which took in a good mixture of roads. The demonstrator is not run in yet (700 miles or so) so I can't really comment on speed. Graeme kindly allowed all 5 foot 2 of Mrs XCL to sit in the front while he climbed in the back, it's not big but perfectly usable.The immediatly noticable thing from the passenger seat was how well composed was the rode and how quiet it was compared to my Exige, and I've always been really impressed with the ride in the Exige. However the big take away for me was the quality of the steering, despite being power assisted it still dances away telling you exactly what's going on, how this is possible with PAS I don't know. The other thing I noticed was how much easier the gear change was than the exige. I took a few corners on the test route with reasonable enthusiasm which it easily took in it's stride.
To balance this the demonstrator did has a couple of tiny niggles with the trim and a slight whine from the pas pump but nothing that won't be easily resolved. I understand all quality issues are being fed back from the dealers and then corrected on the line, which is good to hear.
I would sum it up as being a much more grown up proposition than the exige but still with the Lotus magic (steering and suspension) that we all want. At the end to easily get out I had to push the seat back a bit so still has some character too.
Great car, but not sure the Club Racer will be giving up its place on the drive just yet, but when it does I will seriously consider the Evora, for me it was just more absorbing than any of its "competitors".
