Evora S or 400 ?
Discussion
In the past, the price difference between an S and the 400 was about £20k making the S a better value proposition.
The price difference now seems to be about 5K between an S Sports Racer and a 400. In this scenario, would people buy a 400 over say an S Sports Racer ?
Reason I ask is because I understand the buttons, seating position and quality of the seat are better in the S whereas the 400 has more power, roughly.
Thoughts ?
The price difference now seems to be about 5K between an S Sports Racer and a 400. In this scenario, would people buy a 400 over say an S Sports Racer ?
Reason I ask is because I understand the buttons, seating position and quality of the seat are better in the S whereas the 400 has more power, roughly.
Thoughts ?
Truth is they are slightly different cars... I`ve had both and the main reason for changing was that I preferred the 400`s styling and a bit more power can never go amiss... however I think in many ways the SR was a better resolved car with a superior interior if a little old hat in style (not that the 400`s was up to date at the time). The SR rides better and is probably the better road set up whereas the 400 started the march toward a better road track set up.
The Sparco seats in the 400 were not very good as manufactured in China whereas the later 410`s were the same seat but made in Italy and a world apart.
My favourite is the GT410 but I`d probably have an SR over a 400 now.
The Sparco seats in the 400 were not very good as manufactured in China whereas the later 410`s were the same seat but made in Italy and a world apart.
My favourite is the GT410 but I`d probably have an SR over a 400 now.
I think the reason is that the SR is considered to be the 'best' Evora as an allrounder - and some will argue better looking too. The 400 is harder, more focussed car. There are a few people on TLF who have owned both and preferred the S1.
In short, it depends what you want. I absolutely loved my S1, it was just brilliant at doing everything....I'm still looking for a 400, so hopefully I enjoy it just as much.
In short, it depends what you want. I absolutely loved my S1, it was just brilliant at doing everything....I'm still looking for a 400, so hopefully I enjoy it just as much.
I've recently bought an Evora 400, having previously owned a Sports Racer S for a couple of years. Whilst I never felt the Sports Racer was a car needing much improvement, I was pleasantly surprised at how much better the 400 was:
Engine Note - Big improvement on the S, gives similar impression of high revving but changes to a louder growlier note at mid revs (similar to S) but then a really exciting howl at high revs (which the S never did). Much sportier sound - love it! Biggest improvement for me as I always felt the one thing the S lacked was a decent engine note.
Chassis Mods - sill height/width reduction makes a huge difference to entry/exit. In the S I had to move the seat fully back to get in/out (I'm not tall!), none of that with the 400. This seems to have been achieved with no noticable deterioration of handling.
Supercharger - Obviously the extra 50 ponies are nice but equally pleasant is no longer having a BBQ on top of the engine, massive reduction in engine bay temperature.
Tax - "only" £395 pa instead of £675
Dash screens - Much easier to read, thick white on black rather than the red italics on black, I used to struggle reading text on the S, not on the 400.
Switches - More conventional, easier to read, better illumination, better layout. e.g S had heated seat switches one above the other, 400 they are on the left & right side. Headlights are dial that you can feel for rather than buttons to need to look at.
Gear change - feels much better than S, not sure if this is down to individual cars or whether it was improved on the 400.
ICE screen easier to see - No longer obscured by steering wheel, I think the wheel is smaller on the 400.
Windscreen wiper seems effective. First thing I did when I got my S was get a new Bosch wiper blade as the one it came with wasn't clearing the screen very well, it made little or no difference. 400 is better, again, not sure if this is down to individual cars or whether it was improved on the 400.
Uprated clutch
S Still wins in a couple of areas:
400 Speedo rubbish - Think it's smaller, numerics still 20mph increments but, unlike S, no clear designator for 10mph increments between, fortunately digital speed displayed on screen between gauges, I rely on that.
Push start - OK , they're cool but the 400's not push start like a modern car where you push the button once and it'll start the engine in its own time; seems to be just a bit of crude rewiring of the key third position whereby you hold the button until the engine fires. The key still has a start position so when you first get the car it takes a while to remember the button, rather than sit there turning the key thinking the imobiliser is active. Pointless.
Interior/Exterior looks are subjective, I guess. Personally, I prefer the exterior to the smiley grill one the original Evora, although I think the GT & GTE front end are much better than both. The SR Recarro interior looked a whole lot more special than the 400.
I'd echo what others have said about ride, little firmer on the 400.
Engine Note - Big improvement on the S, gives similar impression of high revving but changes to a louder growlier note at mid revs (similar to S) but then a really exciting howl at high revs (which the S never did). Much sportier sound - love it! Biggest improvement for me as I always felt the one thing the S lacked was a decent engine note.
Chassis Mods - sill height/width reduction makes a huge difference to entry/exit. In the S I had to move the seat fully back to get in/out (I'm not tall!), none of that with the 400. This seems to have been achieved with no noticable deterioration of handling.
Supercharger - Obviously the extra 50 ponies are nice but equally pleasant is no longer having a BBQ on top of the engine, massive reduction in engine bay temperature.
Tax - "only" £395 pa instead of £675
Dash screens - Much easier to read, thick white on black rather than the red italics on black, I used to struggle reading text on the S, not on the 400.
Switches - More conventional, easier to read, better illumination, better layout. e.g S had heated seat switches one above the other, 400 they are on the left & right side. Headlights are dial that you can feel for rather than buttons to need to look at.
