2014 Evora S in the garage

[Robbdom]

Made it home last night. the trade deal is done from my Audi TTS to a low mileage Evora S. Even at 4000 miles it needs some love on the inside. Planning on an extensive leather cleaning and treatment tonight. Car is so nice I am over the moon and I officially declare that I am done with the car search. I looked at everything available in my price range and this was the winner. New tires and full service was a requirement before purchase. Thanks to Carlock motors for an excellent PPI. TJ is a great tech who knows his stuff. He even explained the first 2 gears and why they are a little noisy. I looked at the 400's and for me the S was better for many reasons. The 400's are awesome and Carlock has an awesome red 2018 400 on the show room. It was great to sit in it and compare the interior. I am a happy, first time Lotus owner. the PPI really gave me peace of mind on the big ticket items. there were some items to sort out before the purchase but the car lot did it all and it could not have been smoother. 

[Bibs]

Very nice mate, congratulations

 

[mayevora]

Very nice indeedy 😊👍

[Arregueti]

It dors look very nice and like new on that picture. Enjoy!

[Cdm2018]

Lovely and welcome to family of lotus owners 👍🏻

[Robbdom]

Thanks everyone. It is almost mint so I am super excited. I wanted to drive it today but it is pouring here in Kentucky 

[electro_boy]

Welcome to the club! That’s a lovely colour, I love yellow cars! 

Out of interest why are the first two gears noisy ?

[Robbdom]

According to TJ at Carlock (Lotus tech for 12 years) the first 2 gears are truck gears. They make a very truck like noise and when you reach third it stops. I also own a Dodge 3500 ram truck manual transmission . The noise is almost identical. My wife even picked up on it. TJ states that over the years they have received many noise complaints as well that end up being the first 2 gears. I noticed it on the first test drive and I was concerned that it was a transmission issue. The dealer and car lot are separate businesses. That was beneficial as well. Carlock would have preferred that I by the red 400 for $94500 on the show room. TJ also said the supercharger on the 13 and 14 were more reliable. Lots of supercharger ‘s have gone out on the 2017 400’s. So far the 2018 model has not had the same issues . Problem solved I guess 

[TomE]

Congratulations, pleased for you and wishing you many miles of happy Lotus ownership.  Sounds like a really good service from the dealer and the PPI inspector.

The noise in 1st and 2nd sounds like it's the fairly common clutch release bearing noise which is apparent on some S1s.  It's partly a consequence of the Lotus approach of using different bits of Toyota drivetrain that aren't used together in other Toyota applications and hence have a few quirks where Lotus have joined them together.  It'll sound a bit agricultural up to about 3000rpm in 1st and 2nd.  If you ever need the clutch changed then it can usually be sorted then.

Mine did it from new.  About that time there were some scare stories about early clutch failures, eventually tracked down to a batch of wrongly assembled units that were fixed under warranty.  I was worried mine was showing early symptoms, so a Lotus factory technician came down to the dealer to test drive and inspect.  He was happy it was OK, although audible, and it has been no better or worse since then.  It's a useful excuse for keeping the revs up  

[paranoidandroid]

Very nice, must be quite a rare car in the USA.

[Robbdom]

Yes they are rare here. I doubt I will see very many out. Nashville Cars and Coffee rarely have a Lotus. You will see a Lamborghini and more than 1 Mclaren and several Ferrari but no Lotus. Strange as Carlock sells several Evoras a year

[Simon Bateman]

Welcome to the yellow Evora sub division 👍

They are rare enough in these parts as well, although I saw a 16 plate yellow Evora in MK today.......anyone on here?

 

[Cdm2018]

34 minutes ago, Simon Bateman said:

Welcome to the yellow Evora sub division 👍

They are rare enough in these parts as well, although I saw a 16 plate yellow Evora in MK today.......anyone on here?

 

Sure is Simon 

last Evora i spotted was before Xmas and last I seen was in showroom at central lotus and that’s sum total in last 6 months !

still it’s a nice feeling not seeing like BMw/ Audi’s etc 

[Simon Bateman]

9 minutes ago, Cdm2018 said:

Sure is Simon 

last Evora i spotted was before Xmas and last I seen was in showroom at central lotus and that’s sum total in last 6 months !

still it’s a nice feeling not seeing like BMw/ Audi’s etc 

Oh Yes....

[Loquacious Lew]

I'm here  and I drive mine!  Welcome to the land of the few, the proud, the brave. Right here In Nashville, even.  There are a few other owners in the area, but you're the first Evora person I've been privileged to hear about.  Mine's the racing green 400 that can be seen around if you keep your eyes peeled and has even been to Franklin for the C&C twice or thrice.  I always get a lot of traffic when I do go there.  You probably will too.

We're lucky to have Carlock and TJ. It makes it a lot easier to own one here.

 

Congrats.  I'll keep my eyes peeled for you!  

[Bob Booker]

17 hours ago, Simon Bateman said:

Welcome to the yellow Evora sub division 👍

They are rare enough in these parts as well, although I saw a 16 plate yellow Evora in MK today.......anyone on here?

 

That was me in MK. I've just bought it. Was you driving your evora? I'm yet to see another one since I bought it, let alone a yellow one.

[Robbdom]

19 hours ago, Loquacious Lew said:

I'm here  and I drive mine!  Welcome to the land of the few, the proud, the brave. Right here In Nashville, even.  There are a few other owners in the area, but you're the first Evora person I've been privileged to hear about.  Mine's the racing green 400 that can be seen around if you keep your eyes peeled and has even been to Franklin for the C&C twice or thrice.  I always get a lot of traffic when I do go there.  You probably will too.

