RE: Driven: Lotus Evora S
Discussion
kambites said:
Porsche997C4S said:
... considering it hasn't got German build quality,(The Best)...
Do you really believe that? I didn't think anyone still believed that the Germans built cars better than the Japanese any more. Oh and by the way, I just managed to spec a Cayman S up at well over 70k before I got bored on the Porsche configurer thingie.
ETA: I particularly like the fact that they charge you a grand for the honour of picking it up from the factory.
Edited by kambites on Monday 8th November 17:34
Sports buckets
PASM
LSD
Sports exhaust
Rear wiper
Luggage partition
Air-con
Mats
Premium audio (still s
t, but better than boggo)Ipod interface
All the rest of it is essentially fluff. Still gets you to £55k that mind you. You can do a 2.9 for 10k less if you go with the 17" wheels. It's cheaper to start off with and you don't need PASM or the LSD.
...yes, I might have spent some time on the configurator...
Edited by juansolo on Tuesday 9th November 07:14
Not that I'll ever be in a position to buy one, but why the hell is everyone fitting 20inch wheels to the cars these days? I've seen them on a GTR and they look stupidly huge, and that's a big car. On an Evora, seriously. There is an instant weight saving to be had.
It may drive sublime despite its weight, but come on, does it really need to be so heavy?
It may drive sublime despite its weight, but come on, does it really need to be so heavy?
If it 'drives sublime' then that's what really matters surely?
TVR were making 1100kg cars for years and no-one gave a stuff and not many thought they were sublime to drive. Low weight in itself is no guarantee of driving pleasure is my point. If anything the market wanted heavier 'more planted' cars at the time. Lightness was long considered to be 'flimsyness'. No-one wanted a 'plastic body' whereas now a 'composite body' is all the rage of course.
I'm not saying I wouldn't love a lighter Evora if they made one, I'm saying the way it drives it what matters most. And it drives exceptionally well by all accounts and better than some lighter cars.
I have a Caterham that weighs 450kg so everything is heavy compared to that. However driving it back to back with an Exige 260 recently, which weighed over twice as much, I'd have to conclude that the Lotus is the better car for road and track driving, if you could only have one car. It's much slower over a lap but it was exquisitely balanced and, as you mentioned, sublime to drive. The caterham is edgy, razor sharp, darty and flighty over crests at say the nurburgring where the heavier lotus flowed between bends and stayed planted over the crests, allowing you to keep it pinned.
TVR were making 1100kg cars for years and no-one gave a stuff and not many thought they were sublime to drive. Low weight in itself is no guarantee of driving pleasure is my point. If anything the market wanted heavier 'more planted' cars at the time. Lightness was long considered to be 'flimsyness'. No-one wanted a 'plastic body' whereas now a 'composite body' is all the rage of course.
I'm not saying I wouldn't love a lighter Evora if they made one, I'm saying the way it drives it what matters most. And it drives exceptionally well by all accounts and better than some lighter cars.
I have a Caterham that weighs 450kg so everything is heavy compared to that. However driving it back to back with an Exige 260 recently, which weighed over twice as much, I'd have to conclude that the Lotus is the better car for road and track driving, if you could only have one car. It's much slower over a lap but it was exquisitely balanced and, as you mentioned, sublime to drive. The caterham is edgy, razor sharp, darty and flighty over crests at say the nurburgring where the heavier lotus flowed between bends and stayed planted over the crests, allowing you to keep it pinned.
The Pits said:
If it 'drives sublime' then that's what really matters surely?
TVR were making 1100kg cars for years and no-one gave a stuff and not many thought they were sublime to drive. Low weight in itself is no guarantee of driving pleasure is my point. If anything the market wanted heavier 'more planted' cars at the time. Lightness was long considered to be 'flimsyness'. No-one wanted a 'plastic body' whereas now a 'composite body' is all the rage of course.
I'm not saying I wouldn't love a lighter Evora if they made one, I'm saying the way it drives it what matters most. And it drives exceptionally well by all accounts and better than some lighter cars.
I have a Caterham that weighs 450kg so everything is heavy compared to that. However driving it back to back with an Exige 260 recently, which weighed over twice as much, I'd have to conclude that the Lotus is the better car for road and track driving, if you could only have one car. It's much slower over a lap but it was exquisitely balanced and, as you mentioned, sublime to drive. The caterham is edgy, razor sharp, darty and flighty over crests at say the nurburgring where the heavier lotus flowed between bends and stayed planted over the crests, allowing you to keep it pinned.
