Review
Lotus has long had ambitions of offering a rival for cars like the Audi TT and Porsche Cayman - and the Europa is meant to be that car. Based on the same chassis as the Elise, Lotus claim the Europa is comfortable and refined enough to be used as an everyday supercar.
At this point reality diverges dramatically from the PR script. By the standards of the Elise and Exige the Europa might be a comfortable long-distance cruiser - but compared to other cars in the segment it's cramped, uncomfortable and noisy - not to mention expensive.
Design lacks the fluency and grace of recent Lotus products (it's rumoured to have been originally conceived as a Proton-branded supercar). It looks ungainly and over-detailed. More importantly, it's bigger external dimensions haven't translated into any significant improvement in practicality over the Elise. It's still a two-seater and occupants still have to enter awkwardly through a narrow door aperture and over the fat sill. At least there's a proper boot accessed via a conventional tailgate, albeit a tiny one crammed in behind the mid-mounted engine.
On the road the Europa's case improves. It drives pretty much as you'd expect a slightly larger Elise too, with brilliant steering and an agile, adjustable chassis. Power comes from a turbocharged Vauxhall engine, as previously seen in the VX220 Turbo - performance is strong, at the expense of a unpleasantly loud exhaust note and lots of drone at cruising speed.