Drove the Lotus Evora Today
12-01-2009, 07:49 PM
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Drove the Lotus Evora Today
I'm not sure what the official name of the car might be (test mule?), but it is a finished production model being driven across the US to shake out any final bugs. Car had about 7600 miles on the odo.
The car in the flesh is so much more curvy than pictures reveal. Stand by the front wheels and look at the rear quarter and it is a curvy, sexy spaceship with swoops, tucks, intersects and vents. It is so nice to look at. The front is a cross between a 360 and an Elise. Nice, but not terribly original. All their design dollars went into the back end.
The interior is actually quite nice. The door sill one must slide over in the Elise is greatly reduced, but still there. You still drop into the seats. But once you make the drop, ohh momma, the seats are nice. Not Audi TT nice, but pretty durn close. They were a little wide, likely stretched to fit fat America asses. Bolstering was solid and the seat bottom was long and provided support without reducing mobility. I could easily see some comfortable highway miles. The back seat is a joke. Hopefully there is a parcel shelf option. The trunk storage is equally pathetic. I could see carting around a couple of really long sub sandwiches, but that's about it.
Rear visibility is slightly better than none. There is a rear camera which shows nothing but the immediate ground behind the car. The angle is so severe, you can read the license plate. The front end swoops down and you can't see much of the car beyond the dash and two humps above the front wheels. Lotus is going to make a mint on replacement front clams.
The dash surface is leather and the floor covered in carpet. The gauge cluster is asymmetrical and pretty good looking. You have analog gauges complimented by a redundant digital speedometer. The control switches are aluminum and fun to click, clack and touch.
The car starts with the turn of the key. No start button in this luxury model. The engine note is rather sedate. It fails to impress even under full throttle. Keep in mind my Elise had an early Stage II exhaust and was bloody loud. It would gurgle, pop and backfire. Brilliant! Anyway, not so much from the Evora. It sounds like a car.
As for driving dynamics, Lotus crushed it. It's absolutely wonderful to drive. It's an Elise for those who have grown out of an Elise. I'm in Denver, so considering we are down about 20% in an NA engine, the car was still strong. Mid-range torque was plentiful. The pull was so very smooth and seamless. The car was limited to 6800rpm and I was left un-impressed by it's full-throttle pull. Maybe it just felt too planted. I don't know, but I just didn't get the feeling of speed. The speedo backed me up as I never looked over to be surprised by my velocity.
Having owned an Elise and now driven the Evora, I would choose the Evora all day long. It carries the passion that was born in the Elise while gently reminding us that every day is not a track day.
The car in the flesh is so much more curvy than pictures reveal. Stand by the front wheels and look at the rear quarter and it is a curvy, sexy spaceship with swoops, tucks, intersects and vents. It is so nice to look at. The front is a cross between a 360 and an Elise. Nice, but not terribly original. All their design dollars went into the back end.
The interior is actually quite nice. The door sill one must slide over in the Elise is greatly reduced, but still there. You still drop into the seats. But once you make the drop, ohh momma, the seats are nice. Not Audi TT nice, but pretty durn close. They were a little wide, likely stretched to fit fat America asses. Bolstering was solid and the seat bottom was long and provided support without reducing mobility. I could easily see some comfortable highway miles. The back seat is a joke. Hopefully there is a parcel shelf option. The trunk storage is equally pathetic. I could see carting around a couple of really long sub sandwiches, but that's about it.
Rear visibility is slightly better than none. There is a rear camera which shows nothing but the immediate ground behind the car. The angle is so severe, you can read the license plate. The front end swoops down and you can't see much of the car beyond the dash and two humps above the front wheels. Lotus is going to make a mint on replacement front clams.
The dash surface is leather and the floor covered in carpet. The gauge cluster is asymmetrical and pretty good looking. You have analog gauges complimented by a redundant digital speedometer. The control switches are aluminum and fun to click, clack and touch.
The car starts with the turn of the key. No start button in this luxury model. The engine note is rather sedate. It fails to impress even under full throttle. Keep in mind my Elise had an early Stage II exhaust and was bloody loud. It would gurgle, pop and backfire. Brilliant! Anyway, not so much from the Evora. It sounds like a car.
As for driving dynamics, Lotus crushed it. It's absolutely wonderful to drive. It's an Elise for those who have grown out of an Elise. I'm in Denver, so considering we are down about 20% in an NA engine, the car was still strong. Mid-range torque was plentiful. The pull was so very smooth and seamless. The car was limited to 6800rpm and I was left un-impressed by it's full-throttle pull. Maybe it just felt too planted. I don't know, but I just didn't get the feeling of speed. The speedo backed me up as I never looked over to be surprised by my velocity.
Having owned an Elise and now driven the Evora, I would choose the Evora all day long. It carries the passion that was born in the Elise while gently reminding us that every day is not a track day.
12-02-2009, 05:17 AM
#6
Originally Posted by curiouz_G,Dec 2 2009, 06:09 AM
no way in hell id pay 80k for something with a camry motor in it
Sad
12-02-2009, 06:44 AM
#7
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Originally Posted by curiouz_G,Dec 2 2009, 06:09 AM
no way in hell id pay 80k for something with a camry motor in it
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12-02-2009, 07:22 AM
#8
Good point but the motor in the Koeniggsegg is NOWHERE close to what you'd buy in a pedestrian Ford vehicle. The motor in the Evora, however, is virtually identical to the Camry motor (ECU upgrades only).
12-02-2009, 07:25 AM
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Great writeup, I'm definitely interested in seeing this car in person.
It's biggest challenge is that it does measure up in the intardnet $/hp standard. It certainly won't be stealing any sales away from the GT-R or the high end Corvettes, it never was going to.
The question is can it steal sales from the Cayman S and the base 997? The buyer here is someone with money for whom rarity and driving experience are more important than outright speed.
It's biggest challenge is that it does measure up in the intardnet $/hp standard. It certainly won't be stealing any sales away from the GT-R or the high end Corvettes, it never was going to.
The question is can it steal sales from the Cayman S and the base 997? The buyer here is someone with money for whom rarity and driving experience are more important than outright speed.
12-02-2009, 07:52 AM
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Originally Posted by curiouz_G,Dec 2 2009, 06:09 AM
no way in hell id pay 80k for something with a camry motor in it