Interesting that no one has mentioned the battery / extra range. That was the initial reason for me, roof bars came in second, but in hindsight the roof bars are up there as a reason to go with exclusive.
To replace our old S-Max (7 seater) with only 5 seats, we needed space - to be able to put on a roof box and manage longer trips just that little bit easier was a major point for us.
95% of the time - I'm sure an Excite would be fine. I'm not particularly excited (no pun intended) with all the other features of the Exclusive. Lane Keep Assist just annoys me and I switch it off - would rather stay alert myself. Adaptive Cruise Control is just fine.