We're lucky to have Carlock and TJ. It makes it a lot easier to own one here.

 

Congrats.  I'll keep my eyes peeled for you!  

nice to know you are out in the ever cool green. great color for this car. maybe I will see you one day at a CC

[Simon Bateman]

On 26/01/2019 at 09:08, Bob Booker said:

That was me in MK. I've just bought it. Was you driving your evora? I'm yet to see another one since I bought it, let alone a yellow one.

We are based just around the block on the Denbigh West estate.  We go past Holophane on the way home.  We have the Evora in today but tend to only bring it in once or twice a week this time of year as it's a 45 mile round trip from home.  It gets used a bit more in the summer on the work run.  My wife went for a run the other day and heard your car it before she saw it.......she said she had to do a double take and then noticed that it didn't have the black pack (roof) and realised it wasn't me driving it!!

[Bob Booker]

59 minutes ago, Simon Bateman said:

We are based just around the block on the Denbigh West estate.  We go past Holophane on the way home.  We have the Evora in today but tend to only bring it in once or twice a week this time of year as it's a 45 mile round trip from home.  It gets used a bit more in the summer on the work run.  My wife went for a run the other day and heard your car it before she saw it.......she said she had to do a double take and then noticed that it didn't have the black pack (roof) and realised it wasn't me driving it!!

That's cool, 2 yellow Evoras on the same estate.☺️

My boss said he saw a yellow Evora drive past Holophane last year. I haven't seen another Evora for ages. Take a look at my intro on the introductions thread.

Sorry OP for the thread hijack

[Simon Bateman]

6 minutes ago, Bob Booker said:

That's cool, 2 yellow Evoras on the same estate.☺️

My boss said he saw a yellow Evora drive past Holophane last year. I haven't seen another Evora for ages. Take a look at my intro on the introductions thread.

Sorry OP for the thread hijack

Like London buses these Evoras........

That would have been us going past on the way home.  Our company does work for Holophane, assuming you actually work there.  

Ours is still only 11 months old and unfortunately has spent a bit of time being 'fettled' by Silverstone, albeit for mainly cosmetic issues rather than things that actually stop you from using it.

Hopefully year 2 of the ownership will involve less of that!!

 

[Relic222]

Congratulations OP. I made a similar move - TTS to NA Evora. I gave a long breakdown in another thread earlier so I won't go into that again, but needless to say, I'm very happy!

[Robbdom]

So I am 5 months in and I love this car. now I have had a few issues but nothing too bad. There was an oil line leak that needed a gasket replacement and the dealer that had the car charged the AC too much so I had to get that sorted. AC works great now and is much better than I expected. Every time I visit the lot I look at the 400's. Is it me or has Lotus taken some short cuts on quality? I looked at a Kawasaki green 2018 and the plastic parts looked horrible to me on the exterior. I noticed less leather trim and a bit more plastic inside as well. Stickers on the rear instead of raised logo letters? Car was $117,000

Now I do not say this to offend as I would own a 400 in a heart beat had I not found my 2014. i am sure some on here do not like the leather everywhere or the metal screens on the exterior. I drove a red auto 400 and liked it but I wanted a manual trans. Still I did see parts that did not sit well with me for a car that would be $124,500 out the door. Color was awesome and I love the Evora line but it did stand out to me on some of the part material choices. 

[Colin P]

Like you a few things struck me the first time I saw a 400:

The grilles on the intakes behind the doors on the S1 are better/look more finished, I prefer the metal grilles to the "milk crate" plastic ones in the front clam or even better the vents from the GTE, and as for the badges, mine has the proper badges not stickers, but I'm with you on that as well on the later cars.

I get your point about plastic trim pieces, but it is more traditional for some plastic parts and I'm quite happy with them and some actually stand up better to wear (like to door sills and kick plates). That said some of this is taste rather than quality and it is pretty clear what the Asian market prefers. There are also a lot of improvements in the 400 over the S1 that more than offset these minor niggles to name a few:

- performance (and if you have an "S" economy as well)

- the noise, oh the noise

- better handling (marginally harsher ride)

- better ergonomics around the controls/dash

- easier access/egress

They are quite different really, the S1 probably more refined, the 400 definitely shoutier. Pays your money and makes your choice.

 

[DaveC72]

Welcome to, as you point out, a pretty exclusive club. 

I ran my S for 48K miles in just under 3 years.  It gets better and better over time.  These things are made to be driven.

The transmission noise soon gets forgotten, and as someone else has said, keep it above 3,000 rpm and you won't care.

Enjoy!

[Robbdom]

2 hours ago, Colin P said:

Like you a few things struck me the first time I saw a 400:

The grilles on the intakes behind the doors on the S1 are better/look more finished, I prefer the metal grilles to the "milk crate" plastic ones in the front clam or even better the vents from the GTE, and as for the badges, mine has the proper badges not stickers, but I'm with you on that as well on the later cars.

I get your point about plastic trim pieces, but it is more traditional for some plastic parts and I'm quite happy with them and some actually stand up better to wear (like to door sills and kick plates). That said some of this is taste rather than quality and it is pretty clear what the Asian market prefers. There are also a lot of improvements in the 400 over the S1 that more than offset these minor niggles to name a few:

- performance (and if you have an "S" economy as well)

- the noise, oh the noise

- better handling (marginally harsher ride)

- better ergonomics around the controls/dash

- easier access/egress

They are quite different really, the S1 probably more refined, the 400 definitely shoutier. Pays your money and makes your choice.

 

 Oh you are so right I did forget to mention that it was so easy to get in and out of the 400 versus the 14 S.  If I have one major complaint it is getting in and out of my car