Author | Discussion |
Mikeyboy
2693 posts
72 months | Wednesday 14th October 2009 
Wait just one minute while I don my flame proof suit...ok done.
Just had a test drive in a new Lotus Evora, and as an owner of a Cayman S I have to say it was so so much better than I expected and a lot better than a Cayman S.
So what's was so good about it? The steering, weighty in all the right ways, confidence inspiring and communicative. The suspension, an amazing blend of suppleness and near flat cornering. Refinement, just made the Cayman S seem like a stripped out Elise S1 with its ability to glide along quietly without roar and no rattles or squeaks. The engine is smooth and tractable, it pulls strongly if maybe not as strongly as a Cayman S and roars enough under load. Oh and the brakes. A revelation for feel and stopping power.
On one stretch of road which I drove back to back in the two cars the Lotus was far far more confidence inspiring than my Cayman S.
That's not to say the car was perfect, the rear view was woeful and the instruments were a little hard to read and the quality feel (how the door closes etc)is not quite there, not Audi quality for sure. The lack of storage is a worry too, but mostly in comparison to Porsches, who have nailed this for years.
Oh there is one thing that I am also a little unsure of. The price. The first reason is its a little hard, considering the slight quality issue to see how they can justify the price what with the extras that are needed but secondly, at the moment I just can't afford one. But I so so want one.
But as a first proper attempt at a sports GT or whatever you would want to call a Cayman S/entry 911 then the Lotus is the benchmark by which Porsche have to get the Cayman Gen 3.
And I personally think that's going to be a struggle. The Evora is far better than Autocar have made out and the Cayman will need some pretty fundamental changes to match it in the future.
Right flame away.
Mikeyboy
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squeezebm
1179 posts
42 months | Wednesday 14th October 2009
Each to their own Mikeyboy everyones different,have you tried a Gen2 CaymanS as yours is just so last year  ;) as for the Evora IMO  at £35k yes £55K not a fecking chance and as for Autocar I was with you 'till then 
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lightweight
1131 posts
85 months | Wednesday 14th October 2009
Im not a fan of plastic cars. However went to the customer day at Hethal and after a factory tour with the steve K**j?? dutch designer chap and an engineer called Will and some track time with Martin Donnoly? I was very impressed.
very good car
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Mikeyboy
2693 posts
72 months | Wednesday 14th October 2009
squeezebm said:
Each to their own Mikeyboy everyones different,have you tried a Gen2 CaymanS as yours is just so last year ;) as for the Evora IMO at £35k yes £55K not a fecking chance and as for Autocar I was with you 'till then lost me on the Autocar part. You think Autocar were right in saying the Cayman is the better car? As for the rest. Its a nicer looking car in the metal than photos. and yes 55k is far too much I agree but then I've said that already many times on the Evora and Lotus forums. No I haven't tried a a Gen 2, I have heard they are a bit more refined and smoother etc. I response though have you driven an Evora? If you like driving then you just have to.
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Davey S2
6218 posts
91 months | Wednesday 14th October 2009
I own a Gen 1 Cayman and have driven the Gen 2. The Gen 2 is a big improvement over the Gen 1. Its not just a bit smoother.
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Mikeyboy
2693 posts
72 months | Wednesday 14th October 2009
Davey S2 said:
I own a Gen 1 Cayman and have driven the Gen 2. The Gen 2 is a big improvement over the Gen 1. Its not just a bit smoother. interesting. In what way?
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L100NYY
15840 posts
80 months | Wednesday 14th October 2009
squeezebm said:
Each to their own Mikeyboy everyones different,have you tried a Gen2 CaymanS as yours is just so last year ;) as for the Evora IMO at £35k yes £55K not a fecking chance and as for Autocar I was with you 'till then How long did you get behind the wheel of the Evora squeezebm? What didn't you like about the drive of the car?
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R2FU
1112 posts
95 months | Wednesday 14th October 2009
Very interesting - no flames from me. I am really quite tempted by the Evora. Kind of hoping it might be the best of both worlds between two of my fave cars I have owned recently, an Exige S and the 993TT. Agree 100% on the pricing. I'm thinking an Evora will make a good second-hand buy at 18 months old.
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Mikeyboy
2693 posts
72 months | Wednesday 14th October 2009
R2FU said:
Very interesting - no flames from me. I am really quite tempted by the Evora. Kind of hoping it might be the best of both worlds between two of my fave cars I have owned recently, an Exige S and the 993TT. Agree 100% on the pricing. I'm thinking an Evora will make a good second-hand buy at 18 months old. problem is after 18 months I'm not sure its going to be significantly cheaper as there will only be 600 cars out there.
