Phlissy

I've remembered another Evora trait that I'm finding really amazing; it's bloody good fun even at 'sensible speeds'. One thing I found with my previous Boxsters, is that they only really came to life when pushed. Driving at normal speeds and in traffic was, well, a bit boring and like being in any other car. That certainly can't be said for the Evora! Yes, it's sublime when pushed. But I also really enjoy the driving experience when it's not right or possible to be blasting about. I guess that's down to a combination of the steering feel, the geometry, the view inside and out, and the noise. Owning an Evora is a great reminder of how important it is that a performance car still puts a smile on your face when, frankly, you can't go any faster than the other cars around you. In the past, I've sometimes wondered what the point of sports cars is in the UK, given all the traffic, speed cameras and iffy weather. The Evora solves that issue. It's a fabulous car to drive in any situation.

I've had my 400 for a few months now, and I want to briefly share a couple of aspects of my ownership experience, so anyone thinking of buying an Evora who has come to TLF to do some research can find this. My Evora is my daily driver, and I do up to about 12,000 miles a year. Aside from short trips and early morning blasts just for thrills, I travel long distances with a decent amount of luggage for work and my sport, which is skydiving. And as you can imagine that involves a fair bit of kit. So how does the Evora cope with this life? How well does it meet the combined demands of short-distance blaster and long-distance hauler? In a word; flawlessly. The Evora is nothing short of brilliant. Miraculous even! I am totally amazed and massively impressed by how well this car deals with every demand I place on it. (Well, OK. Maybe not every demand. I drove it to IKEA once and you can't get a wardrobe in it. But, you should have heard it in the cavernous carpark there! Awesome!) I'll share with you two real-world examples of why I'm so impressed by the Evora. Firstly, luggage capacity. If you're thinking of buying an Evora but are worried that it can't carry much, think again. Wardrobes aside, 'lack of cargo space' is not a valid reason to deny yourself the pleasure of Evora ownership. I've driven to the airport with four parachutes in the boot and a full-size 25kg suitcase on the back seats, and I still had the passenger seat for more stuff. On the more domestic side of life, the boot plus rear seats easily swallows a massive Sainsbury's trolley full of shopping. Brilliant! Secondly, long distances. Yesterday, I had a 170 mile drive home from Milton Keynes to Exeter, which went like this; 90 minutes of blasting through Oxfordshire with the sun shining, windows down, sport button on and me laughing out loud at the sheer bloody hilarity of it. Followed by settling onto the M4 for 90 minutes of serene and comfortable motorway cruising with windows up, sport off and stereo on. I hopped out at home with zero aches and one massive grin. Seriously, I'm astounded by how the Evora 400 can be equally excellent at totally mental blasting and smooth cruising. I'm 6' 2'', and over distance I'm honestly more comfortable in my Evora than my previous C-Class Merc. I bought the Evora because I was bored with the Merc, and having owned (and loved) a couple of Boxsters before (sorry), I wanted to get back into something FUN. Before I bought the Evora, I looked at the Boxster/Cayman again, but was put off by the latest 4cyl engine. The 911? Too soft in my opinion. I wanted to get the driving experience back, unfettered by too much padding. My Wife has a Suzuki Ignis, and that thing is is a right laugh because it's pure driving. I wanted that, but not in an Ignis. I know the analogue driving experience isn't for everyone. I guess the majority of the marketplace wants the extra padding and tech in cars like the 911. But for me, the Evora 400 is the perfect car. I think it's miraculous that a small-volume, niche manufacturer in Norfolk has created a car that is this damn capable! I know this is said a lot in the Lotus community, but why the hell does every journalist use the Cayman and 911 as the benchmarks for comparing other sports cars? They're awesome cars for sure, but for anyone after a truly special driving experience - this is it right here. Evora all the way. Oh - final point for anyone not convinced yet. The drop-dead looks and rarity of the Evora makes you feel like a goddamn rock-star driving it around! This amount of head-turning usually costs £200k+ Right. The sun's out again. I'm off for a drive.

Thanks @Bravo73. You're right, my analogue speedo is back to displaying the correct speed again. What a weird little quirk!

So, as per the subject really! I noticed this morning that the analogue speedo in my Evora 400 is reading a good 10mph or so more than the digital one. GPS confirms that the digital one is correct (as much as they ever are!). Is this a known 'feature'? I've done a quick search and couldn't find much. ...which is usually a cue for someone to share many, many links to other posts, showing how inept I am at searching.

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Fixed! I asked Howards Lotus in Weston-Super-Mare to check with Lotus if it's a known issue (and also cover my backside in case I brick the headunit!). They kindly asked both Lotus and Alpine, and Alpine advised a factory reset, which sorted the issue.

Interesting... I shied away from hitting the factory reset button due to fear of creating a tedious job of setting everything up again. But maybe that's worth a go. Thanks @100th_Idiot.

Thanks @nigelh. My Evora is under Lotus warranty 'till April, so I'm going to see what Lotus says first. I tried a firmware update yesterday, but the headunit failed to detect the USB drive. Something screwy definitely going on.

Thanks @Bruss. Has anyone flashed the firmware on the Alpine INE-W990BT? Does it create more problems than it's worth or do Alpine do a decent job of elegantly maintaining user settings, for instance for the rear view camera?

I've looked hard but I've failed to find any info about this - the USB connection on my Alpine INE-W990BT seems to be dead. Any iPhone I plug in isn't recognised by the headunit and the phone doesn't charge. I've had the headunit out to check the USB connection at the back, and it's all plugged in OK. I plugged an Apple cable straight into the headunit and still no joy, so it's looking like a software issue. Strange... It was fine up until a day or so ago. I'm wondering if the cause is that my iPhone may have updated automatically and now no longer plays nicely with Alpine. So my next thought is to try a firmware update and/or a factory reset, but does anyone know if that's a bad idea? Will my reversing camera setup and 'Evora 400' startup logo get trashed? Has anyone else with a INE-W990BT had their USB connectivity die?

+1 on the instructions and source of the badge please @SH! Great job, looks better. I have the same interior colour scheme as you, and I do think that the yellow steering wheel emblem stands out a bit too much. Black looks better.

Fixed! The mic was plugged into the IR remote port.

Brilliant, thanks @internets

Since getting my rattly dash fixed, the mic on my Alpine INE-W990BT no longer works. I've bluetooth paired the headunit with a couple of phones to rule out the possibility that my phone is the culprit, and the car's mic is dead in all cases. So, I think the likelihood is that the mic has become unplugged from the back of the headunit whilst the dash was removed. It's a 125 mile round-trip to my nearest Lotus dealer, so I'd like to avoid that. Does anyone know if getting to the back of the headunit is a simple case of using the appropriate tools to just slide it out? Or is it bolted in and only accessible by dismantling the dashboard? If it's the former, I think I'll just visit a local ICE specialist.

I was in the sweetie shop that is Howards Lotus today. An irresistible GT410 there, waiting in the warm for a lucky future owner. Whilst an equally pulchritudinous 400 waits outside in the drizzle for its lucky owner - me!