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By
EWAN KENNEDY
5 March 2006
Lotus is famed for building pure racing and sports cars. Pure in
the full sense of the word because even its road cars are virtually
track machines that can be registered for road use.
So when the guys at Lotus decided they needed to design a
softer car that could be used as a daily driver it seems their
definition didn’t quite match anyone else. Because the new Lotus
Europa S is still a seriously sporting bit of gear. The company’s
local sales and marketing chief, John Stretton, says, "This
car sits closer to the armchair sports cars than the lunatic
fringe cars", but it still has a very hard edge to everything
it does.
Based on the Lotus Elise, but longer for reasons that we well
go into in a moment, the Europa has lovely styling that sits low
and mean, like nothing else on the road today.
The mid-mounted engine is surprisingly familiar to Australian
drivers as it’s virtually the same Ecotec unit as that used in
the Holden Astra turbo. Sourced from GM-Vauxhall in the UK it
displaces 2.0 litres and manages a neat 200 horsepower, or 147 kW
in Australian terms.
This engine is far more pleasant to live with on a day-to-day
basis than the typical Lotus unit. Rather than demanding to be
revved to the limit and having next to nothing at low revs, this
turbo powerplant is amazingly tractable. It can drop below 1500
rpm then still pick up without a fuss. It pulls strongly from
about 2000 rpm and has plenty of torque from then upwards. Finally
it seems to hit a further stage of tune at 5500 rpm and really
screams along with a delightful exhaust note.
Europa really can be trundled along in commuting traffic hour
after our, then surge along at the redline when you can give it
its head on your favourite stretch of Sunday-morning road. Or at
the track, because this is still very much a sports car.
The engine drives through a six-speed manual gearbox with nice
close ratios and has a lovely slick change action that really
makes it fun to use.
In a car weighing just 995 kg the 200 horsepower engine can get
to 100 km/h in comfortably under six seconds.
This GM engine is slightly bulkier than the Toyota engine used
in most Lotus models, necessitating the longer body. Extra length
has also been used to give the car a useable 154-litre boot that
is capable of carrying a medium-sized suitcase. But the longer car
also carries beautiful rear-end styling with a slope that seems
sure to become a modern-day classic.
It goes without saying that the engine is mid-mounted. It’s
visible from the outside through the glass of the sloping rear
windscreen and has a delightfully sporty appearance.
The best thing that can be said about ingress and egress to the
Lotus Europa is that it’s better than that of the Lotus Elise.
Which is damning with faint praise because, despite the fact that
the sills are lower and have been sculpted to make it easier to
get over them, this is a car that will challenge those with any
stiffness in their limbs.
Once into the car, life is pretty good. There's fore and aft
adjustment of the driver’s seat, though there's no individual
adjustment of the backrest. The tiny leather-trimmed steering
wheel has some adjustment and it’s relatively easy to get
comfortable behind it.
Handling more than anything else is what this little Lotus is
all about. The low-slung body, sports-tuned suspension that’s
firm, but not over-firm, and big Bridgestone tyres combine to give
a huge amount or road grip. The car turns in virtually instantly
and can be adjusted through by way of the steering and/or throttle
so easily that you feel the car is helping you around bends. If
you love driving you are guaranteed to drive away from a series of
demanding bends with a smile from ear to ear – and perhaps feel
the temptation to turn back and do it all again.
There's no power assistance in the steering, so you can feel
exactly where the front wheels are pointing and what the surface
beneath them feels like.
Lotus Europa S retails in Australia for a $109,990 and the
local importer confidently predicts that it can sell about 30 to
40 of the 500 vehicles that the Hethel, England, factory will
build every year.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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