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squeezebm
1179 posts
42 months | Wednesday 14th October 2009
Mikeyboy said:
squeezebm said:
Each to their own Mikeyboy everyones different,have you tried a Gen2 CaymanS as yours is just so last year ;) as for the Evora IMO at £35k yes £55K not a fecking chance and as for Autocar I was with you 'till then lost me on the Autocar part. You think Autocar were right in saying the Cayman is the better car? As for the rest. Its a nicer looking car in the metal than photos. and yes 55k is far too much I agree but then I've said that already many times on the Evora and Lotus forums. No I haven't tried a a Gen 2, I have heard they are a bit more refined and smoother etc. I response though have you driven an Evora? If you like driving then you just have to. Autocar are always all over the place!! Consistant NON, for me there is only Evo,your right tho' I really should go and have a drive but I only usually do that when I have a keen interest to buy something and it would have to drive like a F430 Scud to make me change my mind.kinda stubborn like that but saying that I did go to the OPC to buy a 997 .But its why we all like cars 
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squeezebm
1179 posts
42 months | Wednesday 14th October 2009
L100NYY said:
squeezebm said:
Each to their own Mikeyboy everyones different,have you tried a Gen2 CaymanS as yours is just so last year ;) as for the Evora IMO at £35k yes £55K not a fecking chance and as for Autocar I was with you 'till then How long did you get behind the wheel of the Evora squeezebm? What didn't you like about the drive of the car? Only ever had a drive in an Elise and hated it ...sorry 
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Mikeyboy
2693 posts
72 months | Wednesday 14th October 2009
squeezebm said:
Mikeyboy said:
squeezebm said:
Each to their own Mikeyboy everyones different,have you tried a Gen2 CaymanS as yours is just so last year ;) as for the Evora IMO at £35k yes £55K not a fecking chance and as for Autocar I was with you 'till then lost me on the Autocar part. You think Autocar were right in saying the Cayman is the better car? As for the rest. Its a nicer looking car in the metal than photos. and yes 55k is far too much I agree but then I've said that already many times on the Evora and Lotus forums. No I haven't tried a a Gen 2, I have heard they are a bit more refined and smoother etc. I response though have you driven an Evora? If you like driving then you just have to. Autocar are always all over the place!! Consistant NON, for me there is only Evo,your right tho' I really should go and have a drive but I only usually do that when I have a keen interest to buy something and it would have to drive like a F430 Scud to make me change my mind.kinda stubborn like that but saying that I did go to the OPC to buy a 997 .But its why we all like cars Ah I see. Yep thats why we like cars. Anyway the reason I used Autocar was the curious decision they came to that the Cayman was the better car. They had based this, on my reading, that it was too close to call but the Cayman was more practical. I thought the latter part was a fair point but the Evora is much better to drive than it being a close run thing. IMHO of course.
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squeezebm
1179 posts
42 months | Wednesday 14th October 2009
Mikeyboy said:
squeezebm said:
Mikeyboy said:
squeezebm said:
Each to their own Mikeyboy everyones different,have you tried a Gen2 CaymanS as yours is just so last year ;) as for the Evora IMO at £35k yes £55K not a fecking chance and as for Autocar I was with you 'till then lost me on the Autocar part. You think Autocar were right in saying the Cayman is the better car? As for the rest. Its a nicer looking car in the metal than photos. and yes 55k is far too much I agree but then I've said that already many times on the Evora and Lotus forums. No I haven't tried a a Gen 2, I have heard they are a bit more refined and smoother etc. I response though have you driven an Evora? If you like driving then you just have to. Autocar are always all over the place!! Consistant NON, for me there is only Evo,your right tho' I really should go and have a drive but I only usually do that when I have a keen interest to buy something and it would have to drive like a F430 Scud to make me change my mind.kinda stubborn like that but saying that I did go to the OPC to buy a 997 .But its why we all like cars Ah I see. Yep thats why we like cars. Anyway the reason I used Autocar was the curious decision they came to that the Cayman was the better car. They had based this, on my reading, that it was too close to call but the Cayman was more practical. I thought the latter part was a fair point but the Evora is much better to drive than it being a close run thing. IMHO of course. Thats the thing with them Autocontradiction good pics but thats it nowadays
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shoestring7
2728 posts
83 months | Wednesday 14th October 2009
I've just read CAR magazines performance car of the year in which they give gold to the Evora above a Gen 2 Cayman, Lambo's etc. I do wonder if Porsche's insistence on suppling test cars with the biggest wheels available counts against them; on 18"s the Caymans' ride and steering response is much better, but Lotus do seem to have produced a car much better suited to UK roads. One point; the Evora's engine is very high and almost over the rear wheels. I wonder if it's natural tendancies are like the Elise's; snap oversteer at the limit especially in the wet and only tamed by chassis and wheel tweaks. Cross section here:  SS7
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jackal
6568 posts
119 months | Wednesday 14th October 2009
driven both
the evora is definitely more special and a bigger car experience (yet lighter feeling) with more feel and control weight
It has a few faults IMO (sharp brakes, sloppy gearchange and ratios) and is still a very expensive plastic car and the cayman engine is also far better
But i'd take the evora, sweeter to drive and more special in every way apart from the powerplant. But then i generally can't bear modern day porsches.. they're all so dull and mainstream.
