Auotocar Lotus Europa road test - not quite like a Lotus should be

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Source: Autocar


Lotus Europa Coupe 2.0 S 2dr - Europa is bigger than Elise/Exige, but not by much

What is it?
That depends on how cynical you are. It’s either the first Lotus GT car in two decades. Or it’s another way of using some left-over VX220 chassis. Or it’s a still-born Proton sports car that the company decided should be called a Lotus. It uses a 197bhp/200lb ft 2.0-litre turbocharged Vauxhall motor to give a claimed 150mph maximum and 0-60mph in 5.6sec. Oh and 0-100mph in 13.6sec, which is quite swift actually.

What’s it like?
Being kind, it’s a very compromised sports coupe whose suspension and NVH levels have been bought as far towards comfort settings as they possibly could. But in no way is it an Audi TT rival and for anyone who thinks that the Porsche Cayman could be a difficult car to interact with on a daily basis, the Europa will be hard to comprehend. The cabin is tiny, despite the lower door sills, and skirt-wearers will still consider it a potential pant-flashing zone.
Being a Lotus you’d expect it to redress such failings on the road, but it doesn’t. The engine calibration is poor: throttle response is slow, it takes ages to shed revs and it never feels especially fast. The chassis is much better -agile and fun - but along a favourite road the only thing it does better than a base Cayman S is give the drivers wrists a bit more to wriggle with.

Should I buy one?
Being a lifelong member of the Colin Chapman fan club, it pains me to say this, but no. The Europa is a car Lotus didn’t need to make, and bar having a slightly more supple ride than an Exige S, the rest of the time, even as an every day car the older car is miles ahead. If you want an Exige with a more supple ride, get an Elise with a hard-top.

Chris Harris
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To be honest, I'm not surprised. With the Vauxhall engine it has, I knew right away it wouldn't be as fun or even as good as the Elise/Exige. You may as well buy the better Elise for a cheaper price...
 
So, instead of combining the sportiness of the Elise/Exige with the comfort of a GT, they managed to compromise the sportiness of the Elise/Exige while offering a fraction of the comfort of a GT?

Bang-up job, Lotus. :dunce: I hope the next Esprit is better...
 
It's one of those 'Eclat/Elite 2+2' style Lotus that no one will want to buy. All it does is add a week link into a pretty faultless line-up :(
 
Uh-oh Lotus!

Let's not go down the niche road...
 
They will probably sell a few, but I can't see it being as big of a success as the upcomming Espirt successor/replacement. Either way, they did something that seemed to be a good idea at the time, but times have certainly changed...
 
I've read plenty of reviews of it saying it handles great etc etc - but Lotus already have a car that does this, its called the Elise. Lotus don't need another Elise - the one they've already got works fine.
 
Jim Prower
Needs the Turbo Ecotec. Maybe a more track-ready suspension.
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I think it is actually using a 2.0 Turbo Ecotec, i'm pretty sure the VX220 Turbo also used it as well. It's wierd that they are using leftover Vauxhall bits though seeing as they've used Toyota lumps in all their other cars.
 
Race Idiot
I think it is actually using a 2.0 Turbo Ecotec, i'm pretty sure the VX220 Turbo also used it as well. It's wierd that they are using leftover Vauxhall bits though seeing as they've used Toyota lumps in all their other cars.
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Couldn't it be the Solstice GXP's 2.4? That's got around 260 HP.
 
Jim Prower
Couldn't it be the Solstice GXP's 2.4? That's got around 260 HP.
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The article says 2.0 engine, the previous gen Astra Coupe had a 2.0 turbo lump. It's also the same engine used in the VX220 Turbo which apparently this new Europa shares bits with.

Actually when I saw the Europa at the motorshow it did seem a little similar in dimensions to the VX220.
 
Bummer. Lotus usually get the driving side of things right and the rest wrong (build quality etc.) but this time seem to have got a lot wrong. Although I love nearly all previous Lotus cars never really saw the point of this without an engine with more cylinders. Surely it's not going to be different enough to make most buyers trade up from the better Elise/Exige or luxurious enough to get them out of rivals cars.
 
I'm fairly sure Lotus thought they wouldn't lose any money on this car, which they probably won't, but they overlooked the damage that can be done to their reputation in the Euopean market with the Europa S. Unfortunately, they took something that didn't really look like it was to work from the start and still marketed and sold it. It's a shame though. If Lotus had decided on their own to build a proper GT, without Proton's influence, they would've managed far better than the Europa S.

In fact, if they did decide to do that, they would've plainly seen that the Elise chassis won't allow for that kind of needed room. They would've waited for the VVA chassis first seen in the APX Concept, and also being used in the upcoming Esprit, where the versatility of it would've definitely given ample room for a small tourer.

I, like most other Lotus people, am patiently awaiting the outcome of the Esprit, because we haven't seen anything yet. But also something on my mind, probably moreso than the Esprit, is what they can do with the VVA chassis afterwards. A new tourer, a front-engined car possibly, some 2+2 sprinkled in there. It's limitless, really...
 
Not much of a surprise. But still a disappointment.

This car definetly seems to be a stop-gap and as we know, wasn't a Lotus product from the start.

I'm sure the Esprit will be a million times better, but it would be nice to see a sneak peak. :(
 
Milliethemutt
Lotus could turn the tables back on Mazda with the Mx-5 and make a new Elan. I would love to see that. Move the Elise up the scale a bit and bring in a cheap open F/R roadster.
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Seriously that would be so awesome, as long as they could price it competitively with the Current MX5. I mean the only inexpensive British sportscar we've had in the last few years is the Horrible MGF which is horrible, yes I have driven one it's horrible.
 
