The great big "all the customer test drives" thread

[Lotus64]

I hope the "hollow" comments didn't come off as negative. Just an observation and probably nitpicking. The shifter is fantastic the way it is and is rewarding and unique to operate.

 

[lion shf]

I hope the "hollow" comments didn't come off as negative. Just an observation and probably nitpicking. The shifter is fantastic the way it is and is rewarding and unique to operate.

I for one appreciate the diff views.

 

[SPoivre]

Hell…I must be the only person on here that doesn’t analyze the sh!t out of the car they drive. I drove the Emira. Wasn’t the least bit concerned about the gearshift, the clutch, the brakes… drove it, liked it. Now I’m going to buy it. Analyzing this stuff to death is just pointless. I know, i know…it’s a forum, what should I expect.

Anyway, one needs to buy and accept the car as a whole. No real point in picking it apart piece by piece unless you’re just window shopping.

I was ROFLMAO the other day when I saw one guy had thousands of posts over 11 years and never owned an Aston but was still on the forum daily. Takes all types.

Rant over.

 

[lion shf]

Hell…I must be the only person on here that doesn’t analyze the sh!t out of the car they drive. I drove the Emira. Wasn’t the least bit concerned about the gearshift, the clutch, the brakes… drove it, liked it. Now I’m going to buy it. Analyzing this stuff to death is just pointless. I know, i know…it’s a forum, what should I expect.

Anyway, one needs to buy and accept the car as a whole. No real point in picking it apart piece by piece unless you’re just window shopping.

I was ROTFLMAO the other day when I saw one guy had thousands of posts over 11 years and never owned an Aston but was still on the forum daily. Takes all types.

Rant over.

I wish I could have written this exact thing and I’ll add that this, in my opinion, is a GT car. New for Lotus and necessary to survive. For me, heavier? ZFG. Slower? ZFG. Seat no good for racing ffs ZFG.
If you add in dudes like myself who can’t (or won’t) spend more than 80-90k, I ask, show me a GT car even CLOSE. I had so much fun on my drive I was hammering it thru 3 gears, topping out at 60 mph on beautiful damp roads in the woods. I was using foul expletives, begging my sales guy to take a turn. The only reason I didn’t make him is he promised me he’d drive it before they moved to the next town. I just wanted to share the experience, It was so much fun I called son 2 on the way home and told him no more shopping, we found our next family sled. Is it this? Is it that? I just don’t give a s. I can’t wait for mine (but gotta wait, wife wants the boat first)

 

[Cachaco131]

Hell…I must be the only person on here that doesn’t analyze the sh!t out of the car they drive. I drove the Emira. Wasn’t the least bit concerned about the gearshift, the clutch, the brakes… drove it, liked it. Now I’m going to buy it. Analyzing this stuff to death is just pointless. I know, i know…it’s a forum, what should I expect.

Anyway, one needs to buy and accept the car as a whole. No real point in picking it apart piece by piece unless you’re just window shopping.

I was ROFLMAO the other day when I saw one guy had thousands of posts over 11 years and never owned an Aston but was still on the forum daily. Takes all types.

Rant over.

Analysis Paralysis...

 

[ChrisJ]

My test drive today at Hendy Lotus Exeter (pics on nimbus thread). Very impressed with the team there and Jessica Penny was a credit to the brand. Excellent test drive route with mixture of roads and length.
Loved the handling and balance on touring with Goodyears. Visibility excellent. Found the gearshift absolutely fine. Brakes very good with plenty of bite. Steering wheel feel and size/shape non-issue for me.
Performance good but not fast and power delivery linear ... enjoyable but not particularly exciting.
Exhaust sound ... disappointing. Always going to be difficult having owned v8 TVRs for many years, but to my ears even my wife's Hyundai I30N sounds better with valves open or closed.
One minor fault on car ... passenger seat belt locked in place unless parking brake off ... very strange fault. Otherwise build quality seemed good. No rattles or squeaks. Already some discolouration/wear on red leather seat bolster though, so I will modify my spec.
I do think the seat doesn't go quite low enough ... I had it on lowest position which was perfect but I'm only 5ft9.
Overall ... would I pay £80k for the v6 .... definitely a no. I'm on the i4 list and I'm hoping that will suit my driving preferences better.