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jackal
6568 posts
119 months | Wednesday 14th October 2009
shoestring7 said:
One point; the Evora's engine is very high and almost over the rear wheels. I wonder if it's natural tendancies are like the Elise's; snap oversteer at the limit especially in the wet and only tamed by chassis and wheel tweaks. no, quite the opposite for a start an elise is rear engined, the evora is definitely mid engined secondly the evora has a bigger wheelbase thridly the evora is a lot heavier Remember that the reason why early 911's are snappy is more (or as much) to do with a stubby wheelbase that engine placement. Weight plays a massive part in all of this as well. Drive an esprit and you'll know that Lotus are absolute masters in making a benign progressive mid engined car. Drive an NSX, 348 etc.. of the same vintage at the limit and you'll see why its not necessarily that easy to do.
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NJH
908 posts
46 months | Wednesday 14th October 2009
jackal said:
shoestring7 said:
One point; the Evora's engine is very high and almost over the rear wheels. I wonder if it's natural tendancies are like the Elise's; snap oversteer at the limit especially in the wet and only tamed by chassis and wheel tweaks. no, quite the opposite for a start an elise is rear engined, the evora is definitely mid engined secondly the evora has a bigger wheelbase thridly the evora is a lot heavier http://www.fourwheels.org/cgi-bin/gallery/image.cgi?/elise/gallery/cutaway.gif Looks the same to me, however the elise is very light and that engine sits as high as if it was in the front of a fwd hatch. Perhaps high up weight in the back in such a light car is the difference?
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TOENHEEL
3468 posts
64 months | Wednesday 14th October 2009
Having owned a couple of Boxsters and a Lotus i have to agree with the OP, if you love driving then theres no comparison. The Lotus gives you so much confidence and the car seems to communicate with you so much better. Lotus need to really improve on the build quality though in comparison to Porsche, the interiors feel slightly flimsy but its all down to what you want from a car if its a pure diving experience you want buy a Lotus if you want 75% of the driving experience with more comfort and better build quality buy a cayman.
The Evora at 35k is a great buy and a real competitor of the Cayman however 50k+ is far too much, some very tasty cars around for that sort of money, I also feel a mid to high 50k Cayman is to exspensive. Both great cars in their own rights but i always feel some people look down on the Lotus badge if your one of those people go and drive a Lotus and im sure you will change your opinion just depends if your minds made up from being a petrolhead or a badge snob.
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AndrewKillington
353 posts
76 months | Wednesday 14th October 2009
Mikeyboy said:
Davey S2 said:
I own a Gen 1 Cayman and have driven the Gen 2. The Gen 2 is a big improvement over the Gen 1. Its not just a bit smoother. interesting. In what way? I was lucky enough to drive Gen1 and 2 back to back; I felt that the Gen2 was considerably quicker and punchier than the Gen1; just the potential decoking issues with the DFI engines (see other thread!)
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Mikeyboy
2693 posts
72 months | Wednesday 14th October 2009
TOENHEEL said:
Having owned a couple of Boxsters and a Lotus i have to agree with the OP, if you love driving then theres no comparison. The Lotus gives you so much confidence and the car seems to communicate with you so much better. Lotus need to really improve on the build quality though in comparison to Porsche, the interiors feel slightly flimsy but its all down to what you want from a car if its a pure diving experience you want buy a Lotus if you want 75% of the driving experience with more comfort and better build quality buy a cayman.
The Evora at 35k is a great buy and a real competitor of the Cayman however 50k+ is far too much, I also feel a mid to high 50k Cayman is to exspensive. Both great cars in their own rights but i always feel some people look down on the Lotus badge if your one of those people go and drive a Lotus and im sure you will change your opinion just depends if your minds made up from being a petrolhead or a badge snob.
With the Evora Lotus I guess are trying to break out of the image of their cars being just for the dedicated driver, and that's why they made it so refined I guess. The interior is a lot less flimsy than before but I do have to say that the one thing they should have done from the off is make the premium interior of coulred leather etc standard. This would have helped dispel some of their previous image. And I have to agree on the price of the Cayman too. At 50k plus the car is again too expensive when you consider the other options out there. And that includes used cars. As for badge snobbery. yes I guess there is a bit of that. Which is odd when you consider the pedigree of both companies is pretty special when it comes to racing.
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