LOTUS EUROPA

A highly optimistic attempt to refine the Lotus template and then sell it for lots more money as some sort of GT. Won’t lure many away from their Audi TTs…

• Comfort

  The Europa may be bigger than the Elise, but it’s still pretty cosy on the inside, and more awkward to enter and exit than any two-seat sports car we can think of.  The ride is a decent balance of comfort and handling, a manageable middle groun between body control and usability, but it’s still pretty harsh for a daily commute.

• Performance

  There’s a two-litre turbocharged petrol engine whining behind your head and putting out 200bhp in a car that still weighs in under a tonne. Which means 0-60mpg in 5.5 seconds and 0-100mph in under 14. Quick, yes, but the Europa’s real speed is point-to-point – it’ll hammer through back roads like little else on the market. For a focused few, that could make this all the car they’ll ever need.

• Cool

  Massive kudos amongst the bobble-hatted rally-attending crowd, but still marks you out as more of a softy than if you’d bought an Elise.

• Quality

  There are too many cheap plastics used on the dash, giving the Europa a certainly sense of fragility. There’s also the same Spartan, single-piece instrument binnacle as you get on the Elise – not good enough for a so-called up-market car. That said, the leather trim looks classy, while the engine and mechanics are well tested.

• Handling

  Far more focus and feedback than a Audi TT or similar, but the trade-off is a similarly focused ride and lack of relaxation at the wheel. Controls provide fantastic communication, but it’s all a bit much for a daily drive.

• Practicality

  Everything at Lotus is relative. Whereas the only pockets in the Elise are the ones in your trousers, the Europa at least has a five-inch deep pocket under the door sill in which you’ll easily fit, er, your fingers. That said, the boot is 40 litres bigger than in the Elise. Useful.

• Running costs

  30-odd mpg and 220g/km of CO2 is healthy enough, but the £34 grand list price spells trouble. The Europa doesn’t hold its value as well as its Elise sibling, which could just make it a second-hand bargain.