 

[VL3X]

I do think the seat doesn't go quite low enough

This seems to be a common complaint. I'm ~5'8" and thought it went plenty low. I tend to sit pretty close to the pedals, so maybe that's a factor. Seemed like Harry commented on the seat height at the end of his recent pick-up video. I wonder if this will be addressed since that was a major complaint from the early prototype/roadshow cars. Seats were hard (which seems to be fixed) and sat too high.

 

[Evotion]

Nice to see @SPoivre and @lion shf come from my stable of "It's an amazing package so don't sweat the little things".

Yeah, the seat does seem to feel too high when I sit in it but after one minute you don't notice it and, as a bonus, you can see more of the lovely front haunches.

 

[dzernski]

So, finally my turn.

Weather is not great being sub zero, so I was honestly expecting the test drive to be cancelled but fortunately it wasn't. I'd read a lot about what to expect on here from more than a few people who have driven this exact car (Colchester/"Essex" Lotus Magma Red/Touring) and to prepare myself for the drive clearly the most logical car to bring down was a two ton left hand drive 400hp automatic....(my wife being in the office today did somewhat restrict access to a manual). Oh well. I only stalled it 3 times attempting to leave the pub car park used for the handover (by way of an excuse, the manual I have is a DS3 Dsport. The clutch bite point is in entirely the other end of travel on the pedal) but after that...largely fine. I'm ~6ft and ~100kg (over one and under the other, I'll let you guess which) with size 11 feet so I was a little worried about fitting in and the pedal box. I needn't have worried as this was not a problem at all. A note on the gear shift - this car has by now done circa 1500 miles and the change is smooth. The car I'd compare it to most (flame warning) is the six speed NB MX5 I had a decade ago and wish I'd never sold - short throw and precise. If you want to take the comparisons down the "bolt action" route then you're looking at a CZ .22LR not a Mauser 98K derivative - you know you've cycled it but it's not a huge effort. My only complaint is that I would've preferred the gear nob to be shorter, but that's just me.
Given road temperatures, the test route, average speed checks and a tracker there wasn't much opportunity to test what the car could do other than getting a distinct feeling is was capable of waaaay more than I could throw at it through corners I was taking flat at NSL which I would have been 10-15mph slower (at least) in the car I came over in. Given the above and my lack of status as a driving god (cf stalling) I thought the most useful thing I could do afterwards was a little practicality test. Yes, it should fit two carry on suitcases behind the seats, even with mine back as far as it was (I only have one in the picture as I only took one, but it was under half way across). It won't take one in the boot. It will however fit hardcases for my "specialised sporting equipment" in there which I was pleasantly surprised at.

I can't comment about the audio, as I was having a nice chat with the guy taking me out (his second test drive as the usual chap wasn't in). I'd say the background/road noise level (when in "tour") is pretty comparable to the NC MX5 I had until someone rear ended it. It definitely gets a lot fruiter when not in "tour". One minor niggle about the seat - yes there was plenty of headroom but I see why people note that it feels high. The main issue for my about this is that I'm used to a car with a (primitive) HUD. Having the seat higher means I have to look down more to see the instrument screen which can be a tad distracting. I never really got a chance to look at the infotainment/nav which wouldn't have been at it's best owing to the low sun and general need of a bit of a clean.
Overall verdict - I think this is going to be worth the wait. I just don't know if I could take the additional wait any changes to spec would be because darn it's pretty in Magma/Ice

 

[rs200evo]

Moderator note: technically this is a customer car pickup rather than a test drive, but I thought people would appreciate including this feedback here

Picked up my Seneca/tan from the factory yesterday, followed by a 450 mile drive home to Scotland, in 0c but dry weather. Handover was great, factory looked really busy.

