RE: 2020 Lotus Evora GT410 | PH Review

RE: 2020 Lotus Evora GT410 | PH Review

Author
Discussion

foxhounduk

491 posts

180 months

Saturday 11th July 2020
quotequote all
I have been looking at the 400 for years now and the prices stay where they are or go up! I never knew Lotus's had such low levels of depreciation. I would get one in yellow in a heart beat if they ever hit £35-40k.
I sat in one at Goodwood last year and it felt the business although the rear seats are useless but it felt mighty good in terms of build quality. Interior looks a bit naff but that's missing the point of this car.

blueg33

35,868 posts

224 months

Saturday 11th July 2020
quotequote all
plenty said:
blueg33 said:
In reality, the perfect Evora for me is my current car with the 410bhp engine and brakes to match, mine is not bad but an extra 50 odd bhp is not to be sniffed at.
You could consider a Komo-tec kit on your car. I owned an S1 with the EV430 conversion and while I’ve never tried a standard S it felt good for close to its rated 425 hp. The EV460 gives a bit more plus the charge-cooler to match the factory cars.

Standard brakes with uprated pads such as PF8 are more than a match for 400+ bhp.

However, with modding you won’t get your money back on resale. To remedy that, you could always sell yours and buy this one: https://www.pistonheads.com/buy/listing/10525933?u...
All have been considered.

PF pads suffered fade in the pyrenees after several hours of enthusiasm.

FWIW

3,069 posts

97 months

Saturday 11th July 2020
quotequote all
blueg33 said:
All have been considered.

PF pads suffered fade in the pyrenees after several hours of enthusiasm.
I had the BBK on my S1. Bigger fully floating discs and bigger calipers. Made the already amazing brakes even better. The car is now sold but I still have the brakes if you’re interested...

cypriot

475 posts

99 months

Saturday 11th July 2020
quotequote all
blueg33 said:
Indeed , but changing the seats adds £2k to the cost plus a sport doesn’t have the loom and switches for seat heating, but that’s a real consideration.

Need to sell my car had an interested party but he has decided to hold off buying.
I owned a 400 for 2 years with the normal seats, and I can tell you that while the seats may feel high when you initially sit in them, they are not actually high. Evidenced by the fact that you can wear a helmet and still have clear headroom. The “issue” is the fact that the front scuttle is so low (hence the great visibility) compared to most cars, that it gives you the impression of a high seating position.

blueg33

35,868 posts

224 months

Saturday 11th July 2020
quotequote all
cypriot said:
blueg33 said:
Indeed , but changing the seats adds £2k to the cost plus a sport doesn’t have the loom and switches for seat heating, but that’s a real consideration.

Need to sell my car had an interested party but he has decided to hold off buying.
I owned a 400 for 2 years with the normal seats, and I can tell you that while the seats may feel high when you initially sit in them, they are not actually high. Evidenced by the fact that you can wear a helmet and still have clear headroom. The “issue” is the fact that the front scuttle is so low (hence the great visibility) compared to most cars, that it gives you the impression of a high seating position.
Except I was comparing it with S1 that I had just stepped out of. Eye line is definitely higher with the 400 series seats.

andyj007

303 posts

178 months

Saturday 11th July 2020
quotequote all
"it's certainly no better than my Alpine, probably worse -"
i dissagree here, by some margin too, looks, noise, driving sensation, coolness, and lastly price..these are not comparible cars. i do like the alpine, but parked beside an evora i think it would struggle somewhat to draw attention..

Gadzookoids

91 posts

132 months

Saturday 11th July 2020
quotequote all
I was lucky enough to take my 410 Sport to an exotics track day (only way to get it past the usual noise limits) and the thing that surprised me was the number of people (these guys were serial Ferrari, Lamborghini and Macca buyers) who came up to me to tell me they thought that the Evora was the best sounding car there. Unfortunately when inside the car with a helmet on you don’t get the full effect - but still grin inducing

bcr5784

7,109 posts

145 months

Saturday 11th July 2020
quotequote all
andyj007 said:
"it's certainly no better than my Alpine, probably worse -"
i dissagree here, by some margin too, looks, noise, driving sensation, coolness, and lastly price..these are not comparible cars. i do like the alpine, but parked beside an evora i think it would struggle somewhat to draw attention..
If you read the whole of what I wrote (rather then the rockin partial quote - who has a nervous tick about any thread where Alpine is mentioned) you would have seen that I was referring ONLY to the interior. I am a big fan of the Evora. As it happens, all things considered I do prefer the Alpine and put my money where my mouth is (but might have bought an Evora in preference to a Cayman 911 etc etc). But trust me, parked beside pretty much everything the Alpine draws attention like no other car I have owned.

Ikobo

511 posts

149 months

Sunday 12th July 2020
quotequote all
I loved my Evora 400. Of all the cars I’ve ever owned, from a driving point of view nothing else has matched it. As one of the early buyers when it was a newly released model I often felt like I was still doing quality testing for Lotus, but it still was the car responsible for some of the best road trips I’ve ever had.


Edited by Ikobo on Sunday 12th July 11:52

anonymous-user

54 months

Sunday 12th July 2020
quotequote all
I can see myself chopping my Evora S in for one of these in a few years. Seems to hit the performance/comfort sweet spot.

anonymous-user

54 months

Sunday 12th July 2020
quotequote all
rockin said:
Here we go again.
bcr5784 said:
trust me, parked beside pretty much everything the Alpine draws attention like no other car I have owned.
Splendid.

