Lotus Europa - really that bad ?

Sneaky Peaky

Sneaky Peaky

Sneaky Peaky

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Joined
21 Jan 2003
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Farnborough, Hants
Saw one of these on the road today, must admit I had pretty much forgotten about them and seem to remember they weren't received very well at the time.

Anyways - it looked absolutely fabulous in metallic grey and gunmetal wheels so I had a quick look on PH and there seems you can pick up a low mileage S for under 20k :eek:

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1060915.htm

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1105284.htm

Must be a bargain surely ? Looks loads more car for the money however of course looks aren't everything. Anyone own or driven one ?

Lolz at the number plate on this one - GNOB KFC :D :D

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/803987.htm
 
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i remember looking at them when they first came out, my dad was interested and he went for a test drive. He eventually went for an RX8.

They look nice but I always thought about all the other cars you could get for that money.
 
I had fun against one of these....they are pretty quick! I gave in and let him passed as I don't know my car that well, but I was impressed!

I think it was the SE, which is nippy to say the least!
 
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But are these worth the extra money over an Elise?

I've only ever seen one on the road which is quite a shock since the surrounding area is saturated with sports / super and to some extent hypercars.

I can think of many cars i would rather have for 20 - 28k and i think thats part of its problem.
 
Firestar_3x said:
I can think of many cars i would rather have for 20 - 28k and i think thats part of its problem.
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They would be older though. The problem you are then left with is anyone who is buying a car like this wants it to be superb, regardless of its age. Anyone buying a car like this because of the numberplate is going to want a less spartan interior.

The Europa really can't win.
 
The VXT is cheaper and offers similar performance, there's also an abundance of Elises to choose from. It's a good car, just a bit difficult to get excited about as everyone knows it was a model to fill a space in the range that perhaps didn't need to be filled.
 
Muncher said:
The VXT is cheaper and offers similar performance, there's also an abundance of Elises to choose from. It's a good car, just a bit difficult to get excited about as everyone knows it was a model to fill a space in the range that perhaps didn't need to be filled.
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The VX's are getting old and tatty though. You can pick up near-new Europa's for around the 20k mark.
 
Muncher said:
It's a good car, just a bit difficult to get excited about as everyone knows it was a model to fill a space in the range that perhaps didn't need to be filled.
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Fill a space in Proton's product range if the rumours at the time were to be believed.

Europa isn't a bad car at all, it's a bit larger, bit softer and a bit heavier than the Elise
I wouldn't buy one over an Elise though.

Although - the one with £110'000 worth of diamonds on it looked alright. ;) I'd give them £35 for it.
 
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