My Lotus Evora 400 & Video Diary

My Lotus Evora 400 & Video Diary

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jayemm89

Original Poster:

4,001 posts

129 months

Wednesday 18th May 2016
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Hi Everyone,

I've been a bit quiet on the PH front for a little while but I am intending to come back with a vengeance. I started the new year looking for a new (to me) car, as it looked like I might have had a decent amount of cash to spare and decided to spend it on something fun before children and responsibility creeps up on me! I had a few criteria, some of which I didn't actually meet, but cast my net fairly wide. I looked at stuff including the AC Schnitzer M4 that PH drove, an XKR-S, a Corvette C7... but one car I drove really, really blew me away - the Lotus Evora. I had never driven a before Lotus in February, and I started looking at the older "S" models because they were in my price range of the time.

Well, long story short I also drove a 400 and decided then that was an awesome car, and worth saving up for. So I did the man maths, sold a few things I decided I didn't need and last week took delivery of a brand new 400. I wasn't intending to get a new one, I was hoping to scoop up an ex-demo one, but a chance encounter with a car in the right spec and at the right price meant my fate was sealed!

As Lotus are brilliant at making cars, but awful at marketing them, I decided this would be an ideal opportunity to start a bit of a car vlog. Something I'd been intending to do for a little while.

I really appreciate any constructive feedback from the community, as well as ideas on what to feature in the next one. Anyway, enjoy!

So, I think it's time that I started a new thread because I'm no longer in the "test drive" phase. As you'll all know by now I took delivery of an Evora 400 last week.

What most of you don't know is that I had been planning something for a while now to do with the car. Most of us agree that Lotus build damn fine cars, but are pretty poor when it comes to their marketing. I found this when I was researching the car - material on the 400 is pretty thin on the ground if you want anything beyond a simple review.

Therefore I decided it would be a great idea to document the ownership experience. Two reasons - 1. I may never be able to do this again, 2. I'm sure Lotus could benefit from the publicity!

I will be doing quite a few videos on a wide range of Lotus-related topics, I welcome any ideas/suggestions for what sort of thing people might like to do. If anyone on the forum would also like to help with a video, in the near future I want to do some videos comparing the Evora 400 with other cars. In particular, I'd love to be able to get an S1 Evora to do a back-to-back with, plus I would love to compare with an Elise, Exige or Esprit.

Anyway, enough waffle, here's the video. Please give it a "like" and a "subscription", the first few months are going to be the hardest as I gather viewers so I ask everyone that sees it and likes it to share it with as many people as they can in whatever medium they choose.

censored

And here's the obligatory "sneaked to the factory" shot


JM

Edited by jayemm89 on Wednesday 18th May 09:55


Edited by jayemm89 on Wednesday 18th May 09:56


ETA

Sorry, monetised clips are not allowed.

Edited by Big Al. on Monday 6th June 17:08

andyastrasri

166 posts

97 months

Wednesday 18th May 2016
quotequote all
Nice video and a nice Lotus, moved on somewhat from my Excel SE I had way back in the 90s!

I look forward to your series of videos

LanceRS

2,171 posts

136 months

Wednesday 18th May 2016
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As above, a very nice car and a good video. I'm with the petrol station lady as far as Lottery purchases go and I'm afraid that I'll have to agree that you probably are the only one to like the Lotus badge on the dash.
Looks like you are going to have a lot of fun with this, thanks for sharing.

Tickle

4,879 posts

203 months

Wednesday 18th May 2016
quotequote all
Well done and welcome to Lotus ownership wavey

I had a nosey around at a 400 whilst at a 3 Eleven event at Oakmere, I really like them although the Exige 350 was the car I was most fond of. The fit and finish looks fantastic on the new range. I am tempted to have a test of some of the new ones, Oakmere seem to be offering tests of the cars at the moment no doubt the other dealers are too.

I hope your videos push some potential buyers of other cars in this sector towards Lotus, I agree marketing is not their strong point however the test drive advertising may get bums on seats which convert to sales.

Look forward to watching a reading more about your 400


Ben Jk

1,591 posts

165 months

Wednesday 18th May 2016
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Great car and video.


james_gt3rs

4,816 posts

190 months

Wednesday 18th May 2016
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Yellow cars and black wheels are awesome.

Rick101

6,959 posts

149 months

Wednesday 18th May 2016
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Looks nice. Was there looking at that Sprint on Monday.

redddraggon

268 posts

128 months

Wednesday 18th May 2016
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Subscribed (and very envious).

ReaperCushions

5,949 posts

183 months

Wednesday 18th May 2016
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Great car, and congratulations on going with the 'left field' choice of the Evora. I loved your storytelling in the video of how you came to your decision, one that many of us would fall at the first hurdle of the badge. I know faced with the choice of an R8, 430 or Gallardo, going Lotus would be an interesting decision.

Congrats, and please keep up the videos, I really enjoyed your presenting style.

jayemm89

Original Poster:

4,001 posts

129 months

Wednesday 18th May 2016
quotequote all
Thankyou all for the positive reception. I have to say going the Lotus route was not something I saw myself ever doing, but with these videos I hope to show a little of why I did and if just one other person goes with an Evora over an R8 or a 911, that's great for us all - I'm all for variety!

The next videos will be along later this week or early next week and I will post them here when they are. Following videos will hopefully be a bit shorter and each one will try and focus on a specific topic - maintenance, practicality, etc...

ollyh1988

855 posts

199 months

Wednesday 18th May 2016
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Really interesting to see a proper owner's diary right from the moment you collect it - love things like this. The car looks great and hope you enjoy it.

sagarich

1,210 posts

148 months

Thursday 19th May 2016
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Really enjoyed that video, have subscribed and look forward to more ownership insight.

lockhart flawse

2,040 posts

234 months

Thursday 19th May 2016
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Enjoyed your video and gorgeous car - sounds great too.

MrBarry123

6,025 posts

120 months

Thursday 19th May 2016
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Excellent choice - you're a lucky man.

Church of Noise

1,453 posts

236 months

Thursday 19th May 2016
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Congratulations!
Excellent choice of car, enjoy it in good health!

Great video - my own heartbeat became a bit faster when you went to collect it wobble


Rick101

6,959 posts

149 months

Thursday 19th May 2016
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Any reason you chose to buy from Leeds?

blueg33

35,574 posts

223 months

Thursday 19th May 2016
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Looks great. I am jealous.

jayemm89

Original Poster:

4,001 posts

129 months

Thursday 19th May 2016
quotequote all
Rick101 said:
Any reason you chose to buy from Leeds?
It was a stroke of luck really. I couldn't afford to spec a car from the factory, so I was relying on finding a car that was "in-stock". I went to Leeds on business and decided to stop by their showroom to see the orange car I knew they had. When I got there, this was in the showroom having just been delivered. We struck a deal on it that worked for me and worked for them.

One of the few issues I had with choosing a car was because they are so rare seeing them in a variety of colours involved a fair bit of travelling. This was the first one I saw in Yellow, I knew it was a colour that would appeal to me but when I saw it in the flesh I knew it was the one!

unsprung

5,467 posts

123 months

Thursday 19th May 2016
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First rate video. Thanks for that. Buy your cameraman a pint.

Lovely car.

I was glad to see that the staff at the dealership didn't frown and wave away the camera (as might happen at other dealerships). Your video is to their advantage.

Hitch78

6,100 posts

193 months

Thursday 19th May 2016
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Great stuff "Euuuuummmmmh"