I have an Evora 410, so was of course interested to feel the difference. Overall the car is really good, I cannot imagine anyone being disappointed majorly in any way.

Highlights:

• Gear change is excellent, feels tighter than the Evora, and the positioning in terms of height and closeness to the steering wheel is sublime, almost on rally levels of positioning.
• Sports suspension for me was the right choice as it's softer than the Evora, which I have no problems with, so I would not want to go more 'touring' soft than sports
• I went for the Goodyears as I won't be tracking it, which was a good call in light of the temperature for the drive back, these coupled with the sports setup made the car feel extremely planted
• Seats do feel firm when brand new, maybe worryingly so, but after a few hundred miles they definitely seem to 'break-in' and become really comfortable
• Really easy to get into and out of
• Superb forward visibility
• Main dash graphics are a good design, especially liked the Sports Mode layout
• Keff system is great at higher levels, finally decent audio in a Lotus, not that great at regular levels though
• Headlights on full beam are epic

Lowlights:

• Privacy glass is pretty dark through the rear view mirror at night
• Sound inside is muted compared to the Evora, even in Track mode, lacks the drama. Outside does sound good though.
• Brakes are great, not grabby, but there is a lot of travel so softer feel than I would have liked. Makes heel & toeing not so intuitive compared to an Evora (which I rate as the best setup of any car)
• Haptic controls on the wheel are too easily mistakenly brushed being close to the edge of the wheel. Prefer the McLaren ethos of clean steering wheels....

For the price I can't think of anything that would tick as many boxes for me as a stunning looking/handling/manual/everyday sports car, especially for the UK roads. Very Happy.

 

[Lotustoronto]

So, finally my turn.View attachment 20102 Weather is not great being sub zero, so I was honestly expecting the test drive to be cancelled but fortunately it wasn't. I'd read a lot about what to expect on here from more than a few people who have driven this exact car (Colchester/"Essex" Lotus Magma Red/Touring) and to prepare myself for the drive clearly the most logical car to bring down was a two ton left hand drive 400hp automatic....(my wife being in the office today did somewhat restrict access to a manual). Oh well. I only stalled it 3 times attempting to leave the pub car park used for the handover (by way of an excuse, the manual I have is a DS3 Dsport. The clutch bite point is in entirely the other end of travel on the pedal) but after that...largely fine. I'm ~6ft and ~100kg (over one and under the other, I'll let you guess which) with size 11 feet so I was a little worried about fitting in and the pedal box. I needn't have worried as this was not a problem at all. A note on the gear shift - this car has by now done circa 1500 miles and the change is smooth. The car I'd compare it to most (flame warning) is the six speed NB MX5 I had a decade ago and wish I'd never sold - short throw and precise. If you want to take the comparisons down the "bolt action" route then you're looking at a CZ .22LR not a Mauser 98K derivative - you know you've cycled it but it's not a huge effort. My only complaint is that I would've preferred the gear nob to be shorter, but that's just me.
Given road temperatures, the test route, average speed checks and a tracker there wasn't much opportunity to test what the car could do other than getting a distinct feeling is was capable of waaaay more than I could throw at it through corners I was taking flat at NSL which I would have been 10-15mph slower (at least) in the car I came over in. Given the above and my lack of status as a driving god (cf stalling) I thought the most useful thing I could do afterwards was a little practicality test. Yes, it should fit two carry on suitcases behind the seats, even with mine back as far as it was (I only have one in the picture as I only took one, but it was under half way across). It won't take one in the boot. It will however fit hardcases for my "specialised sporting equipment" in there which I was pleasantly surprised at.View attachment 20099View attachment 20100View attachment 20101
I can't comment about the audio, as I was having a nice chat with the guy taking me out (his second test drive as the usual chap wasn't in). I'd say the background/road noise level (when in "tour") is pretty comparable to the NC MX5 I had until someone rear ended it. It definitely gets a lot fruiter when not in "tour". One minor niggle about the seat - yes there was plenty of headroom but I see why people note that it feels high. The main issue for my about this is that I'm used to a car with a (primitive) HUD. Having the seat higher means I have to look down more to see the instrument screen which can be a tad distracting. I never really got a chance to look at the infotainment/nav which wouldn't have been at it's best owing to the low sun and general need of a bit of a clean.
Overall verdict - I think this is going to be worth the wait. I just don't know if I could take the additional wait any changes to spec would be because darn it's pretty in Magma/Ice

