Lotus Evora 400 long-term test review: first report

That’s quite the ask for a plasticbodied, Norfolk-built sports car, is it not? Albeit one that comes with a respectable set of statistics: 0-60mph in 4.1sec and a top speed of 174mph. Weight is a claimed 1425kg — 30kg more than the manual. The Evora always occupied a place between Porsches Cayman and Porsche 911. At £80,000, though, it’s pushing firmly into 911 territory.

What does that get you? When it comes to cabin niceties, it’s very, er, Lotus. There are no cupholders, there’s air-con but not climate control and the infotainment is the fiddliest Alpine aftermarket head unit you’ll have used in years. But the basics are good: the driving position is straight enough, the seats are supportive and the steering wheel is small and pleasing to hold, with tidy shift paddles attached to the back. Cruise control takes centre stage on the wheel; a volume control doesn’t get a look in. Column stalks are items Ford no longer uses. The light switch is one Vauxhall still does. Other switches are bespoke to the car.

Materials and their finish are more bespoke than in anything German of the same price, which is kinda good and kinda not, depending on where you look and how you feel at the time. As a ride and handling enthusiast, I don’t care a jot. As a Costa enthusiast, I do. Lotus will tell you this is a sports car, so get your priorities straight: steering over coffee. Fair enough. Most owners would have another car for everyday use, after all.

Likewise I’m still running an SUV, but the truth is I end up in one car for days at a time, which means I might well have the Lotus when there are 300 motorway miles to do before breakfast or some colleagues need a lift to the cafe. This Evora, then, is being asked to do jobs a 911 would manage with ease.

And, to give it its due, it’s not bad at them. The boot is more practical than a Porsche 911’s, albeit considerably warmer at the end of a long journey. The rear seat is usable, long-distance comfort is good (although the Sparco driver’s seat has already developed a creak), the engine note is steady in normal mode and heady if you flick the exhaust button or take the car into Sport or Race modes, and the ride is compliant, because although the wheels are 19in front and 20in rear, the car was developed for those sizes. You can spec different wheels but not different sizes. Which is, again, a very Lotus way of doing things.

Then, of course, it does the things Lotuses do best. It rides, it steers and it handles, although it’s perhaps less free from corruption than earlier Evoras and has less all-round compliance, but it’s still leagues ahead of most sports cars. It has a keenness to match, steering brilliantly and with great throttle response, and the chassis is agile and communicative even at sensible speeds. The auto is good enough if you shift yourself and the zingy ’zorst tops it off.