RE: Evora S Sports Racer: Intro

[pthelazyjourno]

highway said:

I always remember Autocars laughable 1997 claim that the Elise had a "saloon car" ride. Sublime car to drive about 60 miles in at a go. Rubbish on the motorway. Exhausting to go long distance in.

Damn, I wish you'd been around to inform me how exhausting it was before mine racked up 120,000 miles - maybe that's why I'm so tired these days. If only I'd bought a Boxster...

As long as you wear a pair of ear plugs (and yes, I accept that's a compromise too far in some peoples' books), it's not even vaguely exhausting, and mine is used weekly between London, Cheshire and Northamptonshire. It's fine on the motorway.

It rides very well, tracks in a straight line and has seats that are a lot more comfortable than most things out there. I've previously broken my spine in four places, and having tried countless seats in saloon cars, I'd take those in my Elise every time over repmobiles like Mondeos etc. Most leave me in agony.

[900T-R]

lockhart flawse said:

More Lotus, Ginetta, Morgan, Caterham etc and less "premium" German, mass-produced, monochrome, diesel dross please.

At this moment, the PH editorial staff are falling in the very same trap that Evo did several years ago - we really don't want duplicates of content that is more than adequately covered in the mainstream automotive press - especially not in a day and age where that mainstream is quickly moving away from the values that the community is supposed to support.

[flyingscot68]

Dave211 said:

Good point. So here's my quick review of a 3 yr old Evora S in terms of suitability for daily use, using today as an example.

First off, for me, this is a car that will have only me in it 90% the time , the rest with a single passenger. If I want more seats, I will take one of my other cars. For ref my car is a 2+0, as I personally will only use the car in that mode and the extra space behind the front seats will be handy for touring etc.....eg lots of luggage space.

So I go out to the car with a laptop bag, open the rear hatch and place in luggage compartment. Enough space left for a soft suitcase for hols etc.. Enter into the car and if I need to take the phone and wallet out of my trousers, I can place them in the slim glovebox, the side pockets in the door or the cavernous space behind me from having no rear seats. However I feel a bit masochistic today, so leave them in my pockets,

I start the car, turn the heated seat on, choose my music from my ipod via the alpine system and then put my destination in the Satnav. I select reverse and use the side mirrors, rear parking sensors and reverse camera displayed on the alpine system to manoeuvre the car without killing anyone or damaging my alloys.

I'm then on my way. I have one option to play with the sound / characteristics of the car....the Sports button. I decide it's going to be a relaxing drive today, so do not engage sports button and instead enjoy the relative quiet noise in the cabin and relaxed engagement of the accelerator.

I use the Alpine system to make a few hands free calls to work, with no problems chatting at national speed limits.

As I move along the bumpy b and a roads , I revel in the smooth comfortable ride of the car. Surely sports cars shouldn't be this comfortable ! The torque from the car at low revs, makes for easy , relaxed overtaking of other traffic when required. You notice other drivers are very aware of your car as you approach, but no hostility when you overtake, just admiring or quite often open jawed expressions.

As I hit the motorway, I engage Cruise control. Once again you notice the courteous nature of other drivers , as they pull over to let you pass, quite often with a smile and a child in the back pinned to the side window. Even more evident when hitting traffic jams, people make space for you.

I pull up at a client site to find no parking spaces left. The receptionist comes out of the building and moveds other cars around to allow me to park the car, commenting how stunning the car is. As we then go into reception she calls me round to the view the CCTV camera , showing staff coming out to view the car. Very surreal moment with people bending over backwards to help

Then to top it all follow Plato in his Cayenne Turbo on the M40, for him to kindly pull into the middle lane to let me to past. He obviously had 45kg ballast weight in place

Then to finish the night, go to a local car meet where the organiser commented how he had never seen one of these cars and loved it

It's a nice world with Lotus

So there you have it. Not a bad place to be for daily driving, with the added advantage that with the press of a sport button and bit more pressure on the accelerator you also have a great hoon car,

To try and balance it, what are the bad points for daily driving . Hmmmmmmm. Evora S is a little heavy on fuel, but the NA version is very frugal. The doors need to open quite wide, so you need a decant parking space to get in/out. The car does create a lot of attention, which can mean other driver are maybe not paying as much attention to the road as they should. The sound system isn't top end in terms of sound quality. Allegedly the car goes through tyres quickly. Too many options where to place keys and wallet sometimes

However if you want a sensible performance daily car, buy a BMW m235i , which will get automatic approval from the PH team .

Edited by Dave211 on Thursday 24th April 21:54

A day in the life - great little write up

[SidewaysSi]

flyingscot68 said:

A day in the life - great little write up

Indeed. So good you should be working for PH instead

[blueg33]

My Evora write up for the day: More boring than others but its daily driver type use

Placed laptop bag in the boot
Climbed into car
wallet in door pocket
start engine, enjoy the sound of the exhaust (tubular system)
heated seat on
12 mile run to the station at 60 mph and averaging 35.4 mpg
reverse parked (no camera for me) into a parking space
used the handfree bluetooth to pay for parking
sat and listened to the radio until 1 minute before train is due
Explained on the train, to the rather pretty lady I sat next to, that no its not a Lamborghini or a Ferrari and yes I think it looks great too .

On the way home tonight I will as I often do go the long way round just to enjoy driving this great car on great roads.

[braddo]

chrispmartha said:

The cup holders on the Cayman are the worst things about the cars, they are utterly useless, I tried to use them with a large Coffee, most of it ended up on the floor and dashboard.

