Portsmouth News

Sports car that can be your everyday driver

Julie Marshall spends a day with the lotus Evora GT410 and enjoys every minute

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Early last year Lotus launched the second model in the Evora range. The GT410 is broadly based on the 410 Sport but is far easier to drive comfortabl­y at slow speeds - should the need arise.

Even though it’s considerab­ly cheaper, in fact at £82,900 it costs £3,000 less, Evora GT410 features an enhanced standard spec over the GT410 Sport.

Visibility both front and rear are excellent and if it wasn’t for the snarl of the 3.5-litre V6 you could almost be in a top of the range saloon rather than a 410 bhp muscle car with a top speed of 186 mph and a 0-60mph time of 4.1 seconds.

Lotus class the Evora GT 410 as a usable everyday car and, to be honest, I wouldn’t necessaril­y disagree.

The Sparco sport seats are forgiving and comfortabl­e even for the relatively broad of beam and the whole driving experience is relaxing.

There’s air conditioni­ng, cruise control, heated seats and rear parking sensors to make life on board as comfortabl­e and safe as possible.

In keeping with the need for everyone to be connected at all times, as standard is an integrated 7in touch-screen infotainme­nt system with AppleCarPl­ay and Android Auto, Bluetooth compatibil­ity; satellite navigation and reversing camera can also be specified.

Lotus held its driving event at a cracking little place near Stratford-upon-Avon just as lockdown restrictio­ns were easing somewhat.

Caffeine & Machine is a stylish biker-style cafe for motorists and bikers who, in normal times flock there at weekends and evenings to drink coffee, talk everything automotive and show off their prize machines to admirers.

It’s n ot ea s y gett i n g th e most out of a Lotus on UK roads. They are either congested or low speed limits allow little in the way of progress’ but a stint on the M40 allowed us to let rip - even if it was just for a short time.

Surprising­ly getting in and out was easy - even for these old bones and luggage space is decent if you make use of the two rear seats. They are not much use for passengers unless children or child-like in stature so you might as we utilise them.

The Evora GT 410 look fabulous without being over ly flashy.

Everything is solid and we put together with nice touche inside and out.

It has a body-coloured roo side sills, tailgate, front acces panel and mirror backs an red AP Racing brake calliper to add a bit of bling.

Seats have contrastin stitching and come in a variet of different colours. There ar integrated arm rests and stor age bins for great practicali­ty

Paint colours have bee tweaked and new option added, including some his toric ones.

Wheels are silver or glos b l a c k V- s p o k e c a s t a l l o wheels, 19in at the front an 20in at the rear and shod wit all weather Michelin Pilo Sport 4S they give great all year-round traction.

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