Help me deciding pls!!

[lorenzor]

Hi everyone, my name is Lorenzo and I have a big doubt that I hope some of you can help me deal with. I'm young, with no back problems or anything else and I'm thinking of buying a car for my daily (or almost) driving ... I'd go either for a second hand lotus evora 2 + 2 (about 2013 or down there) or a porsche cayman of the same year. I am here because I'd prefer the evora because of its originality and unique character, but the cayman is famous for its ability to be "daily used" with no problems... How is it like to go around with an evora every day ?? And I'm not talking about driving emotions (I'm already familiar with those) but of practicality "inconviniences" like maybe parking it, feeling every single bump on the road, etc... Thank you all!

[Bibs]

Hi Lorenzo - Find a dealer with an Evora in stock and drive it to see how you get on with it. I've a feeling you'll be more than pleasantly surprised how good the ride is for you

[Mark Blanchard]

Porsche's you see every day, they are like Mondeos.  An Evora is something unique and special.

[franjipane]

I drive a 400 as my 'daily', it's great! It can be a comfortable sofa, with my kids in the back and the aircon on, and enough space in the boot for shopping, reversing camera etc and fine in traffic on the school run. Or it can be an absolute animal zooming around with fantastic road prowess and presence.

For the daily driving on poor roads it's surprisingly good, it's not so stiff that it smacks you around on potholes, it's not much different comfort over bumps to my 2017 qashqui. And it's for this dual personality I love it.

Go test drive an Evora at a dealer and a similar Porsche, let us know how you get on

[Stuno1]

This is lotus still missing a trick! The Evora is a perfect daily.its comfy, has heated seats, plenty of boot space and you can use the rear seats for bags as well if needed, Supple suspension, cruise control etc

Drive one and the Porsche thoughts will evaporate. I was looking for a 911 when I drove an Evora s sr and that was job done. 

[ramjet]

Welcome to TLF Lorenzo.

We can't help you decide mate, because if we do and you don't like how it turns out, it would be too easy to blame us.  I would do as Bibs said. Go and try an Evora and a Porsche (if you really have to) and make your mind up from there.

You should duck over to the Introductions area and say hi in there as well.  

[mik]

What everyone else has already stated..... 

I needed the +2 capability, so Boxster/Cayman were not options for me. I did consider 911s (of course) but you get a far newer evora for your money, and I have always liked cars that are slightly more leftfield. (My car for 5yrs before the Evora was a 6.2 Vauxhall (HSV) VXR8 - chosen over the more obvious M3/RS4 etc. Great car.)

Prepare to be seduced when you drive the Lotus - they are very capable, and the steering is just sublime. Also be prepared for lots of attention from pedestrians / other road users. 

Edited September 22, 2017 by mik

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

I was at a local supercar show the other week. There was a large parking area dedicated to dozens of Porsche cars only, of all types right up to the latest GT3 RS. It was a very busy event overall, but there was very little interest shown by the general public in that area. I think that sums the marque up. It's long-since lost all of its exclusivity. Mine was the only Evora there.

[PAR]

I drive a 400, this is really comfortable. Proper Grand Tourism car so no problem to use it as a daily. There are arguments that a 911 is more easy to use as there is just a bit more space at the back but there should not be any debate with the Cayman.

Soundproofing is excellent in the Evora so you don't get tired. Boot is surprisingly helpful and much better than a Porsche if you play golf for example. the +2 gives you optionality for luggage's or kids.

Suspension is not going to make a difference vs a Cayman. To be fair, I feel more comfortable in my Evora than in the BMW 330 of my brother. This is not Elise.

Day to day concern are rather going to be about the car being low and potential body work damage when parking but this is sports car issue not Evora. There is a camera among other stuffs.

The only thing is that the first Evora is marginally less convenient because of the door sills but you have to try that for yourself, and this is very much an older man issue if at all.

The main reason of the Sport 410 is to have a less comfortable car as a lot of people on this forum felt the normal Evora was too much of a daily drive!

Simple advice, buy the car that you want to go and check out in your garage once you bought it.

[Cypriot]

Having owned both a cayman (981) and now owning a evora 400, I can tell you that you cannot go wrong with either car.  Both are fantastic in their own way.  The cayman maybe boring on the outside, but its engine makes up for that.  Whatever people say, it is also more liveable than the lotus.  But, the lotus is more involving to actually drive, and it does make you feel like a million dollars.  You have a wonderful choice ahead of you! Ditto what people said above - you need to drive them both, and try to make it on the same day to able to compare them almost back-to-back.

[Colin P]

1 hour ago, Cypriot said:

Having owned both a cayman (981) and now owning a evora 400, I can tell you that you cannot go wrong with either car.  Both are fantastic in their own way.  The cayman maybe boring on the outside, but its engine makes up for that.  Whatever people say, it is also more liveable than the lotus.  But, the lotus is more involving to actually drive, and it does make you feel like a million dollars.  You have a wonderful choice ahead of you! Ditto what people said above - you need to drive them both, and try to make it on the same day to able to compare them almost back-to-back.

If the Cayman was more livable for you I assume you had the smaller wheels then and are under 6 ft. The 2 main things for me were that the Cayman bulkhead was too far forward to get properly comfortable and the rock hard suspension I found an issue just going up and down the A3. Otherwise I agree a nice place to be, but not that interesting.

[Cypriot]

I had the 20s, and PASM.  Yes, the ride quality was not as good as the lotus, but I wouldn't call it rock hard or bad... I am just under 6ft, so pretty average, but the seats in the cayman were in a different league to the 400, and I found the driving position better than the evora.  But as you said, the evora is far more interesting.  It rides and steers better as well!

[plenty]

The Evora is as every bit as good as everyone says it is, and the warm fuzzy glow of specialness it imparts is IMO far superior to any Cayster this side of a Spyder or GT4.

The two things that let the Evora down IMO are:

1. the pedal position in the S1 (have not tried a later car) – this may or may not bother you as others seem to manage just fine but my leg aches after 20 mins
2. the lack of spares availability…if someone rear-ends you and a new clam is needed for example, you’ll likely be off the road for months.  For this reason I personally would hesitate to daily drive it.

[lorenzor]

thank you all, you have indeed helped me out; now i just have to rent one for a weekend

[TomE]

The other plus points not already mentioned about using it as a daily driver are the running costs.  Toyota engine and drivetrain are robust and regular servicing is very reasonable - about £400-500 per year for my S1 Evora S at a Lotus specialist.  Mine isn't a daily driver so it is serviced once a year rather than on mileage.  Mine is used on track too and in 6 years of ownership the only non-service items needing to be replaced were a wiper blade and a failed starter motor.  Despite being outside warranty, Lotus paid for the part and I paid the labour to fit it.  Tyres are expensive if you stick to the original Pirelli P-Zero Corsas on the larger 19/20" wheels but are down in price compared to 5 years ago and other decent alternatives are cheaper.  The 18/19 wheels on the S1 and the standard tyres on the 400 are cheaper too.

The other cost consideration is depreciation - mine has been glacially slow!  It has been valued each year for an agreed value insurance policy and over the 6 years since I bought it (when it was 6 months old) has averaged £1200 per year depreciation.