Questions from prospective buyer

[James Junior]

Hi all, thanks for your input, all sounds very promising.  

 

I have arranged an appointment to go and have a chat with Simon at Oakmere on Friday morning, so will let you know how I get on.

 

Great to see such a welcoming and friendly community by the way.  I always enjoy being part of the community that surrounds interesting marques and think I would rather enjoy getting into the social side of Lotus ownership if I decide to take the plunge. 

 

I will update you you after Friday and thanks for all your interest so far.

[theelanman]

they've got a solar yellow in too at the moment.....

aswell as the black one.......both about the same miles both at good prices....

 

think these are the first 2 Ive seen under the £30k mark.......(even if it is only by about £50).....

 

take them all for a drive.......:-)

[James Junior]

Yeah I saw the yellow one but think that might be a bridge too far for a car for business.  I used to own a yellow MR2 Turbo years ago and whilst it was an adventure and got a lot of attention and positive comments, I am not sure I would do it again for a daily, unless it was an F355 of course.  I think a grey or black one looks a bit more subtle which is better for work use, thogh I really like the deep metallic green and red ones too.

 

Ideally I want an Evora with 25k - 30k on the clock.  

[CocoPops]

See, I'm the opposite, I think the Evora suits a bright colour and not so much the silver/grey/black.

 

It's a sports car, it should be a sporty colour

 

If you want a grey repmobile, buy a mondeo or a BMW.......

[theelanman]

I wanted White.....

I bought Carbon Grey

 

it had absolutely everything else on my spec sheet tho' (which was every option it was possible to have basically)...and the red interior (paprika not venom).......

 

I think it suits its colour range very well.....whether its light, bright or dark........

[blueg33]

I have a 2010 n/a evora, its my daily drive and does 20k miles a year, I also take it to business meetings.

 

I have seen 41mpg on a motorway run and 27 mpg on a back road blast

It is totally reliable

Rear Pirellis mean 3 sets pa, switch to Avons and its 2 sets

Its fine for business meetings although if I am meeting public sector I won't part at or near the venue

Its a pain to get out of in tight car parks, I often drive round looking for an Evora exiting compatible space

Its plenty fast enough (previous toy was 3.8 secs to 60, Evora is slower but is better on bendy roads), you do have to use the gears

Mine is noisy on the motorway but has a tubular exhaust, its sounds great on the back roads

 

Love the car and am looking for another

 

I like the Evora to have all 3 packs and think they look great in all colours except silver (but I don't like any car in silver).  Mine is storm titanium which is muted enough for business meetings

[James Junior]

That's really good mileage you're getting Nick and noted re car parks, thanks for the pointer.  I have an underground parking space where I park during the day near my office that is very tight to get in and out of, but there is an Evora that parks two spaces from mine so must be possible to squeeze one in.

 

Funnily enough I have had Pirelli's P1 Zeros on a number of previous cars and also found that they didn't last well although grip was pretty good.

 

I've been running Toyo Proxes on the Z4 and they are the best tyres I have ever had - mega grip in dry and wet weather and very reasonably priced.

[Kalli]

The Evora isn't as easy to get into as a Z4, i'll confess. But tight spaces aren't the end of the world like an Elise/Exige. Just challenging

 

Stick with the Pirelli P-Zeros. You wont find better for the Evora, without compromising the handling (highly documented/discussed on the forums). 

[blueg33]

It helps getting in and out to push the seat right back.

Avon zz5's are very nearly as good as the pzeros. My current ones have done 10k miles and are snout to be changed, the last pzeros did about 6k. Having said that k replacing with pzeros Bevause I got a v good price.

[theelanman]

I got a full set of the Pzeros for £450.........

4 tyres......2x18" and 2 x 19"

[Colin P]

It helps getting in and out to push the seat right back..

And if space is tight wind the window down. This creates more room because of the curvature of the glass.

[James Junior]

How do owners of manual cars find driving in traffic?  I have read a few reviews and comments online about road testers and owners finding the manual box a bit vague and the clutch tiresome to use in heavy traffic.  My daily commute is into Spinningfields in the centre of Manchester.  I head into the office very early and leave late so usually miss the worst of the traffic, but still have to contend with a lot of city driving.

 

I have an appointment with Oakmere tomorrow so hopefully will be able to have a test drive and see for myself, but still interested in owners' feedback on the above.

 

My Z4 Coupe is an auto with paddles and I love it.  I went auto due to a knee injury which has mostly healed now, but probably won't ever be 100% again so might still struggle a bit with a heavy clutch.  

 

Thanks again for all of your interest and input guys, really appreciate it. 

[chylld]

Really easy. The clutch has decent weight to it but is definitely not on the heavy side. Finding gears isn't a problem (on my car at least) and it even goes easily from 2nd to 1st whilst moving

[superdavelotus]

hi James,

 

 

If your current car is an auto then go for the IPS but you'll have to pay about £5K more.