Between this ^ and Harry's latest vid, really shows the usability of the storage. One thing that was annoying about the Spyder/Boxster's in general was the lack of interior storage space for small bags. Nice review!

 

[Aero]

Had my test drive today at Lotus Nashville.

Summary: I still really want it.

Long version:
Hethel Yellow with alcantara grey stitching. Black wheels. Sport suspension. Michelin tires.
Since I'm 6'5" (225lbs) I was concerned with how comfortable I'd be driving it. (sat in one 12-1-21 in Atlanta) I had no issues with fitting comfortably and with my big feet on the pedals. I had issues with the pedals in the Evora. Think I had the seat all the way down and almost to the back.
The sports suspension didnt seem harsh at all to me. Eager to drive both setups back to back to compare.
Drove and shifted fine. Did notice the clutch engagement chatter but wasnt too bothersome.
Maybe a random rattle from the right side of dash but not sure with my 25min drive.
Paint looked good to me but it was very wet and cloudy out so couldnt inspect it very well.
The left rear bumper cover looked to have been previously damaged or just didnt fit right. It wasn't like that on the other side. I was able to push it back into position slightly but it wouldnt snap back all the way to make perfectly flush.
Still dont like the gauges/layout. Really would want analog looking gauges...and an oil pressure gauge!
Was told base edition colors (didnt make the cut for 1st) would be out Jan/Feb. Dealer also said once order is submitted through dealer no changes are allowed after that point (which was unexpected and said diff order process in US market)

 

[scarzie]

Not much to add here as I’ve never owned a proper sports car, but I absolutely loved it. Shifter felt like a bolt action rifle and didn’t miss any shifts, arguably my favorite part of the car. Pedals were close but not an issue at all (I‘m size 11)

Could use a third cat delete but I like loud cars. Just pissed because now I have to keep waiting

Also, not sure what the people who say the steering wheel is too thick are smoking.

 

[scarzie]

While I have limited experience, it felt like a more visceral, but similar power wise, experience to my father’s vanquish - obviously cannot compare the sc v6 to the Aston’s naturally aspirated V12 (Christ, that sound…) but the linear power doesn’t make them feel ‘fast’. As someone who’s owned a bunch of fast do-it-all turboed cars (currently have an x3m with the s58, previously e63s and a bunch of hopped up Audis and bimmers), yeah it ain’t fast but that isn’t the point here for me. I miss rowing gears and pushing the piss out of cars on the road while most egregiously breaking the laws. The Emira checks all of my boxes for a second ride

 

[PaulP]

I may regret posting this but here it goes. Super long, but made from recycled electrons.

tldr: my wife said “we’re buying this car, I’ve never seen you with such a smile on your face”

I posted (I think) in the “I’m out” thread several months ago. I meant it. I was tired of the terrible communications, delays, wheel gap, bonnet gasket, and pitiful 0-60 times posted after the intial reviews. My plan at that time was to buy an M4 or an M2 as I’ve owned multiple BMW and am a fan of the brand.

The M2 however was a visual let down to me personally, I just didn’t love it. The M4 was upwards of 120K full spec with dealer markup and that’s just stupid. So I kept my deposit. And I got an email for a test drive, so I set it up and went.

