Why so little buzz

[jpf]

With all of the positive press and Pistonheads the premier automotive website (in the world), why so little buzz about the Evora?

[Tuna]

There are still relatively few owners. Given that for every one poster on a forum like this there are a hundred people who only read, it'll take a while before you'll see a lot of Evora owners posting.

The owners that have posted seem to be pretty happy on the whole. Those that have test driven them also seem to like the car. Whether the current economic climate and time of year are slowing sales I wouldn't know.

[bogie]

I think most Evora owners are on the Lotus forums ....there is a register on there ...but with only a couple of hundred cars sold now, no surprise theres not that many on the forums

http://www.thelotusforums.com/forums/index.php?/fo...

[Raja]

its not been the sales success that lotus would have liked regardless of the positive press reviews.

i know i'm not the only one waiting to see what the s version looks like.

[bogie]

how many £60K 2 seaters are selling? ...maybe proportionally, sales are about right ...but when the market is down as a whole, then the small Lotus cut of it, becomes smaller ....

[jpf]

The Evora I saw in the USA was priced at $85,000. At $65,000, I would think about it and at $55,000, there would be a dealer mark up. Just seems to be overpriced for what it is.

Wait two years and get it for the mid to upper $40k's...

[Fittster]

jpf said:

The Evora I saw in the USA was priced at $85,000. At $65,000, I would think about it and at $55,000, there would be a dealer mark up. Just seems to be overpriced for what it is.

Wait two years and get it for the mid to upper $40k's...

If they don't sell many you aren't likely to see many on the used market a low prices.

[nutsnipe]

I took one out for a test drive and I think the big problem is that it is too slow and not exciting. : the price of the production version is now £ 48 k which is much better than the launch edition and the spec if fine.

I think Lotus makes great cars but the Evora needs more guts

[Diesel Meister]

Too slow for the money / competition available for the same price, or too slow in absolute terms?

I ask because I generally regard 4.9 to 60 and 162mph is plenty, assuming the intermediate acceleration is up to a similar standard. Not ballistic but on the quicker side of "brisk"

The car's not a featherweight and would arguably benefit from additional performance at the price point but those are respectable figures imo (and after all, Lotus specialise in the steering / ride / handling departments more so than the accelerative G-forces dept. For now...). They have to avoid giving it too much "edginess" as that's covered by the Exige / Elise / 211 derivatives; equally, there's room for more performance but not so much that it gives any potential Esprit replacement a hard time.

I guess the subjective feel is more important than the numbers though - after all there are mid range saloons and to-end hot hatches with similar outputs. Having said that (without wanting to get bogged down in arguments over the price of the thing) I think that our view of the car is coloured by the fact that ~£45-£50k is less agreeable than £35-£40k bearing in mind the basic spec. Notwithstanding this, the Evora seems to be a very good car by all accounts - I'd love to try one.

For some I imagine the relative refinement of the Evora will probably make it feel slower than it is (particularly against the more pared back Elise, which is certainly quicker in the upper end of the range). I still think it would be a grower - daily use and exposure to it will be the key and you can always have an Elise / Exige for weekends if you want a bit more grit in your coffee

[footsoldier]

The only time the Evora is "too slow" is on motorway in 6th, when you have to back off for traffic, it does't pick up quickly enough cos of lack of torque. In close ratio box, would be fine cos 6th = 5th in longer box.

It might not be as exciting as say in RS6 or a 911TT in a straight line, but that wears off after about, oh..3minutes.

If you don't think an Evora is exciting in the corners, then you're not trying hard enough! It moves the game on in terms of ride/handling balance, and I doubt there is a better damped car out there.

[nutsnipe]

Yes you are right youve got to try : its not naturally exciting like an Elise or naturally exciting and lithe like a Cayman/ Boxster.

I expect the S will be to the mark but they should have started that way

[footsoldier]

i will admit that not many cars, incl Evora, give you the triple espresso hit of an elise/exige, but compared to a boxster/cayman, the Evora is a whole new playing field in terms of balance, chassis exploitability and ride/handling optimisation.

