wbgordon

I knew this day would come, and I wasn't looking forward to it. This is my seventh Porsche since 1999 (four of them 911s) and easily the most satisfying of the driving experiences I've had. I love this car, the look, the feel, the responsiveness, but most of all the uniqueness. It's a head turner like none of the other P-cars I've owned.

But, as with everything else in life, all good things must come to pass, and I've now crossed the 40k threshold on the odometer. It was either get a new P-car (nothing in the current lineup moves me like this car and 911s have priced themselves out of the market), get it pre-certified and commit to a couple more years or move on. I've decided it's time to try something new.

I've put money down on a Lotus Evora S and will take delivery next week. Yes, it's a gamble, and I may live to regret it, but I'm ready for something new. At least my hearing will improve now that I won't be listening to that hyper-buzzy sport exhaust every day.

I'll keep visiting from time to time.

terbiumactivated

Not to be Ned Negative but the Evora was soundly spanked by a normal Cayman S. Sometimes change for the sake of change isn't good. I sincerely hope you adore the Evora but I'd place money that you will miss the spyder.

wbgordon

From a practical point of view, can't argue with anything you said. Porsche makes the best everyday driver cars in the world. Couple things were going through my head. No. 1, that I'd driven back-to-back Boxsters, an '08 S and then this car, and coming off the Spyder I felt I was being set up for a letdown. No. 2, the new Cayman is very nice but doesn't offer the visceral feel of the Spyder. It's a beautiful car but it has a certain corporateness to it that fails to excite me. Perhaps if there was an R version to consider, I wouldn't be here having this conversation (and based on P-car inflation, it would probably be priced in the mid-90s).

The Evora S isn't a particularly visceral car -- it did live up to my hopes performance-wise -- but it represents a new feel in high performance at a very reasonable price, and it looks great. I was able to pick up a brand-new 2012 stickered at 91k for 78k, which made a huge difference in my thinking. It's luxurious, the supercharged Toyota 3.5 is quick (4.3ish to 60), it handles like a b**** and the styling is gorgeous. Lotus is out to steal Porsche drivers, and they succeeded here.



After 14 years of driving P-cars, I'm a lifer. I love the brand, love the heritage, love the commitment to quality, love the way the dealer treated me. This feels akin to cheating on your wife. I felt a need to branch out, and I'm doing it. We'll see how it goes.

Zeus993

Keep us posted brother. I've looked at those in town too and they are very unique. Any frunk or truck space?

wbgordon

No frunk and limited trunk.



But there is also a jump seat -- the car is offered in a 2+2 -- with roughly the equivalent space to a 911. So almost a wash with the Spyder.

tcsracing1

how much did you get for your spyder with those miles?

terbiumactivated

WBGordon, Just to be clear, the Lotus is beautiful and represents a car many people will die wishing they had a chance to drive in this life. Your comments about Porsche pricing are salient, my Spyder has what's supposed to be a fancier dead pedal and it was like $400 bucks, it's just a slab of plastic with fake chrome if it costs more than five dollars to make I'd be shocked. My guess is when the day comes that a price fighter sports car starts to erode their sales they will bling up a VW and allow that to compete as to not sully their stable of sports cars. The one thing Porsche did really well is give me enough luggage space to go on a legit vacation in it.

mrd_spy

Should have got a cayman r

theporscheguy

I've branched out on more than one occasion and always find myself coming back to Porsche. I think that you will too.

wbgordon

Thanks, guys, for contributing to this thread and I'll respond to your comments one by one.

46,800. Probably not as much as if I listed privately, but a very reasonable allowance. Plus trading helps offset the sales tax.

That's exactly where Lotus sees itself fitting in, as a lower-priced alternative. That's not to say you're necessarily going to get all that you expect from a Porsche at the lower cost, but the fact remains that P-car pricing has shot through the roof over the past couple years. You can't even get a base 911 anymore for under 100k. I even saw a 94k 2013 Boxster S for sale the other day. It's crazy.

Why? I'd be going right back into the situation I was trying to avoid, a car moving out of the factory warranty. Granted, the Cayman R is a great car, but it just wouldn't make sense for me, and it would essentially feel like driving the same car with a roof attached. And to those who assume the Cayman R blows away the Evora S, you might want to rethink that. The Evora is worthy alternative.

http://www.automobilemag.com/reviews...s/viewall.html

Great comment. Porsche fits like a well-worn glove. Beautiful cars, peak performance, precision engineering, reliability, heritage. Hard to beat that combination. As much as I loved my 2007 Carrera S, I loved the Spyder even better. My favorite car ever.

tcsracing1

should have installed a 3.8L

Schmidts Cat

So to clarify, you are going to take a $30,000 depreciation hit over the next 3 years on the lotus to avoid the possibility of a $5,000 Porsche repair bill? Makes no sense to me. Besides, I drove the evora s at Laguna seca for the launch event... On local streets around the area too. It plain did nothing for me. Felt like a Camry (with no dead pedal). Looks cool.

clutchplate

Had a dozen Porsches so far but departed and bought a Lotus Eilse awhile ago. Truly a memorable car and I don't think you'll have regrets owning the Evora. Love the current Porsche lineup and have a 981 but would be perfectly happy if I had gone the Lotus route again.

wbgordon

So Porsches don't depreciate and the repair bills cap at 5k? Lol, that would equate to a 66% residual on a 36-month lease, not bad for any car. This has obviously gone personal. I'm okay with it, and I may eat crow along with some dollars. Life is one big risk pool. Cheers.

Schmidts Cat

No, not personal. I am all for driving all the cars I can in this life! And I don't lease, so perhaps that makes total sense from that perspective.