RE: Lotus Evora Sport 410: Review

[RobM77]

blueg33 said:

Cold said:

Thing is, such number dissection only works in the pub and anyone who insists on going down that route isn't someone you'd have a pint with anyway.

Quite agree, the Evora is totally different to drive from a 911, like comparing a scalpel to a bread knife.

The more cars I drive, the more I realise that it's the qualitative that matters, not the quantitative. This is where cars like the Evora score, but sadly I don't think the car world has moved on from its numbers obsession.

[Ozzie Osmond]

blueg33 said:

Quite agree, the Evora is totally different to drive from a 911, like comparing a scalpel to a bread knife.

Oh come on, the Evora's not that bad!

[SpudLink]

jayemm89 said:

I recently did a video comparing the Cayman GT4 with the regular 400, it will be up next week but I'm not allowed to post the link here.

Suffice it to say, they were as close in driving experience as they are on paper

It would be quite a dilemma. If you could actually buy a new Cayman GT4.
I doesn't supprise me that Porsche are capable of building a car which proves they can do what Lotus does. However they chose to limit the production, and then sell only to the golfing buddies of the main dealers. As a business it makes sense, because it will sell more cars by creating an unobtainable unicorn at the top of the range. It's just a shame all those falling over themselves to pay six figures for a GT4 wouldn't even look at the Evora 410.

[blueg33]

Ozzie Osmond said:

blueg33 said:

Quite agree, the Evora is totally different to drive from a 911, like comparing a scalpel to a bread knife.

Oh come on, the Evora's not that bad!

neither are bad, they are just different.

[gweaver]

Tuna said:

I note the 400 came second in Road & Track Performance Car of the Year - ahead of the Porsche and only beaten by the NSX at twice the price.

I wonder if the Evora captures more of the spirit of the original NSX than the new NSX. I think Senna might have had a soft spot for this.

[RobM77]

gweaver said:

Tuna said:

I note the 400 came second in Road & Track Performance Car of the Year - ahead of the Porsche and only beaten by the NSX at twice the price.

I wonder if the Evora captures more of the spirit of the original NSX than the new NSX. I think Senna might have had a soft spot for this.

Having driven both the original NSX and the Evora S on a few occasions I think they're both just very different. They certainly have different strengths and weaknesses; for example the NSX's gearshift is much better than the Evora, but the steering is nowhere near as good as the Evora. The NSX probably had better handling in some respects (not all!), but the Evora has much better feedback and interaction, especially at road speeds. The Evora is probably much stiffer, which is why I said 'in some respects' - it's a much more modern design in engineering terms. The Evora has a very British feel to its interior, whereas the NSX was typically Honda.

My ideal car would be a combination of the two. No comfortable road car that I've driven betters either NSX or Evora at their strong points (for my own tastes at least). My ideal car would combine the NSX's styling, n/a V6 VTEC engine and build quality; with the Evora's steering, general feedback and 2+0 storage capacity.

[gweaver]

RobM77 said:

Having driven both the original NSX and the Evora S on a few occasions I think...

Thanks for putting me straight. Sadly neither is going to be in budget for a while anyway..

[RobM77]

gweaver said:

RobM77 said:

Having driven both the original NSX and the Evora S on a few occasions I think...

Thanks for putting me straight. Sadly neither is going to be in budget for a while anyway..

Oo, no, I didn't mean to disagree with you. Conceptually the cars are identical: daily driver mid engined sport/super car with transverse V6 engines and designed around the driver. The execution and engineering are just different :-) My point regarding the handling is very contentious - I may be wrong on that as I've driven an NSX on track but not an Evora.

Edited by RobM77 on Monday 7th November 19:14

[jayemm89]

Just to add to the discussion, I saw the 410 in the flesh today, the grey one. Great looking car, the carbon works much better in real life than in pictures. For whatever reason, the Evora is not a photogenic car, but looks great in person.

I wouldn't spec it in grey as there's too many dark shades fighting with each other, but the body panels are amazing. Interior is a good looker too, yellow flourishes add some much needed colour to the party.

[gweaver]

RobM77 said:

gweaver said:

RobM77 said:

Having driven both the original NSX and the Evora S on a few occasions I think...

Thanks for putting me straight. Sadly neither is going to be in budget for a while anyway..

Oo, no, I didn't mean to disagree with you. Conceptually the cars are identical: daily driver mid engined sport/super car with transverse V6 engines and designed around the driver. The execution and engineering are just different :-) My point regarding the handling is very contentious - I may be wrong on that as I've driven an NSX on track but not an Evora.

Sorry, that wasn't intended to come across as sarcastic - I tend not to be very articulate after a long day in front of the screen!
I've not been near an Evora or an NSX, but I'm sure I'd love both. Closest I've got is driving a supercharged four cylinder Exige and a breadvan shape Civic Type-S (both were very decent cars). To the armchair enthusiast the NSX and Evora appear very similar (on paper), so it's interesting to hear the perspective of someone who has driven them both - it's most definitely not all about the numbers.

[RobM77]

gweaver said:

RobM77 said:

gweaver said:

RobM77 said:

Having driven both the original NSX and the Evora S on a few occasions I think...

Thanks for putting me straight. Sadly neither is going to be in budget for a while anyway..

Oo, no, I didn't mean to disagree with you. Conceptually the cars are identical: daily driver mid engined sport/super car with transverse V6 engines and designed around the driver. The execution and engineering are just different :-) My point regarding the handling is very contentious - I may be wrong on that as I've driven an NSX on track but not an Evora.

