The Lotus Evora on test today was very kindly provided by Road and Race Automotive, and will be for sale SOON! Check out their website by clicking the banner above and don’t miss out on this beautiful, low mileage car.
The world of cars is a little perplexing at times. In this highly technical field where engineers can quantify every single aspect of a car, it is still a world filled with intangibles. Things that don’t make sense and things we can’t explain. If this were not the case, we would all go out and buy Porsche’s latest version of automotive perfection and that would be the end of it. But then comes personality, personal tastes and character and suddenly the best choice, isn’t the best choice for you anymore.
From the moment you lay eyes on the Lotus Evora you can tell that it’s something just a little bit special. With numerous fully functional vents all over the sculpted body work and the word “FORGED” emblazoned on the wheels, you know this car is an instrument of speed. The bright orange paintwork would look vulgar on a VW or Toyota, but perfectly suits the Lotus. Not only does it catch your eye, but when the sun hits that gold metal-flaked paint, it highlights every curve, crease and line on the body. For a company that made its name building cars where form always followed function, the Evora is a very beautiful machine.
Leather clad Recaro buckets dominate the Evora cabin
Swing open the driver’s door and you are struck by a pair of stunning, leather clad Recaro buckets that dominate the cabin. And a very wide sill that needs to be traversed in order to get in. Unlike the Elise, the Evora has a lovely leather wrapped dashboard, real metal fascia and lots of bespoke aluminium switchgear. Remarkably for a low volume, hand-built, British car, everything also feels like it is still firmly attached to the car too. Perceived quality is actually very good and the materials are excellent, erasing everything you thought you knew about Lotus interiors.
Getting in and out is a process, there’s no denying that. The roof curves down a little towards the side making the already tight aperture, even smaller. This means getting out of the bucket seat, over the sill whist ducking under the roof takes a bit of practice. Truth be told though, you just have to perfect your method and the exact order in which you put your limbs into the car. After a few trial runs you’ll make it look easy – even if it isn’t.
On the positive side though, once you are inside, those Recaro seats are unbelievably comfortable and supportive in all directions. They are easily some of the best seats I have ever had the pleasure of parking my rear in. Elbow and shoulder room is surprisingly good. Thanks to the ‘double-bubble’ roof, there is even plenty of headroom too. Space in the footwell is a little restricted, but when you are actually driving and using the pedals, you will hardly ever notice. What is striking is just how easily the driving controls fall to hand.
The Evora’s pedals also deserve special mention
The wheel is positioned perfectly to get a very comfortable driving position with optimal control. The gear lever is exactly where you expect to find it when you take your left hand off the wheel for a quick snappy change. The pedals also deserve special mention. Although it takes a second to find them when you first step in, they are spaced exactly right for heel and toe changing and left foot braking.
The engine is a super-smooth 3.5L V6 unit from Toyota, so reliability of the engine itself should be pretty good. The exhaust note is a lovely deep humming sound. At low revs and normal driving speeds the Evora is actually a very quiet and refined place to be. The V6 is fairly typical of Japanese engines though. It has ‘enough’ torque at the bottom end, but doesn’t really come alive unless you wind it up a bit. Which is a good thing! Power builds nice and progressively as the revs climb. Once in the power band, it pulls very strongly in deed. Work the gears and use the revs and the Evora will absolutely reward the invested driver.
The induction noise is addictive
Throttle modulation is better than pretty much anything I have ever driven. The pedal is a little longer than you might expect, but it allows you to dial in exactly how much power you want at any given time. And the engine responds instantly and precisely to every command! Something that you just don’t get with turbocharged 4-bangers. The induction noise when the engine is under load is addictive. But other than that the noise is very civilised, indicating that the engine is not in a wild state of tune either.
The ride is firm, but still comfortable enough to do big mileages in. The chassis is incredibly stiff and there is a feel of solidity not normally experienced in cars this lightweight. The steering is very quick and direct, responding very eagerly to your inputs. Turn in is razor sharp and grip levels are far higher than my levels of bravery. Despite this being Lotus’ idea of a GT car, the Evora feels like it would be equally at home on a racetrack as it is on the open road. This really is a Lotus you could use every day, but still enjoy on a track day.
The Evora is a Lotus you could use every day
By far the best part of this car however, is the way it feels to drive. The steering talks to you constantly. You are never in any doubt as to what the front wheels are doing. The seats are constantly feeding you information about the car’s balance, the road surface and just how much G-force you are pulling through the corners. If you drive over a coin in this car, I’m pretty sure you could tell what year it was minted. Even the brake pedal has incredible feel when putting your foot on it. You always know exactly how hard you are pushing the car, because you can feel it.
Everything is mechanical and unfiltered, but not uncomfortably so. The gear throws are electric-quick and accurate, meaning you never miss a shift even when rushing it. Crucially, because the whole car is so communicative, it’s a very easy car to drive quickly and smoothly with confidence.
So what about the elephant in the room – why would you spend all of your Earth Rands buying the Lotus Evora, when similar money could put you in the seat of a 718 Cayman with similar mileage?
swing a stick and hit 3 Caymans
Well for starters, I personally think the Evora is a much better-looking car from all angles than the Cayman. But looks being subjective, let’s just add the fact that the Evora is a much rarer car, and you are unlikely to bump into another one on your favourite back road. Conversely, I could stand on my drive, swing a stick and hit 3 Cayman’s on any given Sunday.
These are all irrelevant though, because at the end of the day, the reason I would buy the Evora over the Porsche is simple. It speaks to me. The Evora is just different, and it feels different. Where the Porsche feels superbly capable, the Evora feels fun and playful, whilst still being every bit as capable as the Porsche. The Porsche will make out with you in the back row of the movie theatre, but the Evora will drag you to the restroom to have her way with you.
Every little part of the driving experience just says “more”. Push the accelerator a little, and you’ll want to push it more. Turn into the corner and you’ll want to turn into the next one even harder. It’s a constant race of encouragement and reward, yet when you just want to cruise, select a higher gear and it settles into being a comfortable GT car.
The Cayman won’t disappoint, but the Evora actively rewards and I absolutely love it for that. I love the way the controls still feel like mechanical parts of a car as apposed to game console controls with some remote sense of feedback. I love that it gets better the more time you spend with it. It is everything a truly brilliant sportscar should be and perhaps one of the car-world’s best kept secrets.
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