My Lotus Evora 400 - One Year and 15,000 Miles Later (Or, my very late 3000 subscriber special) 

Good review and second that. The Evora is a great car and just gets under your skin like a lot of stuff doesn't. People come up to me an are always interested in the car and the amount of free rides mine has done has been great.

I have my Lotus Evora 400 more then a year with 16500km with NO issues at all - I love my Lotus!!!

forgot to mention I have never had so much positive public reaction to the Lotus 410, wherever I go, everyone stops and asks what it is / how much they love lotus! in 3 months more praise than 10 years of Porsche ownership!

I just can't get over how that toyota engine sounds! Absolutely brilliant! Maybe the best v6 sound i've ever heard.

I do not understand how this guy has only 11k subs! The production quality is AMAZING!

3000 sub special!! You’ve come a long way J! Congratulations.

Awesome review. Considering the ego investment, you are very clear about the downsides. Love the fact that it has grown on you over the last year, and, saw an update when you mentioned that you would probably end up with THE SAME CAR if someone offered silly money for yours. Now its personalized (a little- and, tastefully), so, it's even more special to you... Good on you, and, thanks for all of the effort!

In the shot of you speaking behind the car, it is so hard not to just stare at it. So much presence.

God stuff, really look forward to trying it soon! And heartfelt congratulations on the channel's growth. It seems to have really shot up in the last few weeks and is well deserved!

You're videos are already so professional and I really feel like you get your point across so well. When you speak it's so fluid. Like when you speak you don't even need to rehearse what you planned for the video. It's as if you're just on a ride talking to us in the passenger seat. Because it's you. No flash. No fluff. Just truth. How you haven't already hit the 1million subscriber Mark just about astounds me, but I have no doubt that you will get there. With the quality you produce it's only a matter of time

Great review I admire your passion to these cars ..its a absolute stunner

Love the video and channel, keep it up, you've always got a fan base here.

I do the same thing. I still turn around and look at it every time I park. The lines r so much nicer in person.

Jay, enjoy your videos. I am a past 1990 Lotus Esprit Turbo SE owner. Last year I was waiting for the Evora 400 to arrive at Gator Motorsports in Indianapolis but there was delay after delay. I ended up buying a 2016 Nissan GTR. Gator called me 3 months later when the Evora 400 had arrived (so frustrating - not Gators fault). I did get to drive the Evora 400 at Putnam park thanks to them and absolutely loved the car. The sound is much better than the stock GTR. It is so light and the steering reminds me more of the Esprit. But we have found the GTR to be more practical. We use it regularly (12k miles) as a weekend/fun car. The GTR can accommodate people in the back, carry luggage and groceries. I have reached 180 mph and the GTR was so stable; it was completely without drama. I have had zero issues and the Nissan dealer has a GTR tech who takes great care of the car. New tires were $2k and will be n annual event. But, I would still love to own an Evora. After the Esprit, the issues you have had were minor. Thanks again!

Good video again. I had issues with my first 2010 Evora N/A, all sorted under warranty and the car was so much fun to drive I bought my current 2013 Evora S. It has been very reliable. As you know I did the Mille Miglia this year as a support car for the Ferrari Tribute. That really showed the strengths of the Evora on rough roads at high speed. My co-driver owns an F-type and he was amazed by the Evora, he thought it was fantastic to drive.

Absolutely love your 400, the yellow and black looks incredible, only the 410 with extra black piece on the front looks tougher. It’s my current just won the Lottery car. Keep up the great work 👍🏻

3000 subscribers at the time It’s mad to think how far you’ve come since this

Living the dream james!

another great video and another 1000 subscribers....keep up the inspired work

This is probably one of the best modern sports cars!

Looking forward to your video on the audio/electronics project. Appreciate your candor, but I would add that there are indeed faster cars for the money than the Evora but overall there are far fewer of them than there are slower cars. The Evora is not slow. You're just hanging out with a very fast crowd.

nice editing keep up the good work :)

trading in a bmw 5 series for one of these or exige as a second car. Have yet to drive one yet, but after watching your videos i feel this is one of the best choices for the look, the handling and price..... still c7 is really tempting...

