Lotus Europa Community
Lotus Europa Forums => Garage => Topic started by: jbcollier on Monday,December 05, 2016, 12:22:56 PM
-
Cover:
https://jbcollier.smugmug.com/Lotus-Europa/i-MRSBz2D/A
Page 1:
https://jbcollier.smugmug.com/Lotus-Europa/i-LnzTb57/A
Page 2:
https://jbcollier.smugmug.com/Lotus-Europa/i-L5TzzCt/A
Page 3:
https://jbcollier.smugmug.com/Lotus-Europa/i-V6tp2nF/A
Page 4:
https://jbcollier.smugmug.com/Lotus-Europa/i-nD3K89h/A
Page 5:
https://jbcollier.smugmug.com/Lotus-Europa/i-2vBsjsL/A
Page 6:
https://jbcollier.smugmug.com/Lotus-Europa/i-6wHGHqM/A
-
But John.... Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious came out in that period, and now we all know why... :)
To be fair a lot of the points made are valid today - the car is low, getting in isn't easy unless you are used to such things, visibility from a low driving position is exactly what you'd expect, almost every report I know of says the handbrake is lousy, etc, The car is small so it's obviously going to be cramped and everyone used to say that Chapman designed cars to fit him, so if you were shorter or taller than 5'8", had a shoe size bigger than size 8, well, you're in trouble. (I'm 5'8" so I don't have any complaints ;) )
But the article was in Motoring Which ? and I expect they were more used to testing family saloons with maybe the odd MG thrown in so if I'm honest I would expect that sort of review from them, it's just not their sort of thing. Enthusiasts forgive anything if the car is good to drive but your average Motoring Which ? reader isn't that sort of guy.....
Good find though, never seen that one. Made me chuckle.....
-
The writer's job is to criticise, and to find fault.
You don't buy any mid-engined sports car for comfort or reversing, or rear view, you buy it for its handling and performance and looks.
It is not a boring easy to drive saloon car.
If you try to ride a thoroughbred racehorse, it is not exactly easy to ride, but it does what it is designed for.
You love a Lotus for its quirks and idiosyncrasies.
-
I don't think I've ever read a sports car review with a paragraph dedicated to how easy it is to clean. :))
-
Never owning an S2, I can't speak to what they're like to drive (though it sees to me that the earlier Europas and Elans fit better than my TCS - or maybe the guy who built mine was inept ;) ). They made a lot of valid complaint but many were many complaints there were fixed with the TC. For example, my TC started as soon as you touched the starter - it never had to crank. The bumpers were much more useful (to the car) than they would appear. The "sails" were cut down for the TC so the rear quarter vision was greatly improved. The fuel tanks are much larger. Two windshield wipers did a decent job - even if they cycled much too slowly. Certainly the fit and finish left A LOT to be desired. They were great cars that were executed on a budget (but still cost a lot of money) so they didn't live up to their potential. But as 4129R said, the quirks and idiosyncrasies become character to those of us who love them. The biggest problem I have with it is how high I sit in the car (requiring the bump in my roof). My elevated eye level makes it a bit difficult to see out of it sometimes (I don't remember that being a problem when I bought it in college).
Apart from it's handling, I have found that you have to pay attention to the car to drive it well. It's not a car that is difficult to drive smoothly, but it's easy not to. And there's nothing like it for the price (maybe even if you have to restore/rebuild one)!
-
Just another case of picking fly Sugar Honey Ice Tea out of pepper!
-
I laughed reading this. All the more reason to buy one. Only die hard sports car fanatics will have one. Good enough for me!
-
It's a good thing they tested a good one. It would have been embarrassing if the test car had been a lemon. :FUNNY:
-
Which and Motoring Which are, or were, popular consumer advice magazines better suited to long-term comparative tests of refrigerators or food mixers.
Having said that, they did a fair job I think, for the average family, though that family would never buy a Europa!
-
It's a good thing mine doesn't have hubcaps! :o