Difference between revisions of "Evora Buyers Guide"

Latest revision as of 10:45, 27 August 2014

This page is designed to serve as a preliminary buyers guide for those interested in the Lotus Evora.

As the Evora is a relatively new car, with all still under warranty at the time of writing, but we'll be adding advice and information over time.

Running Costs

Servicing

Servicing on the Evora and Evora S is carried out on a 1 year or 9,000 mile basis.

These services vary in price from around £425 up to £699, with alternating Minor and Major services.

You can find the servicing schedule for the Evora on the Servicing page, and get an idea of pricing on the Servicing Costs entry.

Tax Bands

Model	Emissions (Combined Cycle)	Tax Band	1st Year Tax Rate	Annual Tax Rate
Evora	205g/km CO₂	K	£635	£275
Evora late 2010	199g/km CO₂	K	£485	£265
Evora Sports Gearbox	217g/km CO₂	K	£580	£250
Evora IPS	210g/km CO₂	K	£580	£250
Evora S	229g/km CO₂	L	£790	£435
Evora S IPS	224g/km CO₂	K	£580	£250

Consumables

These prices are for parts only, including VAT but exclude delivery and fitting.

Many of the consumables for the Evora such as oil and air filters are Toyota parts, and so are quite reasonably priced. Be aware however that if the car is equipped with the 19" front and 20" rear wheels the OE fitment Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres are considerably more expensive than the regular Pirelli P Zero's fitted as standard to 18" front and 19" rear wheel combinations. Rear tyre wear has also been reported to be somewhat higher than expected with the standard tyres, so it is not uncommon for owners to try alterative brands.

Item	Price	Part Number	Vendor	Date
Tyres	Front: £130.20 (Pirelli P Zero) Rear: £265.90 (Pirelli P Zero) Front (19"): £238.50 (Pirelli P Zero Corsa) Rear (20"): £442.70 (Pirelli P Zero Corsa)	Front: A132G6005F Rear: A132G6006F	Camskill	11/11/2011
Brake Pads	Front: £211.03 (AP Racing - OEM Fitment) Rear: £211.03 (AP Racing - OEM Fitment)	Front: A132J0001S Rear: A132J0002S	Elise-shop	09/08/2011
Brake Discs
Clutch	Friction Plate: £180.48	C132F0015F	Elise-shop	09/08/2011
Oil Filter	£33.60	A132E6399S	Elise-shop	09/08/2011
Air Filter	£38.69	A132E6324S	Elise-shop	09/08/2011

Recalls

Below is a list of recalls made to the Evora since it release - this list is assumed to be incomplete at present.

Title	Date	Summary	VINs affected	Link
Heater/a.c. unit drain tube freezing causing poor demist performance	01/02/2010	Fix to solve poor demisting performance during the winter months due to water freezing and blocking the drain hole. Fix carried out at owners request.	Up to 1065	PDF
Replacement of exhaust muffler flexible mountings	01/02/2010	Upgraded silicone material on exhaust mounts to improve durability. Carried out when the car is serviced.	-	PDF
Fitment of 'in-line' fuse to alarm siren circuit	01/02/2010	Fix to ensure doors automatically unlock in the event of an accident.	Affected VINs listed in PDF	PDF

Buyers Checklist

Engine

The Evora and Evora S both use variants of the Toyota 2GR-FE engine in combination with Lotus's own T6e engine management system.

This delivers 276bhp in the Evora, and 345bhp in the Evora S thanks to the addition of a supercharger.

At present there is little of note about this engine in terms of reliability - it's a well proven unit used across a range of different Toyota vehicles - however if possible when buying its worth getting a dealer to perform a read out of the engine ECU which will record any instances of the engine being over-revved which can occur if a driver has made an early downshift. If this has occurred it can cause damage to the engine, and if severe enough may impact on warranty claims if its suspected to be the cause of a failure.

Transmission

The Evora has a range of gearbox options in the form of the standard 6-speed manual, optional Close Ratio 'Sport' gearbox, and IPS automatic. The Evora S gets the Sport ratios as standard, and as of MY12 was also offered with the IPS gearbox.

While early Evora 'Launch Edition' cars were fully loaded in terms of options, very few came with the close ratio gearbox.

The standard ratio box is somewhat long geared in the higher gears (1st and 2nd are identical in both gear sets), but offers improved fuel economy and may be an advantage if the car is to see regular motorway use.

One of the main criticisms in early Evora reviews was that of the poor gear linkage used by the manual gearbox. Improvements to this were reported have been made during the cars post-launch updates, possibly coinciding with the launch of the Evora S, so shift quality may vary depending on the age of the car. The updated gear linkages can be fitted to earlier cars, and in some cases where cars have suffered from poor shift quality have been fitted under warranty - it is well worth asking about this when buying a car, particularly if it's from a dealership.