I'll admit the Cayster is better finished and feels more substantial, but that's about it. (although not bad cars at all, and cayman was on my list)

I'm amazed that anyone can drive Evora and think: a) there's a better driver's car out there for similar cash; b) that porsche beats it for anything other than 'finish' c) it's not fast enough.

I've owned plenty faster cars than Evora, and I could probably count the number of times I used all of it on road on the finger of one finger!

[dom180]

footsoldier said:

I'll admit the Cayster is better finished and feels more substantial, but that's about it. (although not bad cars at all, and cayman was on my list)

Some might consider that gearbox, engines, soundtrack, interior trim, toys, rear visibility and 20,000/two year service intervals are fairly tempting.

But the Evora is a cracking drive with great handling/ride and it looks like it will have better 1 year residuals than the Cayman S or M3.

Edited by dom180 on Wednesday 17th February 22:51

[evo4a]

nutsnipe said:

I took one out for a test drive and I think the big problem is that it is too slow and not exciting. : the price of the production version is now £ 48 k which is much better than the launch edition and the spec if fine.

I think Lotus makes great cars but the Evora needs more guts

You are definitely not driving into corners hard enough, try driving into a corner 10mph faster than you think it's possible and be prepared for the exciting drive you are missing, you need to trust this cars ability.

[RobM77]

I can really see me buying an Evora in a few years time. I currently run two cars, a BMW Z4 Coupé and an Elise and I took the Elise out on Saturday for the first time in a few weeks. I was stunned at how much easier and more natural the Elise is to drive than the Z4C, and how much better the ride and handling is. I'm sure the Evora is all these things and more in a daily useable package like my BMW.

To the above comments though I have to mention the Evora's styling. Since that drive in my Elise on Saturday I've been day dreaming about Evoras, and I had a look on PH Classifieds to find the best colour. It really is an ugly car, no matter what colour it's in Not just on first glance, but when it grows on you you notice other angles and features which make the shape even more awkward. Such a shame, but I think the car's looks are at least part of the answer the OP's looking for. Personally, I'm not sure I'd mind buying an ugly car if it drove really well, but I can imagine a good number of buyers have been put off by the car's looks.

[footsoldier]

Rob, No doubt you've seen one in the flesh, but I think one of the Evora's problems is that it doesn't photograph well. I was put off by the looks in mags etc, but totally different when you see it "in real life", IMO.

You're right about the other stuff..handling, ride etc are all different class to anything comparable.

Edited by footsoldier on Sunday 28th February 22:15

[dom180]

RobM77 said:

I can really see me buying an Evora in a few years time. I currently run two cars, a BMW Z4 Coupé and an Elise and I took the Elise out on Saturday for the first time in a few weeks. I was stunned at how much easier and more natural the Elise is to drive than the Z4C, and how much better the ride and handling is. I'm sure the Evora is all these things and more in a daily useable package like my BMW.

To the above comments though I have to mention the Evora's styling. Since that drive in my Elise on Saturday I've been day dreaming about Evoras, and I had a look on PH Classifieds to find the best colour. It really is an ugly car, no matter what colour it's in Not just on first glance, but when it grows on you you notice other angles and features which make the shape even more awkward. Such a shame, but I think the car's looks are at least part of the answer the OP's looking for. Personally, I'm not sure I'd mind buying an ugly car if it drove really well, but I can imagine a good number of buyers have been put off by the car's looks.

Agree. Saw a black one at a dealer on Sat and that hides a lot. Still mings though - Romano Artioli would never let that design see the light of day....

Seats (Recaros) are brilliant - surely the most comfortable standard fit seats on any production car at the moment.

[RobM77]

footsoldier said:

Rob, No doubt you've seen one in the flesh, but I think one of the Evora's problems is that it doesn't photograph well. I was put off by the looks in mags etc, but totally different when you see it "in real life", IMO.

You're right about the other stuff..handling, ride etc are all different class to anything comparable.

