944 has its own set of issues, but will likely not be rotted apart.
Budget aside, the Lotus is a very unique automobile. The 944 Turbo is not.