There are currently no known major issues with the Evora's transmission, however there have been reports of unexplained noise from the cars drivetrain. Dealers have been known to dismiss this as 'within acceptable limits', and the cause is currently unknown.

For more information on the Evora gearbox see our separate Wiki page.

Suspension and Brakes

Unlike the Elise and its derivatives, the Evora makes use of forged aluminium for the suspension wishbones in an effort to reduce unsprung weight. Dampers are provided by Bilstein and fitted with Eibach springs.
So far the long-term durability of the Evora's dampers is an unknown quality.

The brake discs, calipers and pads are provided by AP Racing, with 4-pot calipers both front and rear. Cross drilled brake discs are an optional extra as part of the Sport Pack along with black painted calipers (Red for post MY12 models, black becoming a no cost option).

Bodywork

Unlike the Elise and Exige, the Evora features front and rear bumpers which are separate to the main clamshells. This means that in the event of a minor accident the bumpers can be replaced separately, hopefully leading to lower costs and shorter lead times on parts.

Fibreglass cars can be susceptible to paint blisters and bubbling. So far however this has not been reported on the Evora.

Interior and Electrics

The interior quality is one of the main areas that came in for criticism when the Evora was first launched, and has gradually been improved through the models life. There is no hard and fast rule as to when major changes were made, but generally the later the car the better the interior build quality.

The main issue to look out for here is that space in the rear seats is somewhat limited, so if they're likely to be in regular use take someone with you when looking at the car and make sure they can fit in behind the drivers seat. There are some known interior quality issues, including premature wear to the front seat bolsters.

Options

Seating configurations

The Evora is available in both 2+0 and 2+2 seating configurations. The 2+2 is the most common configuration and features a pair of cloth or leather rear seats, where as the 2+0 comes equipped with a rear storage shelf and a small aluminium divider with net to stop items shuffling around.

Evora 2+0 Rear Bench	Evora 2+2 Rear Seats

Tech Pack Identification

Cars with the Tech Pack fitted can easily be identified by the double DIN stereo and Cruise Control buttons on the steering wheel.
Both the standard and Tech Pack stereos are Alpine units. Standard cars get the Alpine CDE-111RM (CDE-102Ji for Japan, CDE-102 for USA) - a fairly standard CD headunit, while Tech Pack cars are fitted with the touch-screen IVA-W505R (VIE-X077 for Japan, IVA-W505R for USA).

Tech Pack equipped cars can also be fitted with the Alpine 'IMPRINT' PXA-H100 processor, which aims to compensate for the acoustics of an in-car environment to improve sound quality.

Evora S without Tech Pack	Evora with Tech Pack

Premium Pack Identification

Cars fitted with the Premium Pack gain a number of interior features that make it easily distinguishable.

Unless the Premium Pack is specified the only interior leather colour available is Black. The Premium Pack adds to this the option of Oyster, Cocobolo or Paprika leather, while the Premium Pack in Suedetex released in 2011 comes with Anthracite Suedetex.

The Premium Pack also adds leather various surfaces, accent lighting in the cabin, heated front seats, a leather arm rest, and a boot cargo net.

Without Premium Pack	With Premium Pack

Sport Pack Identification

The Sport Pack is an optional extra on the standard Evora, but comes as standard on the Evora S. With the Evora IPS the pack is still optional but the Sport Mode button is included as standard to select the Sport gearbox setting and sharpen the cars throttle response.

Other identifying features for Sport Pack cars are the Sports Diffuser(3 piece),Cross-Drilled Brake Discs, Black Painted Brake Calipers (Red for MY12 onwards) and twin Titanium Exhaust Tailpipes. The standard Evora gets twin Stainless Steel Exhaust Tailpipes. The Evora S comes with a single Stainless Steel Exhaust Tailpipe as standard.

Evora without Sports Pack	Evora with Sports Pack
Evora without Sports Pack	Evora with Sports Pack

Other options

Pricing

Due to being a relatively new model, it is rare to see Evora's available from private sellers, with most coming on to the market via dealerships and specialist traders.

Evora pricing ranges from around £35,000 for early 2009 cars, up to £70,000 for a high-spec Evora S.