I agree. I wouldn't want the Evora to weigh 1.0 tonne, as the chances are it'd have to lose all the sound proofing, and other luxuries, which is what makes the car as good as it is. I almost found the Exige unbearable to drive day to day.TVR were making 1100kg cars for years and no-one gave a stuff and not many thought they were sublime to drive. Low weight in itself is no guarantee of driving pleasure is my point. If anything the market wanted heavier 'more planted' cars at the time. Lightness was long considered to be 'flimsyness'. No-one wanted a 'plastic body' whereas now a 'composite body' is all the rage of course.
I'm not saying I wouldn't love a lighter Evora if they made one, I'm saying the way it drives it what matters most. And it drives exceptionally well by all accounts and better than some lighter cars.
I have a Caterham that weighs 450kg so everything is heavy compared to that. However driving it back to back with an Exige 260 recently, which weighed over twice as much, I'd have to conclude that the Lotus is the better car for road and track driving, if you could only have one car. It's much slower over a lap but it was exquisitely balanced and, as you mentioned, sublime to drive. The caterham is edgy, razor sharp, darty and flighty over crests at say the nurburgring where the heavier lotus flowed between bends and stayed planted over the crests, allowing you to keep it pinned.
GKP said:
So he revs the nuts out of the car when the engine's cold and then lets his missus drive it?Lotus : For The Mentally Retarded Wealthy Man
daveco said:
GKP said:
So he revs the nuts out of the car when the engine's cold and then lets his missus drive it?Lotus : For The Mentally Retarded Wealthy Man
GKP said:
daveco said:
GKP said:
So he revs the nuts out of the car when the engine's cold and then lets his missus drive it?Lotus : For The Mentally Retarded Wealthy Man
Lotus : For The Mentally Retarded House Husband
I'm well aware of the compound advantages of a reducing weight in a car.
I'm only saying that to say a car is sublime to drive and then crticize it for being too heavy is a bit like saying 'that's the most delicious thing I've ever eaten, if only there wasn't so much chocolate in it.'
Surely the real issue with weight is where it affects with your driving enjoyment? (for a road car, no-one cars if a race car is horrible to drive (or weighs 3 tons) as long as it wins) If the weight were reduced but the car wasn't better to drive, or worse to drive, then what have you gained?
As with the engine issues some people have, a lighter Evora with a more exotic engine spec exists, it's called the Evora Cup GT4. It weighs under 1200kg (which is interesting to see how light an Evora can go) has a 360bhp Cosworth V6. I'd absolutely love that spec but it costs over £150k. When it comes down to actually shelling out for it I'll take the already sublime to drive 1400kg, 345bhp £58k Evora S, every time.
I'm only saying that to say a car is sublime to drive and then crticize it for being too heavy is a bit like saying 'that's the most delicious thing I've ever eaten, if only there wasn't so much chocolate in it.'
Surely the real issue with weight is where it affects with your driving enjoyment? (for a road car, no-one cars if a race car is horrible to drive (or weighs 3 tons) as long as it wins) If the weight were reduced but the car wasn't better to drive, or worse to drive, then what have you gained?
As with the engine issues some people have, a lighter Evora with a more exotic engine spec exists, it's called the Evora Cup GT4. It weighs under 1200kg (which is interesting to see how light an Evora can go) has a 360bhp Cosworth V6. I'd absolutely love that spec but it costs over £150k. When it comes down to actually shelling out for it I'll take the already sublime to drive 1400kg, 345bhp £58k Evora S, every time.
Edited by The Pits on Tuesday 9th November 10:41
British Beef said:
Porscheplayer said:
I like Lotus, but always think their cars are over priced, couldn't figure out why a second hand Exige was nearly 30K, looks like it should be about 22K new.
Compared to Porsches, a £60k Evora S is a bargain. Try and build a 911 for close to that..... you cant!With an Exige you are paying more for less. If you want ultimate polished raw driver involvement little comes close and nothing at those sort of prices.
The Evora S has some advantages over the 911(steering feel, perhaps image, better drive), but the Porsche counters with better build quality and reliability, better interior, more practical and I'd guess better high speed stability, although I haven't driven a Evora S to confirm this.
Both good cars, but you couldn't describe the Evora as a bargain. It has been a bit of a flop in sales terms, probably down to the price. All the reviews are good; I bet if Lotus lobbed 20K of the price, it would sell like hot cakes.
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