If you had 3000 subscribers before you have many more now. One simple question from the audience... Do you find yourself fetching the keys to the Elise or the Evora more often? I have an S3 Elise and S1 Evora and I must admit going for the Evora more frequently than the Elise despite the quirks of an early Evora. The gearbox is appalling in 1st and 2nd but, at speed, it is fantastic. If you are ever back in the U.S. (Texas) you have a standing offer to come drive my Evora to see how it fares on our roads; driving left hand of course. A better option though would be to find someone willing to loan you a car in the Northeast or Mountain West, which have much better roads for the handling of the Evora (or Elise for that matter). Excellent videos... Looking forward to the GT430 review soon for those of us across the pond.

I can’t believe you sold this beauty.

Jay, You previously demonstrated a problem with the car which caused a horrible clicking/cracking noise from the front wheel area when moving the car slowly on full steering lock. I take it that problem has now been resolved and can I ask what was the cause?

Love the Lotus content

Nice car and sounds good

ok...the assembly issues i can understand as there is a time limit on the processes involved in production imposed upon the workers.it is a business after all and the money has to flow. i am seriously wondering about the suspension faults(alignment and the slack in the control arm if i remember correctly). also....what gave with the seats? what happened?

Such a lovely car

Is there a super wide-body Lotus available?? Also, I'm 6'-4" tall. Will it accommodate someone of my size comfortably?

Amazing car I hope to have one someday :)

Thanks for sharing your experience! A rather terrifying list of defects, despite Lotus' legendary performance. Here in Oz, a new Evora is AUD$230k (GBP140k), about the same as a 911. While reliability is not everything (otherwise we'd all be driving a Toyota Camry) I'd have to buy secondhand, where a Lotus seems a dangerous choice.

I love also the Evora's looks because it looks like a mid-engined Marcos but I hate the fact that continues to have kit-car quality issues.

jayemm..... how you feel on your reasons for choosing Evora over 911 etc is why i own a Dodge Viper SRT10. The Viper is extremely special and is sensational looking from every angle. Its a hell of a unique car. Enjoy your Evora :-) I sure do my Viper. Every single KM driven has been sheer fun fun fun! :-)

Aside from your car having issues, I know a couple of LOTUS owners, and they've never had any real issues with their cars. I think the "Lots Of Trouble, Usually Serious" name is finally in the past.

Great vid

I think one reason why HP doesn't feel as potent as it used to is because chassis tuning and more importantly tires can take more. But then you get into the issue of how fast you want to push on the road, or how much you can continue to spend on gummy tires for track days.

I have 2014 with no problems. Fit and finish are the best of all the cars I have owned. No leaks at all. No bell and whistles on mine, very plain.

best looking car by far

Going to have to make a cup of tea before watching this.

Why compare the performance to a 911 turbo, a much more expensive car? Or did you mean the 991.2? If the latter, is it really that much quicker than a 400 on a country road?

Got one ......i love it.....

Awesome car.

Wonder if someone 6ft5 could be comfy driving one of these, Love the look just worried about head room?

BEAUTIFUL CAR ! You only live once ! what do you do to afford cars like these ?

still no video for the stereo upgrade

Fabulous looking thing (the car! ) 😂 I want one!

fortunatly most of the problems you had ...as u said small things alot of us would not even care about except the control arm and oil sump thats it.

400hp is mooore than enough power in a light car for the road. It's useable power.

You are right about power steering. Hydraulic is so much better than electric. You can feel the road. But no power steering in light car is even better :) And if You want more power contact Komo-Tec - they can safely upgrade it for 460hp.

Would the 430 be enough " extra punch " ?

Love your vids! could you elaborate on the gear lever problem as I have the same issue on my car, when I've driven it for 30 mins the gear lever doesn't return to centre. Lotus are looking into it but they say the cable problem was solved in 2012? The car is absolutely mega though, the chassis of the 410 is the best I have ever driven and I'm a converted fan (Porsche mad before!)

I hope to find a used 2017 to test drive. I see a few close to me in manual so I hope to scratch that itch soon. I own a fairly quick car right now. The E400 is not faster but I have always liked Lotus. This car is stunning to see. The car I have is a low production car but nothing like this car. I sat in a 2018 E400. I have to say I am not sure that is has enough room for me. It felt a little cramped on the left side. I know that until I drive one I should not pass judgement. For me this is a step up as the used ones are still $80K. It will really have to knock my socks off in comparison to what I have now. Great review, thank you for the honesty.

That's alot of issues for a new car.

