Test drive in and S and S-IPS
Discussion
So, this morning I went over to B&C and Jamie lent me a 2011 S to test. I took it home (about 20 miles) and then back again. I used a variety of roads from twisties (Pirbright Bends for those who know them), dual carriageways and some local town driving. Before setting off I'd been driving my Elise and then my wife's Boxster ('03 2.7) so had them to compare.
Firstly. It’s very fast! I didn't bother too much with this aspect of the car as it’s fairly obvious. The car had a fairly std interior which was fine if a little dull once you've seen the newest cars and its quite small inside, no bigger than the Boxster we have although you do feel more cocooned. That said, there’s plenty of room for two people. The back seats are far more hilarious than I remembered. At 5’8” and with the driver’s seat most of the way forward I couldn’t get my knees anywhere other than either side of the seat and you’d need to be sub 5’ to sit upright. I felt like a giant! Anyway, I looked at the rears seats as nothing more than nicely trimmed luggage space.
A lot has been spoken about the gearbox and this one was heavyish but slick enough too. Certainly not something I’d single out as being an issue.
The car feels very much like a big, heavy Elise. Very solid and refined in comparison (but what isn’t?!
). It also not as comfy as I’d expected. Perhaps that’s not the right word but it feels very much the ‘real sportscar deal’, feeling very taught on the road. That said, it was comfortable and I could imagine long journeys without any problem. It just didn’t ‘float’ over bumps the way others have mentioned but it was still v.good.
Build quality was fine and there weren’t any rattles, not that I expected any. We couldn’t work the radio but this is not something new from what I hear! (The new cars have had this upgraded).
Overall it was very sporty, fast and sexy! Much like me. Probably
The next car was the 2012 IPS ‘S’. I wasn’t really interested in this gearbox but while I was there I had a go. What a great gearbox! I could drive it like an auto for all the ‘normal’ driving and then simply flick the paddles to change down and off it rocketed! If I didn’t bother to change gear after using the paddles the car just slipped back to auto mode. I didn’t expect to like it that much but it’s great. I only tried it briefly in Sport mode and I could imagine that on track just using these paddles would be superb. Oddly it seemed faster than the manual car but I think this is more to do with the impression of speed.
The interior of the car was the new black/red combo and much nicer too along with the black dash panels etc. V.Nice.
So, back at the showroom I realised my wife was more of a petrolhead than me and nearly bought a new ‘S’ they had there and then (dark blue full tan interior)! I managed to stop her and she’s calming down under a cold shower now. For now I’m going to give it some thought and count my pennies...
As Jamie said, if Lotus would have launched this car first time it’d be a huge success. Now it’s this good we just need to let more people know!
Thanks to Jamie at B&C (although I suspect he had an ulterior motive!)
Firstly. It’s very fast! I didn't bother too much with this aspect of the car as it’s fairly obvious. The car had a fairly std interior which was fine if a little dull once you've seen the newest cars and its quite small inside, no bigger than the Boxster we have although you do feel more cocooned. That said, there’s plenty of room for two people. The back seats are far more hilarious than I remembered. At 5’8” and with the driver’s seat most of the way forward I couldn’t get my knees anywhere other than either side of the seat and you’d need to be sub 5’ to sit upright. I felt like a giant! Anyway, I looked at the rears seats as nothing more than nicely trimmed luggage space.
A lot has been spoken about the gearbox and this one was heavyish but slick enough too. Certainly not something I’d single out as being an issue.
The car feels very much like a big, heavy Elise. Very solid and refined in comparison (but what isn’t?!
). It also not as comfy as I’d expected. Perhaps that’s not the right word but it feels very much the ‘real sportscar deal’, feeling very taught on the road. That said, it was comfortable and I could imagine long journeys without any problem. It just didn’t ‘float’ over bumps the way others have mentioned but it was still v.good.Build quality was fine and there weren’t any rattles, not that I expected any. We couldn’t work the radio but this is not something new from what I hear! (The new cars have had this upgraded).
Overall it was very sporty, fast and sexy! Much like me. Probably
The next car was the 2012 IPS ‘S’. I wasn’t really interested in this gearbox but while I was there I had a go. What a great gearbox! I could drive it like an auto for all the ‘normal’ driving and then simply flick the paddles to change down and off it rocketed! If I didn’t bother to change gear after using the paddles the car just slipped back to auto mode. I didn’t expect to like it that much but it’s great. I only tried it briefly in Sport mode and I could imagine that on track just using these paddles would be superb. Oddly it seemed faster than the manual car but I think this is more to do with the impression of speed.
The interior of the car was the new black/red combo and much nicer too along with the black dash panels etc. V.Nice.
So, back at the showroom I realised my wife was more of a petrolhead than me and nearly bought a new ‘S’ they had there and then (dark blue full tan interior)! I managed to stop her and she’s calming down under a cold shower now. For now I’m going to give it some thought and count my pennies...
As Jamie said, if Lotus would have launched this car first time it’d be a huge success. Now it’s this good we just need to let more people know!
Thanks to Jamie at B&C (although I suspect he had an ulterior motive!)
You are right about the ride, its far from soft, but the seats are very comfy. However, if you do get up to very silly speeds on poor roads, then you`ll discover, as with the Elise, the thing does smooth out but also remain remarkably composed and controlled. I doubt there is anything any better...other than another Lotus! Its definately comfy on along run over all kinds of surfaces. My Jag is smoother and floats more, but is not really any more comfy.
Interesting to hear your comments about the IPS gearbox.
Interesting to hear your comments about the IPS gearbox.
Frimley111R said:
Oddly it seemed faster than the manual car but I think this is more to do with the impression of speed.
I found this when I drove a manual S followed by an n/a IPS. I was using more of the mid-range in the S while the IPS in Sport mode was keeping the revs quite high so it didn't feel like there was much in it.Added benefit in the S IPS that it creeps under the 225g/km tax band and should be a touch more economical on a cruise. The ratios of the IPS sit kind of between the long and CR boxes.
I am concerned about the a/c though (see other thread) but here are some pics of the one that SWMBO likes in unique colours...
Not sure about this or the SR colour scheme. One is quite sophisticated/classy whilst the other is more sporty. Dilema. May go and have a look at a SR this weekend to see which I prefer, really not sure...
Not sure about this or the SR colour scheme. One is quite sophisticated/classy whilst the other is more sporty. Dilema. May go and have a look at a SR this weekend to see which I prefer, really not sure...
That interior is not for me at all. No thanks.
Interesting read. I also really liked the IPS SC aswell, and think its the pick of the bunch, or a used NA for £20k less
No issues on my air con, might be worth checking the air con condenser has been changed. Im pretty sure this was a recall.
Interesting read. I also really liked the IPS SC aswell, and think its the pick of the bunch, or a used NA for £20k less
No issues on my air con, might be worth checking the air con condenser has been changed. Im pretty sure this was a recall.
Well its a lot of money and so I am taking my time a bit which I've been glad I've done tbh. I'm pretty much decided on a new 'S' IPS but need to get my Elise sold. Probably order towards the end of next month. If I could do it now I would have 
Thnik there's a thread on SELOC about 'missing a trick' which relates to the convertible...
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