PARIS 2010: LOTUS DEBUTS ETERNE HYBRID SEDAN CONCEPT

When we think of Lotus, the words "hybrid" and "sedan" aren't exactly the first words that come to mind. Now, though, Lotus is changing all that with the introduction of its Eterne concept, a four-door sedan with an optional hybrid powertrain. This may be a big step in a different direction for Lotus, but it's nothing new. The Eterne takes the same shape as the Porsche Panamera, Aston Martin Rapide and Audi A7 Sportback.

Like the new Esprit concept, the Eterne is powered by a 620-horsepower, 5.0-liter V8 sourced from Toyota. The optional hybrid drivetrain uses a Formula 1-style KERS energy recuperation system, and the Lotus sedan will be available in both rear- and all-wheel drive. Of course, this is still a Lotus, so good performance numbers are an absolute must, and we're told that the Eterne will run to 60 miles per hour in just 4.0 seconds on its way to a top speed of 196 mph.

While merely a concept at this point, Lotus says that the Eterne is slated for production in 2015 and that the sedan will cost around $190,000.

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PARIS 2010: LOTUS ELISE CONCEPT EVOLVES THE SPORTS CAR

There's no denying that Lotus had lost its way prior to the release of the much-loved Elise. The company that Colin built had strayed from its roots of lightweight sports cars and drifted towards the exotic realm... and it had drastic effects on the company's bottom line. Thankfully, the Elise and its hard-core cousin, the Exige, set the company back on the straight and narrow.

All of this begs the question, though: How do you update a modern classic like the Elise? Lotus' answer is currently being shown off at the Paris Motor Show. Here are the basics: 320 horsepower from a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine procured from Toyota, a six-speed manual and optional paddle-shifted automatic transmission, and a 2,409-pound curb weight. This supercharged model can hit 62 in 4.3 seconds. Price? $55,000.

For those keeping track of such things, which is to say nearly all of you, that is indeed heavier and more expensive than the current Elise... and that's not good. Fortunately, Lotus promises that there will be less expensive versions of the 2015 Elise available, presumably without the benefit of forced induction. There will also be both hard-and soft-top models on offer.

What all Elises will offer, though, is a more luxurious cabin and easier entry and exit. We're loving the look of the interior, with its pod-like binnacle of instruments, steering wheel with F1-style progressive shift lights and its digital rendering of race circuits for those venturing out the the track. As for the exterior, well, let's just say we're not quite on board yet with what Lotus designers have planned for the brand's future. Fortunately they have plenty of time to change our minds.

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LOTUS EXIGE

The track-attack Elise with a bolted-in roof and fixed wing. Still the same basic power unit, but with significant suspension revisions and some very serious tyres, the Exige will take on the twistiest of roads and leave you grinning for a week.

• Comfort

  A fixed roof means that there's not even the escape of sunny days to make getting into an Exige a pleasurable experience for those of us not into physical torture. It's loud, angry and never stops shouting about what's going on in and around the car. Tiring as hell, but we wouldn't have it any other way.

• Performance

  The Exige comes with a supercharged 1.8-litre Toyota four-pot that produces 218bhp. That means a 0-62mph time of 4.3 seconds and atop speed of 148mph - but that doesn't tell the whole story. The Exige is about what goes on in a corner, and what goes on in an Exige is quite a lot. You just can't beat it for sheer exuberance.

• Cool

  Utterly brilliant, totally impractical and one of the only cars that can carry off lime green. We love it.

• Quality

  The Exige really hasn't got much in the way of stuff to go wrong, but build quality looks to be super strong. Track day abuse seems to be shrugged off by all but the tyres and perhaps clutch, so it's a good thing to get involved with.

• Handling

  If the Elise is high-def then the Exige is everything the Elise is, plus broadband and a free phone line. The steering really has to be felt to be believed, and the sheer cornering force is a joy once you work out how to get the best from the car. This is not a slow-in fast-out motor, but a fast-in-carry-speed-and-fast-out kind of car. And yet you could still use it everyday. If you were mental.

• Practicality

  Hahahahahah. Sniff. Hahahahahah. Excuse us. No, not really. See the Elise, then knock off all the bits that had you thinking ‘I could just about manage with one then...'

• Running costs

  Surprising mpg (you'll get about 31.0mpg even with the S'charger) and low-(ish) C02 mean that the Exige is OK to run. Group 20 insurance isn't great, but residuals are solid.