EGTE

996 posts

182 months

Sunday 12th July 2020
quotequote all
Venisonpie said:
I think this might be my ideal car, sounds fabulous. I really couldn't care less about interior stitching and soft plastics etc. How does it make you feel when you drive it?!
You MUST try one! You sound like just the top sort of chap that would love the wonderful Evora.

Hairymonster

1,428 posts

105 months

Sunday 12th July 2020
quotequote all
andyj007 said:
"it's certainly no better than my Alpine, probably worse -"
i dissagree here, by some margin too, looks, noise, driving sensation, coolness, and lastly price..these are not comparible cars. i do like the alpine, but parked beside an evora i think it would struggle somewhat to draw attention..
Quite frankly, I'd love to own either of these and would do in a heartbeat if I had somewhere to keep it.

bcr5784

7,109 posts

145 months

Sunday 12th July 2020
quotequote all
Hairymonster said:
andyj007 said:
"it's certainly no better than my Alpine, probably worse -"
i dissagree here, by some margin too, looks, noise, driving sensation, coolness, and lastly price..these are not comparible cars. i do like the alpine, but parked beside an evora i think it would struggle somewhat to draw attention..
Quite frankly, I'd love to own either of these and would do in a heartbeat if I had somewhere to keep it.
Just to be clear. There are a few like rockin who have absolutely nothing of value to contribute to any sensible debate on the merits of any car - but just have an irrational axe to grind.

So (to reiterate something I have said on a number of occasions)

1) I think the Evora is an outstanding - and much underrated car, for anyone with a serious interest in driving
2) I chose an Alpine over one - but quite understand how others (including Harry Metcalfe) would take a different view.
3) The interior may put off those interested in bling - but frankly I personally don't give a damn.
4) I think the price is a bit high - but certainly not as high as it's detracters would suggest.

Doubtless rockin will try to ruin further sensible debate by some some selective quoting.

CABC

5,575 posts

101 months

Sunday 12th July 2020
quotequote all
recent Evo article tying themselves in knots as they try to balance ad revenue / hospitality benefits with integrity.
conclusion was that the Evora was the best sports car in the test but had to lose because of non-sports car criteria.
it's tough being in publishing these days.
lesson, always go for your own test drive!

Baldchap

7,632 posts

92 months

Sunday 12th July 2020
quotequote all
CABC said:
lesson, always go for your own test drive!
Absolutely! All a review tells you is someone else's opinion.

anonymous-user

54 months

Sunday 12th July 2020
quotequote all
bcr5784 said:
I chose an Alpine over one.

Doubtless rockin will try to ruin further sensible debate by some some selective quoting.
We can simply mention that Evora competes against multi-cylinder sports cars at the £80k price point rather than French 4-pot turbo automatics that are more than £30,000 cheaper. If you're happy in your Alpine I'm sure everyone is happy for you.

This particular Evora looks an excellent road car specification to me. I doubt many buyers will find themselves thinking, "Darn, I wish I'd bought an Alpine".

bcr5784

7,109 posts

145 months

Sunday 12th July 2020
quotequote all
rockin said:
We can simply mention that Evora competes against multi-cylinder sports cars at the £80k price point rather than French 4-pot turbo automatics that are more than £30,000 cheaper. If you're happy in your Alpine I'm sure everyone is happy for you.

This particular Evora looks an excellent road car specification to me. I doubt many buyers will find themselves thinking, "Darn, I wish I'd bought an Alpine".
It will be a sad day if the number of cylinders, the nationality and the price are the determinants of "desirability". As far as I am concerned the only true mentric is the ability to put a smile on your face. Hence 3 wheeler Morgan V twins, 3 pot Fiestas and 4 cylinder Caterhams rank higher in my "fun" estimation than many other more expensive cars with more "desirable" nationalities or numbers of cylinders.

Edited by bcr5784 on Sunday 12th July 22:58

flukey5

404 posts

60 months

Sunday 12th July 2020
quotequote all
bcr5784 said:
It will be a sad day if the number of cylinders, the nationality and the price are the determinants of "desirability". As far as I am concerned the only true mentric is the ability to put a smile on your face. Hence 3 wheeler Morgan V twins, 3 pot Fiestas and 4 cylinder Caterhams rank higher in my "fun" estimation than many other more expensive cars with more "desirable" nationalities or numbers of cylinders.

Edited by bcr5784 on Sunday 12th July 22:58
As an MX-5 owner I'm all about fun, but higher cylinder counts bring a noise, feeling, and allure that to a petrolhead is desirable. Do I like my MX-5's engine? Yes. Would I prefer a 5-cyl or V6? also yes. I'm sure an R8 would be discontinued by now if it had, say a 3-cylinder hybrid... oh wait that's an i8.

For the Alpine, an 'enthusiast' car, everyone knows that the missing manual is inexcusable, the same thing put plenty of people off the 4C. And yes, an auto is less fun.

As for the nationality, the simple fact is that by buying a Lotus I am keeping Brits in jobs and that feels good to me. In the same way I support England in the football, I also like to support them with my wallet. And that's without the desirability of lotus as a brand.

blueg33

35,868 posts

224 months

Monday 13th July 2020
quotequote all
The Alpine is a great car and there are lots of reasons for choosing one.

The Evora is a great car and their are lots of reasons for choosing one.

The Evora is IMO not directly comparable to the Alpine.

This thread is about the Evora.