The glovebox has a pen holder though, thats pretty good ;-)

Having recently bought a 997, I think the cupholders are excellent - it is the hard ride that makes them unusable for coffee cups. I discovered this at 6am one morning, hoping to enjoy my caffeine hit on the way out of town before reaching the fun roads. Instead, I sat at the side of the road mopping up spilt coffee and seeing how quickly I could down a latte.


ETA - the thread has taken a turn for the better and I am enjoying reading the owners' experiences.

[chrispmartha]

braddo said:

Having recently bought a 997, I think the cupholders are excellent - it is the hard ride that makes them unusable for coffee cups. I discovered this at 6am one morning, hoping to enjoy my caffeine hit on the way out of town before reaching the fun roads. Instead, I sat at the side of the road mopping up spilt coffee and seeing how quickly I could down a latte.


ETA - the thread has taken a turn for the better and I am enjoying reading the owners' experiences.

Have you got PASM? mine has, and the ride is excellent, cup holder's are still crap though.

[shoestring7]

pthelazyjourno said:

highway said:

I always remember Autocars laughable 1997 claim that the Elise had a "saloon car" ride. Sublime car to drive about 60 miles in at a go. Rubbish on the motorway. Exhausting to go long distance in.

Damn, I wish you'd been around to inform me how exhausting it was before mine racked up 120,000 miles - maybe that's why I'm so tired these days. If only I'd bought a Boxster...

As long as you wear a pair of ear plugs (and yes, I accept that's a compromise too far in some peoples' books), it's not even vaguely exhausting, and mine is used weekly between London, Cheshire and Northamptonshire. It's fine on the motorway.

It rides very well, tracks in a straight line and has seats that are a lot more comfortable than most things out there. I've previously broken my spine in four places, and having tried countless seats in saloon cars, I'd take those in my Elise every time over repmobiles like Mondeos etc. Most leave me in agony.

I used a Caterham Seven as a daily driver and did 20k miles in 18months, often with earplugs, waxed cotton arm-sleeve and shammy leather to hand.

However I didn't pretend it was anything like as comfortable or relaxing a place to do long motorway journeys as the Porsche 911 that replaced it (kids meant I needed a 4 seater), and found it quite understandable why Porsche sold more Boxsters than Caterham did Sevens.

SS7

[kambites]

The Elise and Evora aren't Caterham Sevens.

[SpudLink]

Dave211 said:

Good point. So here's my quick review of a 3 yr old Evora S in terms of suitability for daily use, using today as an example.

....

However if you want a sensible performance daily car, buy a BMW m235i , which will get automatic approval from the PH team .

Thanks. That's as good a write up as I've found on living with an Evora.

When did people get so spoiled that the Evora is considered too impractical for daily use?

Edited by SpudLink on Friday 25th April 09:54

[shoestring7]

kambites said:

The Elise and Evora aren't Caterham Sevens.

An Elise isn't a Boxster.

SS7

[The Wookie]

SpudLink said:

Thanks. That's as good a write up as I've found on living with an Evora.

When did people get so spoiled that the Evora is considered too impractical for daily use?

Edited by SpudLink on Friday 25th April 09:54

Because plenty of us use them daily without issue

[blueg33]

chrispmartha said:

braddo said:

Having recently bought a 997, I think the cupholders are excellent - it is the hard ride that makes them unusable for coffee cups. I discovered this at 6am one morning, hoping to enjoy my caffeine hit on the way out of town before reaching the fun roads. Instead, I sat at the side of the road mopping up spilt coffee and seeing how quickly I could down a latte.


ETA - the thread has taken a turn for the better and I am enjoying reading the owners' experiences.

Have you got PASM? mine has, and the ride is excellent, cup holder's are still crap though.

Certainly in the 997 PASM still gives a jarring ride in comparison with the Evora, especially on the sport setting.

Mind you, now I am an Evora owner I have forgotton what a cupholder is.......Apparently cups fit in the door pockets after I have put my wallet in the glove box. Thing is, I don't want to stop to buy a drink because I am enjoying myself too much

[Richard-G]

SpudLink said:

Dave211 said:

Good point. So here's my quick review of a 3 yr old Evora S in terms of suitability for daily use, using today as an example.

....

However if you want a sensible performance daily car, buy a BMW m235i , which will get automatic approval from the PH team .

Thanks. That's as good a write up as I've found on living with an Evora.

When did people get so spoiled that the Evora is considered too impractical for daily use?

Edited by SpudLink on Friday 25th April 09:54

when manufacturers stopped engineering their 'piston connecting rod bolts' and started engineering their finely brushed alloy electric window switches...

[kambites]

shoestring7 said:

kambites said:

The Elise and Evora aren't Caterham Sevens.

An Elise isn't a Boxster.

No, it's a damned slight more comfortable.

[otolith]

In terms of creature comforts, my Elise reminds me of small cars from the 80's. It's a bit tight inside, it's noisy at speed, it has a radio and a heater and not much else but it rides well. Like those cars, in that respect it does everything you really *need*. What people *want* is a whole other matter.

[shoestring7]

kambites said:

shoestring7 said:

kambites said:

The Elise and Evora aren't Caterham Sevens.

An Elise isn't a Boxster.

No, it's a damned slight more comfortable.

Suckered into buying the blingy wheels then?

SS7

[rocketride]

Two of my fav cars by Steve Sutcliffe.

Evora S

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ664uE48WY

G60

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pawmdwhBQDQ

Well done Britain

Edited by rocketride on Friday 25th April 11:10

[james_gt3rs]

shoestring7 said:

An Elise isn't a Boxster.

SS7

An Evora isn't an Elise

I'm willing to believe the owners when they say they are pefectly comfortable everyday cars.

[blueg33]

The seats are really comfy better than my Audi A6, and very nearly as good as the seats in my old Volvo V70.