The last recorded state of the Evora market is as follows:

Raw data: Evora Price Tracker - June 2013.xls

Year	Varient	Sample Size	Lowest Advertised Price	Median Advertised Price	Highest Advertised Price	Change in Number of Advertised Cars Since Last Sample	Median Price Change Since Last Sample
2009	Evora	1		£32,489		-1	-£2,461
2010	Evora	11	£30,989	£33,995	£35,000	0	£1,000
	Evora S	0	-	-	-	-1	-
2011	Evora	3	£37,000	£39,000	£39,999	2	£1,550
	Evora IPS	1		£40,995		0	£4,045
	Evora S	8	£39,995	£40,995	£60,950	4	-£12,268.50
2012	Evora	2	£47,995	£48,995	£49,995	1	-£7,005
	Evora S	1		£49,995		-3	-£14,927.50
	Evora S IPS	2	£57,995	£58,972.50	£59,950	-6	-£3,022.50
2013	Evora	2	£57,900	£57,900	£57,900	-	-
	Evora S	5	£59,989	£65,000	£66,250	-	-
	Evora S IPS	2	£58,995	£59,247.50	£59,500	-	-

Sample taken on June 15th, 2013.

The lowest priced car in this sample is a 2010 Evora 2+0 in Starlight Black with 27,800 miles on the clock at £30,989.

For historic Evora pricing information please see the Evora Price Tracking in this Wiki.