Quite fittingly, here's a press release from Group Lotus released today:

Group Lotus is set for a bright future with a greatly expanded and
extended car model programme and new opportunities for the engineering
business on a re-aligned basis.
Following a major review of the entire business and with the full
support of the Lotus Group International Limited (LGIL) holding company
board, Lotus intends to launch two additional new models over the next three
years. This is in addition to the new Esprit, which will top the range as
the company's future flagship sports car.
The two additional models will be a new mid-range Lotus set for
launch in December 2008 and a Lotus/Proton high-performance model, due in
May 2008. The flagship Esprit replacement, whose introduction has been
extended to incorporate more Lotus "DNA" and other enhancements to meet the
changing needs of the global marketplace, will be unveiled in December 2009.
The review also highlighted opportunities for growth in the
engineering consultancy business, including expansion in new markets, joint
ventures and strategic alliances.
Mike Kimberley, Chief Executive Officer, Group Lotus said: "We are
very pleased to have secured LGIL Board approval for a high-level five-year
strategic business plan - the first such approved plan that this company has
had in the last six years. We have some great opportunities ahead of us and
some already under way. It's a very bright future but we have to work hard
to bring all the opportunities to fruition."
The current Lotus model range includes the award-winning and
class-leading Elise and Exige with the recently-introduced Europa S. The
three new models, all to be sold through the Lotus dealer network, will
address new market segments and allow Lotus to extend its appeal to a wider
customer base. Development work on two of the three new models is already
ongoing and will increase significantly in future months.
Responding to a general economic downturn in certain key markets,
Lotus has recently reduced production of its iconic Elise and Exige models.
It also expects to 'right-size' its workforce to match capacity with global
demand and to minimise overheads.
Mike Kimberley concluded "Like many other carmakers we need to
tighten our belts in the short term. It is essential we respond fast to
market conditions while we drive forward this exciting long-term plan. Our
shareholder Proton has been and is very supportive of Group Lotus plc, with
strong backing for our realignment plans."
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I read Lotus supercar by 2008. Whoa!
 
All I know after reading that article is that the author must have had a bad day. I stopped reading after the first paragraph the writing was so bad!
 
Lotus are only making 500 Europas a year, so I doubt they'd have too much trouble selling them. Towards the end of its life, maybe, but there's enough people out there that will buy one just because it's a new Lotus...
 
Proton wouldn't have any real influence over the car. Why would an econo-box company want to aid in the development of something they know SFA about?

Lotus will develop it, and Proton will back it. Exactly like the Europa S.
 
It's a strange concept for the company.
Similar to Porsche making the Cayanne.
I'm just glad that the car will be produced in very low numbers. It won't detract them from concentrating on the new Esprit replacement (which dealers are taking deposits on now!!).
 
exigeracer
Proton wouldn't have any real influence over the car. Why would an econo-box company want to aid in the development of something they know SFA about?

Lotus will develop it, and Proton will back it. Exactly like the Europa S.
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But surely all Lotus cars are Proton bacled to some extent?

My worry is that yes, Lotus will develop it, Proton will fund it, but will Proton want to make it obvious that they had a hand in it? Perhaps little things like a vague resemblance to the Proton company face or something like that.
 
Well that's exactly what the Europa S was/is. They funded Lotus to design and develop a Proton-sold Elise GT. Lotus followed through, designed it to fit the Proton Malaysian line-up, was tested there, but in the end was deemed by Proton not suitable for their line-up. The almost-completed car was then given back to Lotus for them to market and sell, without having to put any money into it. The design had not changed, so it doesn't look anything like a Lotus should, the car itself had more Proton-oriented DNA than the classic Lotus, and bang, we have the Lotus Europa S.

If Lotus develops this supercar, sells it as a Proton, they stand to gain money even if it is terrible, in which case Proton loses the sales. When and if Proton says they have a hand in it, Lotus will still win with the money they make off of the development, to spend on more Lotus projects. Win-win situation. Lotus can only lose money if it is sold as a Lotus and is crap. Then they will lose money.

But if it does have the Lotus badge, it will be great ;)

Then again, we are all basing this speculation solely on a set of a few words mentioned by the company. There is nothing we can presume this early in the game.
 
exigeracer
Well that's exactly what the Europa S was/is. They funded Lotus to design and develop a Proton-sold Elise GT. Lotus followed through, designed it to fit the Proton Malaysian line-up, was tested there, but in the end was deemed by Proton not suitable for their line-up. The almost-completed car was then given back to Lotus for them to market and sell, without having to put any money into it. The design had not changed, so it doesn't look anything like a Lotus should, the car itself had more Proton-oriented DNA than the classic Lotus, and bang, we have the Lotus Europa S.
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And look how that has turned out....

If Lotus develops this supercar, sells it as a Proton, they stand to gain money even if it is terrible, in which case Proton loses the sales. When and if Proton says they have a hand in it, Lotus will still win with the money they make off of the development, to spend on more Lotus projects. Win-win situation. Lotus can only lose money if it is sold as a Lotus and is crap. Then they will lose money.
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But can lotus afford to keep churning out bad cars in an attempt to make money and hope people look to the Elise and Exige for a true picture of lotus?
 
It got them through the 80's well enough, and with Proton backing them the mostly unesed idea of blaming Proton when things go wrong can be ery beneficial.
 
ExigeExcel
But can lotus afford to keep churning out bad cars in an attempt to make money and hope people look to the Elise and Exige for a true picture of lotus?
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It is an attempt at making money, and I doubt they're losing any money on it, poor car or not.

How do people find out that this Europa is bad? They read a review. How do they find out the Elise is still good? They read a review. If they think that Lotus messed up a car they aren't good at making means that the things they can do right will be terrible, then they just plain don't deserve it. I'm sure there will always be a market for a good Lotus.
 

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