Edited by footsoldier on Sunday 28th February 22:15

I went to the motor show to see it after it was launched, and I had a really good nose around the one at Bell and Colvill the other day whilst waiting to pick up my Elise from its service. It does look better in the flesh, I agree. However, it's still really not a pretty car by any means. Namely I'm objecting to the awkward pinch line in the doors, the excess of "weight" in the rear section just in front of the wheel, and the bizarre reward sloping roofline. It genuinely looks like a 13 year old's sketched it in the back of an exercise book (after which he would tear it out and throw it in the bin). Or perhaps the result of a game of Consequences, where a different person has designed each part of the car without seeing the others, then the paper's unfolded to see the result.

There are features I like, such as the swooping rear, and the flat nose with the way the headlights are integrated in, but there's no cohesiveness between these features; the design doesn't flow at all.

Surprising, coming from the company that designed the Elise S2, which is one of my favourite looking cars. I've seen mine every day for five years and I still stop and stare at it

God I hate criticising my favourite car company!

Edited by RobM77 on Sunday 28th February 23:52

[Dick Seaman]

RobM77 said:

Exactly what I've been thinking

Couldn't agree more Rob. I've been a huge Lotus fan since seeing my first Esprit as a lad in the late '70s. Then watching Senna race for the F1 team in JPS colours, then reading about Clark, Hill etc etc. I've even run a Giugiaro Esprit for the last ten years, so I've had my faith severely tested!

I wish the Evora was a proper 'looker', if it was, then there'd be one sitting on my drive right now. Agree that it looks better in the flesh, I've also pored over the aquamarine one in the B&C showroom, but it still doesn't look 'right'. Good looking cars look good in photos and look good in the flesh. Extremely good looking cars will also look good in (almost) any colour, eg. Gallardo. I had an Exige S2 for a few years and never tired of the shape, superb design.

I'm sure I represent the Evora target market, I love the brand, love sports cars, have two youngish children, looking for a semi-practical-but-brilliant-to-drive second car, rather than having to buy a practical second car and a third toy car.

In the end I bought a 997, and I've never really liked them.

[RobM77]

Dick Seaman said:

RobM77 said:

Exactly what I've been thinking

Couldn't agree more Rob. I've been a huge Lotus fan since seeing my first Esprit as a lad in the late '70s. Then watching Senna race for the F1 team in JPS colours, then reading about Clark, Hill etc etc. I've even run a Giugiaro Esprit for the last ten years, so I've had my faith severely tested!

I wish the Evora was a proper 'looker', if it was, then there'd be one sitting on my drive right now. Agree that it looks better in the flesh, I've also pored over the aquamarine one in the B&C showroom, but it still doesn't look 'right'. Good looking cars look good in photos and look good in the flesh. Extremely good looking cars will also look good in (almost) any colour, eg. Gallardo. I had an Exige S2 for a few years and never tired of the shape, superb design.

I'm sure I represent the Evora target market, I love the brand, love sports cars, have two youngish children, looking for a semi-practical-but-brilliant-to-drive second car, rather than having to buy a practical second car and a third toy car.

In the end I bought a 997, and I've never really liked them.

I agree entirely. I'm another typical target customer. Like you, I've had a lifelong love affair with Lotus; having played endlessly with my Dad's Clark and Hill Scaletrix set as a kid, read all about them, gone to race meetings and car shows to see them etc. Finally, I saved up and bought an Elise when I was earning £20 to 25k a year in my 20s. Now I'm a bit older and my salary's gone up considerably I've kept the Elise, but have bought another car that's a bit more practical - quiet on the motorway, space behind the seats for bags for a holiday etc. I'm currently spending about £20k on that car, so can't afford an Evora, but in the future would look at spending more on such a car. That car may well be an Evora, but I'd have a really hard time parting with £50k for the 2+0 Evora that I want, purely because it's so unattractive and awkwardly styled. I may well end up with a 997 instead, but to be honest, I'd probably just spend less money on a car, which is also not good for Lotus!

I really don't like writing that, because the Lotus community is small and I think the whole car company is marvellous, but really, the styling should never have been signed off the way it is, it's too simple a thing to get wrong for a car that could have potentially made so much money for Lotus.