Sorry, that wasn't intended to come across as sarcastic - I tend not to be very articulate after a long day in front of the screen!
I've not been near an Evora or an NSX, but I'm sure I'd love both. Closest I've got is driving a supercharged four cylinder Exige and a breadvan shape Civic Type-S (both were very decent cars). To the armchair enthusiast the NSX and Evora appear very similar (on paper), so it's interesting to hear the perspective of someone who has driven them both - it's most definitely not all about the numbers.

Not at all, I assumed you were being sincere. They're two of my absolute favourite cars.

The NSX is a beautiful thing from an engineering point of view, and in my opinion at least, the handling is utterly sublime, as is the perfect gearchange mated to a fantastic normally aspirated V6 screamer. I was given a drive in a late model one when I was at a trackday in my Caterham, and I thought it was stunning, which is an unusual viewpoint as after a Caterham most cars feel like buses. I idolise the McLaren F1 and in the book I have on its development, the NSX is frequently mentioned, most impressively in a list of quantitative metrics comparing the handling of contempary supercars, all of which it trumped easily.

The Evora S I've been lucky enough to drive twice - once in an IPS car and once with a manual car. You get the feeling it was engineered on a lower budget and with fewer resources than the NSX in terms of the fit and finish (that's not as harsh a thing to say as you might think, because the NSX really is a beautiful thing up close), and of course it's not a thoroughbred like the Honda. However, the ride and feedback are utterly stupendous - way, way better than the Porsche Cayman S that I test drove two examples of with a view to buying. The NVH is perfectly fine and the cabin comfortable too. Plus, with the 2+2 or 2+0 options the Evora is practical too. I've genuinely no idea why they don't sell more, especially from a marque like Lotus, who innovated in and dominated Formula One in the 60s and 70s, both in terms of race wins and engineering ingenuity. If I had the money for either I'd probably buy the Evora, but it would be a very close run thing for me.

Whilst we're on the subject of good Lotuses, I've also driven the Exige S V6 and that literally left me speechless - probably the best everyday road car with a roof and radio etc that I've driven.

My lottery win shopping list would certainly consist of an NSX, Evora S and Exige V6 Cup. I'd also want my 2-Eleven back!

[anniesdad]

jayemm89 said:

Just to add to the discussion, I saw the 410 in the flesh today, the grey one. Great looking car, the carbon works much better in real life than in pictures. For whatever reason, the Evora is not a photogenic car, but looks great in person.

I wouldn't spec it in grey as there's too many dark shades fighting with each other, but the body panels are amazing. Interior is a good looker too, yellow flourishes add some much needed colour to the party.

I enjoy your YT videos (and seeing/hearing your 400) and don't disagree that at least from some angles the Evora isn't particularly photogenic, I totally agree that the car looks better in person than in pictures. That said I think the grey 410 (at least in pictures!) looks absolutely amazing! Especially the birdseye view of it.



I think the dark surfaces actually compliment each other. I'd probably spec a more sober colour (maybe dark blue if there is such an option) and have brake calipers in a non-contrasting colour too, black or silver.

All this said, I don't think you can go wrong with this car it will look absolutely fab in any colour.

Edited by anniesdad on Tuesday 8th November 12:53

[SFO]

https://youtu.be/f6pNBaU8agE

[SpudLink]

I don't think this review has been linked on this thread...
https://youtu.be/BceAs9_cAoE

[koorby]

Sat inside this car at Autosport NEC Birmingham on Thursday and almost bought it on the spot if it wasn't for the yellow calipers and interior plastics

http://thumbsnap.com/sc/m4OceKra.jpg

Having owned an Evora LE IPS for two years then moving to a Boxster GTS, the 410 really feels like a few evolutions have passed and it looks superb in the flesh.

I was seriously thinking Macca 570S but this is £100k cheaper for almost the same performance and it's as rare if not rarer.

Going to drive up to B&C asap and spec one up for summer delivery.

[Wills2]

Olivera said:

blueg33 said:

A C2S even with Sports plus and PDK is slower than the Evora 410, The Porsche costs £89,661 (I only added pdk and sports chrono in the configurator)

0-60 Porsche 4.2 secs Evora 410 4.0 seconds
top speed Porsche 182mph Evora 410 190 mph

Um Porsche uk site says 3.9s 0-60 for Carrera S PDK with sport plus, top speed 190mph.

Don't let facts get in the way of the discussion...

[Wills2]

blueg33 said:

Wills2 said:

cypriot said:

An interesting fact I read in one of the other reviews of the 410 is that one would have to get a Porsche Turbo to get a faster Porsche than the 410. this puts its value proposition into perspective i think.

No you wouldn't a C2S is as quick as this, Turbo is in another league.

A C2S even with Sports plus and PDK is slower than the Evora 410, The Porsche costs £89,661 (I only added pdk and sports chrono in the configurator)

0-60 Porsche 4.2 secs Evora 410 4.0 seconds
top speed Porsche 182mph Evora 410 190 mph

so according to the makers of both, the Evora is quicker and 7k cheaper, the manual 911 is even slower and still more expensive. If I want to add bucket seats to the 911 like the Evora has, then that's another £2.6k

To go faster you need a 4S pdk which starts at £93k.

Evora looks like a good price on that basis, the standard Evora 400 is quicker than the C2S pdk sports plus too.

Edited by blueg33 on Sunday 6th November 13:40

Come on it's not that hard to read performance figures on a website, is it?

[Gunner44]

Evening,

I've just picked up on this thread from last year as doing some research after being blacked flagged at a track day last week in my 410 for hitting 102 dB.

Did Lotus release a suitable OEM product?

I'm reluctant to stifle the power and see 2ublar have a system http://www.2bular.co.uk/evora-400/evora-400410-70m...

Has anyone had one fitted or know of any decent solution?

Thanks.