My car background is a pitiful shadow of many of you. I’ve followed cars for my whole life, but I’m frugal and on a budget. The fastest car I’ve ever owned is my current car (which I love by the way - a 2014 BMW 428, picked up in Munich, driven in Europe for 2 weeks then sent back stateside). The only ”track time” I’ve ever had was BMW performance delivery x 2. Never driven a Porsche but dreamed of a 911 my entire life since I was a kid. Ferraris and McLarens like some of you, just a dream.

After all that said, I went for my drive. I‘m not sure how long it’s been since I saw the dealer demo of the car, it seems like a year, but this one was yellow and outside, the last was the dark grey and was inside. I immediately remembered how beautiful it was. My wife (who wants yellow) says “that’s a sexy car”. A quick walk around by the staff (Naples Lotus). I was surprised that there wasn’t really anybody there except the 3 people who had just finished the test drive before me. They were right on time. Car seemed well built, had the silver wheels and black alcantara interior with yellow contrast stitching. I didn’t note any paint defects but honestly I think I just had a bit of drool coming out of the side of my mouth at that point. Getting into the car I did note the carpet looked definitely cheap, and the door mounting hardware looked a bit ‘handmade’. I totally forgot to look at panel gap, etc.

After they drove me for a few min I was allowed to switch into drivers seat in parking lot for a quick spin then onto roads for probably just 1-2 miles of city traffic, max speed was around 60 and a couple pulls but was asked not to redline.

Couldn’t see the pedals at all. Brake seemed high (towards me) vs. the accelerator - they were not even close to same plane, I would estimate maybe 1-2 inches difference. Tried to heel/toe and failed miserably. Clutch was smooth and easy to operate. Brakes were very touchy - I had to apologize to my chaperone that I was bopping his head back and forth but he kindly said trust me I wasn’t the only one.

I am an audiophile - previously had a dedicated completely sound treated listening room with separate driven custom speaker arrays. The KEF system is not going to satisfy but we spent exactly 6 seconds listening to it. It was flat, low end absent and mid range heavy. But who knows how it was setup, so not a fair listen.

As soon as I pulled out and gave it the beans and then heard that engine and made the shift into second gear I thought two things: 1) this is not near as fast as I had hoped or expected it to be and 2) I don’t care.

Again I have very limited experience so discount my opinion is entirely justified, but when I pulled back in and got out my wife literally said “I’ve never seen you with such a smile on your face, we ARE buying this car.”

Maybe I’ll get cynical again, maybe lotus will screw this up. But as of yesterday at 13:22 pm I’m back on the train and totally plan to buy this car. It will be my daily driver, I’m probably an idiot, I’ll probably come back and curse the fact that I bought a car from a low volume manufacturer that requires a 2 hour drive to a dealer. But smiles like that are very hard to come by.

 

[kitkat]

In the end it really is about the experience. I’m the furthest thing from a Lotus fanboy and extremely critical of individual things on the car, but when you drive it and really experience it, I think the phrase: “The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.” really describes it well.

Prior to the test drive I was pretty convinced I’d just drop the order.

 

[jagseven]

Had my test drive at B&C last week. Without thinking too hard my impressions are:
car looks great (but we all know that already)
quality seemed very good
easy to get in and out
steering wheel - great when going straight but felt odd not being round when making tighter turns
power - quick enough for me
Engine noise - pleasant if not remarkable
gearbox/clutch - this is the one area I did struggle a bit…I did miss a couple of gears and the biting point felt odd to me but something I‘d no doubt get used
gear change - very mechanical feel, made me want to change gear just for fun, rev matching was easy
seats - didn’t think about them so must be ok!?
Overall I think the car is great and it does feel special/exotic - ironically it is only the transmission that makes me wonder if this is the car for me - I do love a manual but I also now realise I like a car to be easy to drive and after years of driving mainly autos perhaps the i4 with auto would suit me better!