No major engine issues, it's a Toyota! bullet proof 👍🏼

Wait you only have 4k Subscribers, HOW??? I swear I thought this channel had a 100 thousand+ subs

Hi James, love your work. just would like to pick your brains with the Evora 400. have you found a way for the sat nav to pick up speed cameras? not that you would speed!

Man! That's a butt load of issues in less than a year of ownership. Maybe the yellow Evoras are lemons. See what I did there? I also own a yellow Evora and have had issues with brake rotors, dash splitting, headlights flaking and a window actuator failing. If only the entire car was as reliable as that tough little engine. Hope your issues are all behind you, mate.

so here's a question.. in the (I hope) longer term, what would 'make you' sell it ?

How reliable is it?

Is there anyway I can private message you James

James, I get a disclaimer saying the video clip is "unlisted" whatever that means. But maybe it means that you can "list" it to give it more viewers? The number of views in relation to when it was uploaded seems low to me.

Have you got your name down on the next GT4 yet ;-) had mine 2 years no faults to date :-)

Looks OK but you've had a ridiculous amount of serious faults on that car, you must be a far more patia t and tolerant person than me!

why does it look like Mike Myers is right behind you ? lol

Please make more videos on the EVORA 400 please. Is the gearbox reliable? I know the engine surely is.

Can you see yourself keeping for another year mate? and whot would you go for if you was getting out your 400 ?

How early in the production run was your car? Seems like they just hadn't quite sorted the build process.

Hi James, loving the content. .. I'm also a big fan of Lotus (previous esprit v8) and have been agonising over an affordable fun car. Having looked at a few Elise I went for my third Honda S2000! Comparison test with your Elise?

Is the evora 400 really worth at least 20k more than an evora s

Is possible to upgrade the pulleys and reflash the ecu? Wouldn't this potentially add 40hp to the car? Or would the transmission not be able to take it?

I want one, I been looking for one but I am still saving money.

Jay the kind of guy who doesn't have bumper to bumper warranty. :'(

my dad's Lotus Evora 400 blue tooth mic never worked from the factory

Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious. Always been told to keep away from them it's a shame really a bit more organisation they could be much better

Also worth a mention that my Porsche GT4 and Range Rover had problems straight from the factory, every brand can have issues........

Do you miss this car James,

Maybe the best solution is to buy a used Lotus hoping all the “issues” have been worked out. Because this is a totally unacceptable number of problems for a new (especially expensive) car.

Well.. time to get a GT4 instead :)

What amazes me is how much you praise this car, yet never mention the reliability of the Toyota based powerplant. Even after you list almost a dozen problems related to poor Lotus build quality.

What do you think about the Evora S?

This car has a Toyota powertrain so it is reliable.

yellow for lemon

Did you say old fashioned and hydraulic in the same sentence? really?

All that in 6 months huh. I would have blew it that car fuck up. I had my Aston now for 20 months. Had to have a screw tightened right below the convertible top was making a rattling noise. That would be it.

Living 180miles from the closest dealer stops me from considering one

James. I bought a lotus 400. But hate the seats as you do. They are too big for car. Difficult to reach arm behind. To place stuff in the back. And amusing the clips to hold material on the Sparcos should not come loose. Who’s seats did you go with. I also thought the recarros in the previous generation. m.ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-eHHuEZ7GMT0.html

It beggars belief that a relatively low volume producer like Lotus which desperately needs to improve its reputation would let a car leave the factory with such glaring and serious faults.

That's the problem with yellow cars, they tend to be lemons...

Wow first world problems... vehicle gets me everywhere with no 'transportation' issues, but the paint gets dirty because the clear coat was shabby.

Those little troubles that you don't get from German cars. Become part of the Lotus love. Lite is rite.

In the USA if you buy a BMW or a Porsche people think you are an A-hole but you would be automatically liked more for owning an Evora.

So many stupid problems. Was this car assembled in China?

Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious

Got a Toyota engine, and STILL an unreliable POS, which is damn-depressing, because I really like these cars. :-(

No way that would still be in my garage if I had the trouble you have had. I love the look of this car but that is way too much hassle. I have always had an infatuation with Lotus. Maybe you purchased one that was just built on an off day. I love the look of your car, No offense intended. I just don't have the patience for the hassle that you have endured.

Jesus, the issue list is ridiculous! I don't think I'm buying one.

Sorry James it may be a good car but those black wheels are horrible.

Recarros were better.