166 replies to this topic

[CocoPops]

I've received a few PMs regarding Evora details, so thought I'd put it into a thread. There are several VX owners that have moved to Evora now, myself (SC to Evora NA), PaulCP (SC to Evora S), Kallista (Turbo to NA), James141 (Turbo to S), plus a few others that I can't recall right now but have seen them post over at http://www.thelotusforums.com Anyway, this started as a PM, so may be a little unstructured but might answer a few questions. Number of things to consider. 2+0 or 2+2 There was a no cost option to take the Evora as a 2+0, standard fit was 2+2. Personally, I'd never buy a 2+0 as it simply removes the rear seat and seatbelts and replaced them with a "luggage shelf". You can still store bags etc on the back seat if the boot isn't big enough for a long trip but you cannot retrofit seats to a 2+0 so for more flexibility I'd recommend sticking with 2+2 Wheels & Tyres Earlier cars came with 18"/19" cast wheels as standard, with 18"/19" Forged as an option. Later cars (SR onwards I think) came with 19"/20" wheels as standard 18/19 OEM Tyres are Pirelli P-Zero 19/20 OEM Tyres are Pirelli P-Zero Corsa Tyres on 19"/20" wheels appear to be more expensive than for 18"/19" wheels On the Evora 400, Lotus have moved to Michelin Pilot Super Sport Road Fund License NA & SC (IPS) cards fall into band K @ £285/yr SC manual cars creep into band L @ £490/yr (why couldn't Lotus frig their results by 4 CO2 points) Gearbox NA cars had manual two gearbox options, one longer box and one close ratio box. Lazy Donkey swears by the long box but he does a lot of motorway work. Myself and JG prefer the close ratio box as it feels more alive and keeps the car in the right rev ranges. The Evora was also available with IPS (Intelligent Precision Shift) which is a traditional "slush box" auto, not a dual clutch like VW/Audi DSG or Porsche PDK. Spec / Packs There are three "packs" sport, tech and premium on NA and early S cars. Sport has coloured calipers, cross drilled discs, sport button (changes throttle response and raises limit) Tech has cruise control, sat nav , parking sensors and reverse camera. Premium has full leather (three colours) throughout. Sport Racer came along in 2013 iirc. The Sport Racer option contains all of the above Packs, close ratio gearbox and any other options. It also includes black roof, black splitter and black sills. Of the three individual packs, I'd forgo the premium but would want sport and tech. Power fold mirrors were a £200 option but can be added by changing the switch for a tenner on eBay! (Ford mondeo mirror switch). Reliability Overall they're pretty good. Engine and gearbox are Toyota issued 3.5 V6 with a gearbox from the Toyota Camry. As mentioned above, the two gearbox options are the same in 1st and 2nd gear, but 3-6 are different. Easiest way to check is the rpm @ 70mph in 6th gear. In close ratio box rpm will be 2,800ish and around 2,000 rpm in longer ratio (standard) box. Personally, I had an issue with ecu but Lotus and warranty company paid for new ecu and loom, so pretty decent. I've done 4000miles since Easter including Snetterton and two Spa track days, so heavy driving! I've just changed front discs (£150) and full set of pads (DS2500 £200), and that's after 42k miles. PaulCP commented:

As far as reliability goes, to keep info in perspective, my warranty claims were just minor. Aircon needing a seal replacing and re-gassing and a headlamp washer jet replacing. Done 5000 miles in mine since July including 2500 miles in France which also included 3 track days on the Lotus on Track French Frolic. It is without doubt a grown up VX which is a pleasure to drive a long distance in without the compromises of the VX. Wife likes to be able to take "suitable" luggage rather than carrier bags stuffed behind the seats😄

Love it, it's a practical VX. Had it been badged as Vauxhall Evora I'd have still bought it. For me personally, I wanted a 4seat VX and this was as close to that brief as I could get.

[p4cks]

[Jason]

Nice write up, its a great looking car too. Looks like buying with Warranty was a good move.

[JG]

Cough.

[GiGo]

Nice guide    

[CocoPops]

Cough.

You haven't actually got it yet.

[CocoPops]

[PaulCP]

Good write up Lee 👍. Pic below highlights the grown up VX image  image.jpg   81.97KB   29 downloads

Edited by CocoPops, 28 November 2015 - 01:28 PM.

[Duncan_F]

Didn't realise they had such sticky tyres. 

[chris_uk]

I didnt realise this was www.evora.org.uk

[CocoPops]

I didnt realise this was www.evora.org.uk

That's why it's posted in "Other Models & Brands"

[Nev]

Don't forget how good a Evora 400 sounds, it's not often such things appear on my desirably list, but it was good.

Edited by Nev, 28 November 2015 - 04:22 PM.

[WrightStuff]

Lee did you hear anything back about the Quantums for Evora ?

Are there also ARB options ?

I presume you are still running the standard Billies ?

[JG]

 

Hadn't realised how much you could hear my car in the that vid

[Captain Vimes]

The NA evora doesn't hang about - it seems quicker than I expected based on the specs. I followed for a bit at Snetterton and you wasn't hanging around then either. I'll dig put the footage if interested.

[CocoPops]

The NA evora doesn't hang about - it seems quicker than I expected based on the specs. I followed for a bit at Snetterton and you wasn't hanging around then either. I'll dig put the footage if interested.

Go for it 👍

[JG]

The sc vx was quite a bit quicker than the na Evora at snett. At spa though there was nothing in it. In fact the Evora probably had the edge.

[mbes2]

Good read this thread, the evora would be a lot easier to drive than the old vx The spa video was good to watch

[WrightStuff]

The sc vx was quite a bit quicker than the na Evora at snett. At spa though there was nothing in it. In fact the Evora probably had the edge.

 

But wasn't that because it was more difficult to get the power down at spa with it being damp whereas Snetterton was dry ?

[JG]

Not really no.

 

By the afternoon, i was as committed as i've been there and still the yellow evora wouldn't vanish from the rear view mirror. 

 

In the morning I was about 40s a lap slower than the evora. I just couldn't get the power down nor any temp in the tyres.