 

[Tonyshepp]

Had my test drive at B&C last week. Without thinking too hard my impressions are:
car looks great (but we all know that already)
quality seemed very good
easy to get in and out
steering wheel - great when going straight but felt odd not being round when making tighter turns
power - quick enough for me
Engine noise - pleasant if not remarkable
gearbox/clutch - this is the one area I did struggle a bit…I did miss a couple of gears and the biting point felt odd to me but something I‘d no doubt get used
gear change - very mechanical feel, made me want to change gear just for fun, rev matching was easy
seats - didn’t think about them so must be ok!?
Overall I think the car is great and it does feel special/exotic - ironically it is only the transmission that makes me wonder if this is the car for me - I do love a manual but I also now realise I like a car to be easy to drive and after years of driving mainly autos perhaps the i4 with auto would suit me better!

Thats the thought going through my mind at the moment - Even though we have 4 cars already i'd want to use the Emira every day as a daily.

 

[jagseven]

Thats the thought going through my mind at the moment - Even though we have 4 cars already i'd want to use the Emira every day as a daily.

The Emira is definitely refined enough to be a daily driver. The realisation that an auto might be a good option came from a test drive yesterday of an F-Type (only looking at an F-type because of the delay in getting an Emira).
The jag was rather nice and very easy to drive

 

[Flashback]

Had my test drive this weekend at JCT600 in Bradford (UK).

My thoughts:

• Fantastic steering - great feel and excellent turn in. Quite an old fashioned feel in that it brought back memories of the 80s/90s for me, before the numbness of over-assisted electric racks and the isolating of real feedback from the wheel.
• Grabby brakes - nothing I wouldn't get used to but after 30 mins of driving I was still having to consciously moderate the initial press of the pedal.
• The clutch has a very long throw but only a very short part of the travel actually does anything, so again quite tricky but as above not something I wouldn't get used to.
• Sport suspension was - to my mind - far too stiff for everyday use on West Yorkshire roads. It made my M4 Comp on its stiffest damping feel very comfortable by comparison so I'm glad I've ordered Tour.
• The seats: the main thing for me was the comfort of the seat base and lumbar. It felt like it was lacking base padding and the lumbar felt 'odd'. During the drive it was just a bit uncomfortable but it was afterwards I noticed I felt as if I'd been sat on a stone wall too long. The base was even more noticeable than the short back. I'm 6'4" so used to seats being a bit short for me but these were oddly short. I would have serious doubts about wanting to set off on a 400 mile drive and that's a big concern for me given the supposed GT credentials.
• Despite the seat issues, there is plenty of legroom and no issues getting to a good driving position with the seat and steering wheel adjustment, though.
• The Interior is very well done. I like the dash layout and the design of that and the door panels really works for me.
• It sounded really good. I'm not looking for too much engine noise and I think it struck the right balance between volume and tone. I like the supercharger whine.
• I didn't particularly stretch its legs but it was clear it would need some serious revs on the clock to feel quick, IMO. I've driven plenty of 300-500bhp cars and, if I didn't know, I'd have put it at the bottom end of that range from the pull up to 4k or so.
• It certainly drew a lot of attention, although I suppose that's to be expected with the colour. More than once there were cars jostling for position to get alongside for a proper look on the 3-lane ring road near the showroom, and surprisingly not just young lads - a middle-aged guy in a new Audi stopped beside us at a roundabout to quickly ask if was 'that new Lotus' amd said he thought it was a Ferrari at first. I noticed another bloke getting pics from the passenger seat of an Evoke as (presumably) his wife was directed to get closer.
  

Overall, I have to say the seat situation is so bad that it's really disappointed me and soured the already long wait for delivery. I'm not one to start swapping seats on a new car so it would be a case of having to put up with the originals for me and I'm not sure I'm happy with that. Hmm...