My clutch I would describe as medium stiffness. It's not heavy and it's not light. It's about the same as my Mini Cooper but my Esprit is lighter. I suffer from back and it's affects my left leg. So far I haven't experienced any problems in traffic but I have to confess that I don't do a lot of driving in rush hour. I do have to go into cities now and then but it's not that often apart from shopping and the occasional meeting.

 

 

Regards,

 

 

 

David

[theelanman]

 

If your current car is an auto then go for the IPS but you'll have to pay about £5K more.

 

 

Dave

I think this may be incorrect......

its usually an extra £5k for the 'S'...rather than the N/A

I haven't noticed a difference in price between the IPS and Manuals

cheers

G

James 

what time are you going to Oakmere?.....

I could be in Knutsford tomorrow but not sure what time.....

I have the IPS.......

cheers

G

[James Junior]

Thanks guys.  I would be aiming to pick up an early car paying as close to £30k as possible ideally.  The cheapest IPS cars I have seen are at the £40k mark which is out of budget at this time.

 

Gareth - I am at Oakmere at 10am.  I have checked and they have a couple of more modern IPS cars, but only in Sport Racer trim.  Would be interesting to have a nosey at yours if you are in the area and have the time.  

[theelanman]

doh.....10am is to early for me Im afraid as I have to be in Manchester at 9am.....

should be there for a couple or three hours......lol.......

I was hoping you were going to say afternoon.....

 

enjoy the test drives.......

 

I am surprised that the two cars they have at £30k are still there........

 

they usually have a rapid turn round........

 

you are going to love it.......it is everything......

a long distance cruiser or a point and shoot speedster....

it does it all and gets the kids and the shopping in too......(well provided your kids aint too big....lol)

[superdavelotus]

I only said that because IPS came in later than the LE and early manuals. You can buy an Evora starting at £30k but show me a £30k IPS one?

Regards

David

[theelanman]

ah....ok Dave got what you mean now.......

yep your right..........IPS are quite scarce at the moment........

 

 

didn't Bibs post up the sales stats for IPS v Manual.....

 

I'll have a look.....

found it.....56% of evoras are IPS......

but Im guessing that's quite a large percentage of the new cars....and not so many of the older..... 

 

the IPS box seem quite the thing at Lotus as they've got it in the exige too so it cant be that 'tame'

[James Junior]

Thanks anyway Gareth, appreciate the offer of a potential meet.  

 

You guys are going to have me foaming at the mouth over an Evora at this rate.  Its the first car I have looked into for ages that I actually feel excited by.

 

I had also been looking at 370zs and 35iss but felt more of a sense of resignation than excitement looking at them.  The 370 just doesn't have any class or style about it, whilst the 35is is a nice car but just looks like any other Z4 so has no sense of occasion.

 

Of all the cars I have owned my MK2 MR2 Turbos were my favorite - I had two in my early twenties.  Every time I sat in the drivers seat it felt like I was out on an adventure, even if I was just heading out to pick up a pint of milk.  The Evora actually appears to be very similar proposition, albeit much more modern and grown up one.  

[Kalli]

I only said that because IPS came in later than the LE and early manuals. You can buy an Evora starting at £30k but show me a £30k IPS one?

Regards

David

An IPS N/A sold about two months ago for 28k. 

 

Simply put, Evora N/As werent extremely popular in the IPS variant. The IPS came out at the same time as the S, and with the torque of the S, it makes the IPS far more usable compared to the NA.

 

 

In terms of what you'll find more of:

NA Manuals > IPS Manuals

IPS S > Manual S

 

Theres no added value to an IPS compared to a manual to my knowledge. It's all based on S or NA, (and the respective packs)

[theelanman]

Kalli

that's true.......what Dave was implying was that generally if you want an IPS youre going to be buying a much newer car

and therefor more expensive........compared to an early manual

:-)

[Colin P]

Thanks anyway Gareth, appreciate the offer of a potential meet.  

 

You guys are going to have me foaming at the mouth over an Evora at this rate.  Its the first car I have looked into for ages that I actually feel excited by.

 

I had also been looking at 370zs and 35iss but felt more of a sense of resignation than excitement looking at them.  The 370 just doesn't have any class or style about it, whilst the 35is is a nice car but just looks like any other Z4 so has no sense of occasion.

 

Of all the cars I have owned my MK2 MR2 Turbos were my favorite - I had two in my early twenties.  Every time I sat in the drivers seat it felt like I was out on an adventure, even if I was just heading out to pick up a pint of milk.  The Evora actually appears to be very similar proposition, albeit much more modern and grown up one.  

 

I know a couple of people with (or had) 370Zs. Both moaned like hell about the tyre prices/wear rates and sub 20 fuel economy on a good day.

 

Made the Evora look positively cheap to run.

[cdl]

I found my clutch quite heavy when I first bought the car, especially when hopping between that and our 3 series. Don't notice it now though so it has either got lighter or I have got used to it. But then I was exactly the same with the brakes (nearly went through the evora windscreen when swapping over from the bmw) but I don't seem to notice that any more now either.

[auRouge]

There's a couple of £30k NA's out there..

I use mine everyday, it's just great.

Enjoy the hunt