References

SELOC Forums » SELOC Chat » Buying an Evora

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 As the Evora is a relatively new car, with all still under warranty at the time of writing, but we'll be adding advice and information over time.
-=Running Costs=
+==Running Costs==
-==Servicing==
+===Servicing===
 Servicing on the Evora and Evora S is carried out on a 1 year or 9,000 mile basis.
@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 These services vary in price from around £425 up to £699, with alternating Minor and Major services.
-You can find more information on our [[Servicing Costs - Evora|Servicing page]].
+You can find the servicing schedule for the Evora on the [[Servicing#Service Schedule 3|Servicing]] page, and get an idea of pricing on the [[Servicing costs | Servicing Costs]] entry.
-==Tax Bands==
+===Tax Bands===
-==Consumables==
+{| border="1"
+|-
+! Model !! Emissions (Combined Cycle) !! Tax Band !! 1st Year Tax Rate !! Annual Tax Rate
+|-
+| '''Evora''' || 205g/km CO<sub>2</sub> || K || £635 || £275
+|-
+| '''Evora late 2010''' || 199g/km CO<sub>2</sub> || K || £485 || £265
+|-
+| '''Evora Sports Gearbox''' || 217g/km CO<sub>2</sub> || K || £580 || £250
+|-
+| '''Evora IPS''' || 210g/km CO<sub>2</sub> || K || £580 || £250
+|-
+| '''Evora S''' || 229g/km CO<sub>2</sub> || L || £790 || £435
+|-
+| '''Evora S IPS''' || 224g/km CO<sub>2</sub> || K || £580 || £250
+|-
+|}
+===Consumables===
 These prices are for parts only, including VAT but exclude delivery and fitting.
+Many of the consumables for the Evora such as oil and air filters are Toyota parts, and so are quite reasonably priced. Be aware however that if the car is equipped with the 19" front and 20" rear wheels the OE fitment Pirelli P Zero Corsa tyres are considerably more expensive than the regular Pirelli P Zero's fitted as standard to 18" front and 19" rear wheel combinations. Rear tyre wear has also been reported to be somewhat higher than expected with the standard tyres, so it is not uncommon for owners to try alterative brands.
 {| border="1"
@@ Line 23: / Line 43: @@
 ! Item !! Price !! Part Number !! Vendor !! Date
 |-
-| '''Tyres''' || Front: £130.20 (Pirelli P Zero - OEM Fitment)<br />Rear: £242.30 (Pirelli P Zero - OEM Fitment)<br />Front (19"): £196.20 (Pirelli P Zero Nero)<br />Rear (20"): £250.20 (Pirelli P Zero Nero)|| Front: A132G6005F<br />Rear: A132G6006F || [http://camskill.co.uk/ Camskill] || 09/08/2011
+| '''Tyres''' || Front: £130.20 (Pirelli P Zero)<br />Rear: £265.90 (Pirelli P Zero)<br />Front (19"): £238.50 (Pirelli P Zero Corsa)<br />Rear (20"): £442.70 (Pirelli P Zero Corsa)|| Front: A132G6005F<br />Rear: A132G6006F || [http://camskill.co.uk/ Camskill] || 11/11/2011
 |-
 | '''Brake Pads''' || Front: £211.03 (AP Racing - OEM Fitment)<br />Rear: £211.03 (AP Racing - OEM Fitment) || Front: [http://www.elise-shop.com/a132j0001s-p-353729.html A132J0001S]<br />Rear: [http://www.elise-shop.com/a132j0002s-p-353730.html A132J0002S] || [http://www.elise-shop.com/ Elise-shop] || 09/08/2011
@@ Line 37: / Line 57: @@
 |}
-=Recalls=
+==Recalls==
 Below is a list of recalls made to the Evora since it release - this list is assumed to be incomplete at present.
@@ Line 53: / Line 73: @@
 |}
-=Buyers Checklist=
+==Buyers Checklist==
+===Engine===
+The [[Toyota 2GR-FE engine#Evora|Evora]] and [[Toyota 2GR-FE engine#Evora S|Evora S]] both use variants of the [[Toyota 2GR-FE engine]] in combination with Lotus's own T6e engine management system.
+This delivers 276bhp in the Evora, and 345bhp in the Evora S thanks to the addition of a supercharger.
+At present there is little of note about this engine in terms of reliability - it's a well proven unit used across a range of different Toyota vehicles - however if possible when buying its worth getting a dealer to perform a read out of the engine ECU which will record any instances of the engine being over-revved which can occur if a driver has made an early downshift. If this has occurred it can cause damage to the engine, and if severe enough may impact on warranty claims if its suspected to be the cause of a failure.
-==Engine==
+===Transmission===
-==Transmission==
+The Evora has a range of gearbox options in the form of the standard 6-speed manual, optional Close Ratio 'Sport' gearbox, and IPS automatic. The Evora S gets the Sport ratios as standard, and as of MY12 was also offered with the IPS gearbox.
-The Evora has a range of gearbox options in the form of the standard 6-speed manual, optional Close Ratio 'Sport' gearbox, and IPS automatic. The Evora S gets the Sport ratios as standard, but is not yet available with the IPS gearbox.
+While early Evora '[[Models - Evora#Launch Edition|Launch Edition]]' cars were fully loaded in terms of options, very few came with the close ratio gearbox.
-The standard ratio box is somewhat long geared, but reduces emissions on the standard Evora compared to the Sport option. This may affect Road Tax bands, with the standard gearbox the Evora falls in to Band J, where as the Sports ratio option places it in Band K.
+The standard ratio box is somewhat long geared in the higher gears (1st and 2nd are identical in both gear sets), but offers improved fuel economy and may be an advantage if the car is to see regular motorway use.
-One of the main criticisms in early Evora reviews was that of the poor gear linkage used by the manual gearbox. Improvements to this were reported have been made during the cars post-launch updates, possibly coinciding with the launch of the Evora S, so shift quality may vary depending on the age of the car.
+One of the main criticisms in early Evora reviews was that of the poor gear linkage used by the manual gearbox. Improvements to this were reported have been made during the cars post-launch updates, possibly coinciding with the launch of the Evora S, so shift quality may vary depending on the age of the car. The updated gear linkages can be fitted to earlier cars, and in some cases where cars have suffered from poor shift quality have been fitted under warranty - it is well worth asking about this when buying a car, particularly if it's from a dealership.