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LOTUS EVORA

• Performance

  Power comes via a Toyota-sourced 3.5-litre V6 that generates a modest 276bhp, but is bolstered by a mere 1,382kg kerbweight. The Evora will hit 60mph in just under five seconds and pass 160mph, but still claims to be capable of 32.5mpg and emit just 205g/km of CO2. A great balance of performance and economy.

• 
  HandlingQuality

  It may be a £50k Lotus but it's stil a Lotus. So the inside smells of glue and feels slightly fragile. Grip the lovely flat-bottomed steering wheel and you realise that you cannot see even one of the vital ancillary controls that have been so beautifully crafted to sit flush into the dash directly behind your fists.
• The all-new chassis is mostly bonded aluminium and markedly stiffer than an Elise. This helps the Evora feel remarkably composed and responsive to the slightest steering input. There is more grip here than you could consider challenging and stunning levels of progressive, assertive braking. Lotus has included power steering for the first time in ages, but has done it well. It feels correctly weighted at any speed and avoids that over-assistance that could so readily have ruined a vital part of the Hethel DNA, while still feeling composed and reassuring under power. In the right hands, in the right conditions, the Evora is devastatingly quick.

• Practicality

  The 2+2 layout is the typical tokenism that we all know and despair of in sports cars. The rear is a squash even for the very young, and the boot is too small and awkward in consequence. For £1,500 less, you can have a parcel shelf instead of rear seats and accept the Evora as a comfortable two-seater.

• Running costs

  Despite its supercar performance, the running costs are more like a saloon's. It returns over 30mpg and emits 205g/km of CO2. And Lotuses historically retain a good chunk of their value.

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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.

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LOTUS ELISE

There’s a good word that sums up the Elise, and that word is ‘connected’. In a world where cars are more and more divorced from both driver and road, the lightweight Elise is a sportscar that still delivers the best seat-of-the-pants feel this side of a Caterham.

• Comfort

  Better than before, in that it now won't actually cripple and deafen you in the first 30 miles. Just getting into the thing is a hilarious business, and once inside the ergonomics are terrible - the Elise is very focussed, so heaters and radios are added in later. Much easier entry and egress with the roof off, but it's a pain to replace quickly if there's a snap rain shower.

• Performance

  The Elise isn't actually that shattering when it comes to out-and-out shove - it's more to do with the purity of the driving experience. That said, it's not slow; nowadays the Elise is powered by a Toyota 1.8 with variable valve timing that produces 134bhp in basic 1.8 S form, 189bhp as a 1.8R and 217bhp in the supercharged variant. That gives 0-62mph times that drop in a similar order; 5.8, 5.2 and 4.4, with top speeds that rise accordingly; 127mph, 147mph and 150mph.

• Cool

  The Elise manages to walk the fine tightrope between enthusiast's machine and look-at-me poseur mobile, with probably a little more of the former. So it's cool, but not as cool as an Exige.

• Quality

  Modern Elises feel like they could be taken to a track and abused without falling to bits, but then there's not that much inside to break. Don't be worried if the aluminium tub creaks and rattles a bit - there's little sound deadening and most of the interior is bare metal. The pop-in-pop-out roof bars sometimes have dodgy seals too - but that's not a big worry.

• Handling

  The Elise makes even a trip to the shops an adventure, with steering so feelsome it's like running the palm of your hand down the tarmac itself. You can feel road cambers that you won't have a clue about from the helm of any sports saloon, and when the car starts to reach the limits of its considerable grip, your bum will telegraph the situation to you well in advance.

• Practicality

  If there was a sliding scale of practicality with 1 being the worst and 10 being the best, the Elise would be somewhere around -2 with the Lamborghini Diablo SV and the TukTuk motor tricycle. There is a boot behind the engine, but it tends to cook whatever is stored there. Squashy bags are OK, but space everywhere else is at a premium. And don't expect to arrive and be able to emerge gracefully - unless you're 5ft tall, the Elise will strip your ego bare.

• Running costs

  Not a bad choice if you want a tidy driving experience and you still want to be able to use your face and heart afterwards. The engines are clean and that means 27-percent company car tax - fancy that - though insurance is high at group 20 all round. Economy is also pretty reasonable given the Elise's performance potential - the 1.8R will get 32.1mpg and the 1.8 an even better 34mpg.

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