Lotus Evora S First Drive

[AutoGuide.com]

A sports car with the soul, and the looks, of a true exotic

The single most important fact about the new Lotus Evora S isn't its supercharged V6 engine or its improved suspension. No, it's the price.

Starting at $76,000 the Evora S may seem like an unreasonable price hike of $12,000 over the standard Evora, but that's only because Lotus has dropped the MSRP of the base car by $8,000 since it first hit our shores.

For comparison's sake, take the cost of the car's most direct competitor, the Porsche 911 Carrera. It starts at $79,000. Both cars make an identical 345-hp, and if stop-light drag racing sits high on your list of qualities a sports car should have then the Evora S edges out the 911 with its lower curb weight, translating to a 4.3 second 0-60 mph time – roughly half a second faster than the 911. The Carrera S will deliver similar straight-line performance, but that model edges north of the 90K mark.

"JUST" 69 MORE HORSEPOWER, UNTIL YOU DRIVE IT

While the standard Evora lacks some of the real thrust you'd expect for a car that looks so exotic, the S won't leave you wanting in the acceleration department – even if it looks that way on paper. Strapping a supercharger to the Toyota-sourced V6 engine adds just 69-hp and 37 lb-ft of torque, but that small increase is much more noticeable on a car that weighs just 3,168 lbs. (A 120-lb increase over the Evora). Peak numbers don't tell the whole story either, with the S model making as much torque at just 2000 rpm as the naturally aspirated engine delivers at its peak 4700 rpm, meaning there's plenty of added power to blast you our of the corners and onto the straights.

Also helping is an electronic differential as well as a sports ratio transmission. Optional on the Evora, S models get it standard. The same can be said of a Sport mode button; but more on that soon.

Read the complete review and watch video of the Evora S at AutoGuide.com