 There are currently no known major issues with the Evora's transmission, however there have been reports of unexplained noise from the cars drivetrain. Dealers have been known to dismiss this as 'within acceptable limits', and the cause is currently unknown.
-==Suspension and Brakes==
+For more information on the Evora gearbox see our [[Gear Ratios - Evora|separate Wiki page]].
+===Suspension and Brakes===
+Unlike the Elise and its derivatives, the Evora makes use of forged aluminium for the suspension wishbones in an effort to reduce unsprung weight. Dampers are provided by Bilstein and fitted with Eibach springs.<br />So far the long-term durability of the Evora's dampers is an unknown quality.
-No known issues.
+The brake discs, calipers and pads are provided by AP Racing, with 4-pot calipers both front and rear. Cross drilled brake discs are an optional extra as part of the Sport Pack along with black painted calipers (Red for post MY12 models, black becoming a no cost option).
-==Bodywork==
+===Bodywork===
 Unlike the Elise and Exige, the Evora features front and rear bumpers which are separate to the main clamshells. This means that in the event of a minor accident the bumpers can be replaced separately, hopefully leading to lower costs and shorter lead times on parts.
@@ Line 77: / Line 110: @@
 Fibreglass cars can be susceptible to paint blisters and bubbling. So far however this has not been reported on the Evora.
-==Interior and Electrics==
+===Interior and Electrics===
+The interior quality is one of the main areas that came in for criticism when the Evora was first launched, and has gradually been improved through the models life. There is no hard and fast rule as to when major changes were made, but generally the later the car the better the interior build quality.
+The main issue to look out for here is that space in the rear seats is somewhat limited, so if they're likely to be in regular use take someone with you when looking at the car and make sure they can fit in behind the drivers seat. There are some known interior quality issues, including [[Common Issues - Evora#Recaro seat wear|premature wear to the front seat bolsters]].
+==Options==
+===Seating configurations===
+The Evora is available in both 2+0 and 2+2 seating configurations. The 2+2 is the most common configuration and features a pair of cloth or leather rear seats, where as the 2+0 comes equipped with a rear storage shelf and a small aluminium divider with net to stop items shuffling around.
+{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
+|-
+| [[Image:Evora 2+0 Rear Shot.jpg|thumb|center|300px|Evora 2+0 Rear Bench]] || [[Image:Evora 2+2 Rear Shot.jpg|thumb|center|300px|Evora 2+2 Rear Seats]]
+|-
+|}
+===Tech Pack Identification===
+Cars with the Tech Pack fitted can easily be identified by the double DIN stereo and Cruise Control buttons on the steering wheel.<br />
+Both the standard and Tech Pack stereos are Alpine units. Standard cars get the [http://www.alpine-electronics.co.uk/products/product-singleview/cd-head-units/cde-111r.html Alpine CDE-111RM] (CDE-102Ji for Japan, CDE-102 for USA) - a fairly standard CD headunit, while Tech Pack cars are fitted with the touch-screen [http://www.alpine-electronics.co.uk/products/product-singleview/mobile-media-stations/iva-w505r.html IVA-W505R] (VIE-X077 for Japan, IVA-W505R for USA).
+Tech Pack equipped cars can also be fitted with the [http://www.alpine-electronics.co.uk/products/product-singleview/processors/pxa-h100.html Alpine 'IMPRINT' PXA-H100 processor], which aims to compensate for the acoustics of an in-car environment to improve sound quality.
+{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
+|-
+| [[Image:Evora S Interior without Tech Pack.jpg|thumb|center|300px|Evora S without Tech Pack]] || [[Image:Evora with Tech Pack.jpg|thumb|center|300px|Evora with Tech Pack]]
+|-
+|}
+===Premium Pack Identification===
+Cars fitted with the Premium Pack gain a number of interior features that make it easily distinguishable.
+Unless the Premium Pack is specified the only interior leather colour available is Black. The Premium Pack adds to this the option of Oyster, Cocobolo or Paprika leather, while the Premium Pack in Suedetex released in 2011 comes with Anthracite Suedetex.
+The Premium Pack also adds leather various surfaces, accent lighting in the cabin, heated front seats, a leather arm rest, and a boot cargo net.
+{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
+|-
+| [[Image:Configurator without Premium Pack.jpg|thumb|center|300px|Without Premium Pack]] || [[Image:Configurator with Premium Pack.jpg|thumb|center|300px|With Premium Pack]]
+|-
+|}
+===Sport Pack Identification===
+The Sport Pack is an optional extra on the standard Evora, but comes as standard on the Evora S. With the Evora IPS the pack is still optional but the Sport Mode button is included as standard to select the Sport gearbox setting and sharpen the cars throttle response.
+Other identifying features for Sport Pack cars are the Sports Diffuser(3 piece),Cross-Drilled Brake Discs, Black Painted Brake Calipers (Red for MY12 onwards) and twin Titanium Exhaust Tailpipes. The standard Evora gets twin Stainless Steel Exhaust Tailpipes. The Evora S comes with a single Stainless Steel  Exhaust Tailpipe as standard.
+{| class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto;"
+|-
+| [[Image:Configurator_without_Sports_Pack_Front.jpg|thumb|center|300px|Evora without Sports Pack]] || [[Image:Configurator_with_Sports_Pack_Front.jpg|thumb|center|300px|Evora with Sports Pack]]
+|-
+| [[Image:Configurator_without_Sports_Pack_Rear.jpg|thumb|center|300px|Evora without Sports Pack]] || [[Image:Configurator_with_Sports_Pack_Rear.jpg|thumb|center|300px|Evora with Sports Pack]]
+|-
+|}
+===Other options===
+==Pricing==
+Due to being a relatively new model, it is rare to see Evora's available from private sellers, with most coming on to the market via dealerships and specialist traders.
+Evora pricing ranges from around £35,000 for early 2009 cars, up to £70,000 for a high-spec Evora S.
+The last recorded state of the Evora market is as follows:
+{{Evora Price Tracking Latest}}
+For historic Evora pricing information please see the [[Evora Price Tracking]] in this Wiki.
+==References==
+[http://forums.seloc.org/p/6282886 SELOC Forums » SELOC Chat » Buying an Evora]
 [[Category:Lotus Evora]]