Best of the Z4 35iS, an Evora owners perspective

T

techathy

Active member
6 Months ago I swapped my Z4 35iS for a '09 Lotus Evora LE. With that in mind these are my top 5 best and worst things about my 35iS

Best:
1. The Heater; it turns out not all heaters are born equal. The one in the 35iS seems to be particularity good at going from -5C to roasting hot in a matter of minutes.
2. Engine/exhaust noise; The the low rumble at idle, the perfectly judged pops and bangs on overrun and gun-shot crack up-shifts under hard acceleration... I could go on.
3. Low-rpm torque; The Z4 surged forwards on a wave of >450Nm from 1500rpm, the Evora doesn't properly even wake up until 3500rpm. While both are smooth, the Z4 pulled off this effortless feel where the Evora seems to be trying but not achieving anything.
4. 7-speed DTC box; Somewhere between a manual & automatic gearbox there's the perfect compromise, it's the 'box they put in the 35iS.
5. Cabin layout & usability; BMW know how to lay out a cabin in a logical, easy to use manner with great tactile feedback on every switch, button and dial. Lotus doesn't.

Worse:
1. The ever present hunt for the source of this months rattle, squeak or creaking; :|
2. Steering & handling; While the Z4 can be made to cover ground very quickly, it forces you into a very particular style of driving. The Evora is a Lotus.
3. Engine/exhaust noise; More specifically the cold start noise levels... At 4:30am 103dB is :thumbsdown:, by comparison the Evora is 85 dB.
4. Motorway noise; A had a Lotus Elise courtesy car, it had less tyre & wind noise.
5. Throttle response/mapping; Sure it's better than a lot of cars but compared to the Evora it's just wrong - it's never liner, there's turbo lag, there's ECU input smoothing.

And before I get
:worthless:

Here's my Lotus Evora:
125922_sm.jpg
 
Good post - lovely Evora too. Interesting points about refinement/noise in the BMW.
 
How forgiving is the Evora when you push the limits of physics, or are you still getting there?

Otherwise gorgeous shape & colour.
 
MrPT said:
Good post - lovely Evora too. Interesting points about refinement/noise in the BMW.
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It's an interesting comparison but kind of gives the wrong impression. Yes tyre & wind noise levels are lower (in-cabin dB is lower), however the noise that dominates in the Elise is a heavy exhaust drone. This means despite being quieter the noise in the Elise is much more draining.

Jembo said:
How forgiving is the Evora when you push the limits of physics, or are you still getting there?
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When it lets go it's a very sudden as you're extracting a lot of grip from the tyre before any slip happens. The flip side is you get loads of warning this is going to happen, so while it's sudden it's not a surprise.

Jembo said:
Otherwise gorgeous shape & colour.
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Actually the colour is the one thing that put me off this car for a while. If I was planning to keep it longer than a year or so I'd have it wrapped dark green or red. The problem is it's an expensive car to have wrapped.

djstan said:
The Evora looks like a very cool car! How long does it take to get the roof off? :poke:
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The problem isn't taking the roof off... it' putting it back on again :rofl:
 
ph001 said:
Great post. Now can we have a best and worst re the Evora? :thumbsup:
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Best:
1. Handling & steering; Precise, communicative & perfectly weighted. Despite being bigger than the Z4 it's much easier to fit down narrow roads due to this.
2. The interior; While the layout is clumsy the actual environment is very good, this is especially so in the Launch Edition which has two-tone cream and black leather
3. Forward visibility/view; The frontward +/-100 degrees visibility probably the best of any car I've driven. You can see very little of the car but what you can see look epic and precisely defines where the car ends. Also the view in the wing mirrors are dominated by the view of the rear arches and air intakes.
4. Ride quality; On 19"/20" rims this has the same ride quality as my 35iS on 18" wheels and non-RFT tyres, mine is rolls on 18"/19" wheels. This an N/A so has a softer ride than the Evora S and Evora 400. This means you can cross UK B-roads very quickly. Often find the faster you go over uneven road the better the ride quality.
5. Ground clearance; On speed bumps and back roads which are breaking down about the only way to get more is buy an SUV.

Worst:
1. Pedal reach/clutch weight; At 5'6/168cm I'm actually a little too short for the car to properly reach the rather heavy clutch.
2. Heater & AC; They work, but take ages to get going and aren't that effective.
3. Rear visibility; There's apparently some, but I'm yet to find it... thankfully a reversing camera was/is standard
4. Gear change; It's bad, this is a known issue for early cars.
5. Headlights; They're okay but seem to have a very little side spread on the dipped beam.
 
Marlon said:
Very informative comparison - thanks, the Evora looks stunning what's it pushing out?
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Only 276bhp, but is 300kg lighter than my 35iS so about the PWR as the published 35iS stats.
 
Evora looks lovely, good choice. Presumably quite favourable depreciation wise over the Z aswell? How's servicing/warranty?
 
djstan said:
The Evora looks like a very cool car! How long does it take to get the roof off? :poke:
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Important question indeed. :wink: But even more important.....Where is the whippy. :o

Cracking car OP :thumbsup:
 
Chris1712 said:
Evora looks lovely, good choice. Presumably quite favourable depreciation wise over the Z aswell? How's servicing/warranty?
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The Evora has lost 50% of its list price in 9 years, the Z4 did it in 3. Servicing is expensive at £500-£1150 every year or 9k miles. Both the Porsche 718 and BMW i8 are noticeably cheaper on servicing.

buzyg said:
But even more important.....Where is the whippy. :o
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She never had such an appendage :rofl:

P.S. This thread didn't go the way I was expecting :oops:
 
Thanks for your post and very interesting.

By way of contrast my 35is, at 59450 miles, does not have the slightest of rattles or squeaks.
The best car I have ever owned. A bit thirsty at times but a 3.0L twin turbo is always going to be.
 
From a driving dynamics perspective, surely it’s gotta be the Evora all the way.
 
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