Gear change - feels much better than S, not sure if this is down to individual cars or whether it was improved on the 400.
ICE screen easier to see - No longer obscured by steering wheel, I think the wheel is smaller on the 400.
Windscreen wiper seems effective. First thing I did when I got my S was get a new Bosch wiper blade as the one it came with wasn't clearing the screen very well, it made little or no difference. 400 is better, again, not sure if this is down to individual cars or whether it was improved on the 400.
Uprated clutch
S Still wins in a couple of areas:
400 Speedo rubbish - Think it's smaller, numerics still 20mph increments but, unlike S, no clear designator for 10mph increments between, fortunately digital speed displayed on screen between gauges, I rely on that.
Push start - OK , they're cool but the 400's not push start like a modern car where you push the button once and it'll start the engine in its own time; seems to be just a bit of crude rewiring of the key third position whereby you hold the button until the engine fires. The key still has a start position so when you first get the car it takes a while to remember the button, rather than sit there turning the key thinking the imobiliser is active. Pointless.
Interior/Exterior looks are subjective, I guess. Personally, I prefer the exterior to the smiley grill one the original Evora, although I think the GT & GTE front end are much better than both. The SR Recarro interior looked a whole lot more special than the 400.
I'd echo what others have said about ride, little firmer on the 400.
The pedal position on my S1 ended up being a deal-breaker for me. My left leg would go dead after two hours and ache for the rest of the day, a major problem when long road trips were my main usage. Haven't owned a 400 but understand it's much improved.
Having said that, I can't recall anyone else reporting the same issue. I think longer legs help (my inside leg is 28").
Having said that, I can't recall anyone else reporting the same issue. I think longer legs help (my inside leg is 28").
Thanks Mellow Yellow. Great summary. A couple of questions, after watching many YouTube videos !
1. Are the seats in the 400 worse than the SR - they seem to come unclipped and apparently not as nice to sit in ?
2. How much harder is the ride quality ?
3. Is the interior quality, dash, buttons etc better in the SR ?
1. Are the seats in the 400 worse than the SR - they seem to come unclipped and apparently not as nice to sit in ?
2. How much harder is the ride quality ?
3. Is the interior quality, dash, buttons etc better in the SR ?
I owned both, I think I preferred the 400 in pretty much every way. The SR interior looked better, but functionally was worse. That said, I think I was one of the first people to buy 400 up here and often felt like I was running the Lotus quality assurance programme as it felt like my car was the first to have a few issues which became commonplace. Do often still pine for another though.
Spy said:
Thanks Mellow Yellow. Great summary. A couple of questions, after watching many YouTube videos !
1. Are the seats in the 400 worse than the SR - they seem to come unclipped and apparently not as nice to sit in ?
2. How much harder is the ride quality ?
3. Is the interior quality, dash, buttons etc better in the SR ?
1. They are not as nice as the Recaros in the SR, IMHO SR is the best interior of all Evoras. I don't find the 400 uncomfortable and not had anything come unclipped or break but only done around 600 miles in the 400, it's a 30k car seems to have worn fine. 1. Are the seats in the 400 worse than the SR - they seem to come unclipped and apparently not as nice to sit in ?
2. How much harder is the ride quality ?
3. Is the interior quality, dash, buttons etc better in the SR ?
2. Marginal, TBH I'd not noticed until last night just happened to think it felt a bit firmer the day before I saw your post.
3. Yes, but, again, only marginal.
None of the above would make me pick one over the other, for me big advantages of 400 are engine note, getting in/out, extra bhp, lower car tax. Both are superb drivers cars.
This has been a very helpful thread for me as the Evora is a potential car I have identified as a weekender.
Interestingly, my list has changed a lot from where I started. I was originally looking at 997 911's, which progressed to 991 Turbo and the budget was going up and up, which I didn't really want to do. So I dialed it back and was looking at the Lotus Elise.
The Elise is probably the perfect weekend car, but I am 6ft tall and 17 stone. I haven't been in an Elise for years, but I do remember it being challenging in my 20's if the roof was on. I can't see it's got any better for a 50 year old lol.
But that's what got me onto the Evora, the prices do seem to have settled down now. After some research about the different versions I think it's probably going to be the 400 that appeals to me the most, mainly for the subtle look improvement. Although it does seem to be around a £10k price hike from an S. (This does mean the budget is heading back up into the 911 levels though).
It's great to hear from people that have had both versions. This clearly means that the Evora is a great car if people are upgrading rather than moving to something else.
Interestingly, my list has changed a lot from where I started. I was originally looking at 997 911's, which progressed to 991 Turbo and the budget was going up and up, which I didn't really want to do. So I dialed it back and was looking at the Lotus Elise.
The Elise is probably the perfect weekend car, but I am 6ft tall and 17 stone. I haven't been in an Elise for years, but I do remember it being challenging in my 20's if the roof was on. I can't see it's got any better for a 50 year old lol.
But that's what got me onto the Evora, the prices do seem to have settled down now. After some research about the different versions I think it's probably going to be the 400 that appeals to me the most, mainly for the subtle look improvement. Although it does seem to be around a £10k price hike from an S. (This does mean the budget is heading back up into the 911 levels though).
It's great to hear from people that have had both versions. This clearly means that the Evora is a great car if people are upgrading rather than moving to something else.
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