Overall rating:

If Lotus is to overtake the world, as it seems set upon, then it needs to look further afield than Europe. That's what the automatic Evora IPS is: a car to sell to Americans and Asians that don't like using the stick.

Key Facts

Pricing: from £51,100 (IPS £1,500 option)
Engine: 3.5-litre V6 petrol
Transmission: six-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive
Body style: two-door coupé
Rivals: Porsche Cayman, BMW Z4, Mercedes-Benz SLK
CO₂ emissions: 208g/km
Combined economy: 32.1mpg
Top speed: 155mph
0-62mph: 5.5 seconds
Power: 276bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 258lb.ft at 4,600rpm
Weight: 1,436kg

In the Metal:

Lotus has noticeably improved the interior quality of the Evora since we first drove it during the 2009 launch. Happily we can report that, even though the new touch screen infotainment system suffers from a quite cheesy graphical interface, nothing squeaked or rattled during this two-hour or so test.

It's difficult to escape feeling mildly cramped in the car, but then that sense of encasement will appeal to some [Ed's note: Mark is taller than average...]. Lotus might call it cosseting, and the driving position is superb. Rear visibility is dominated by an engine cover, and some of the switchgear is placed more aesthetically than ergonomically, but these are minor complaints.

Driving it:

You already know how we feel about the Evora's sublime ride/handling compromise, and so too the steering's superlative-generating qualities. (If you don't, see our first drive and our test of the Evora S.) Those things haven't changed, and there was always the potential for an automatic Evora to in some ways make those attributes more positive, by allowing the driver to focus more attention on them. Sadly, that's not quite the case.

Yes, the company has done a good job of converting what was designed as a Lexus comfort gearbox (the same transmission is found in the RX) into a quick shifting track companion, but an automatic Evora feels like a compromised one.

By nature of using a torque convertor, the IPS (Intelligent Precision Shift) gearbox is great at handling the low speed stuff: in standard mode the changes are quick and placid and it chases top gear early. But the niggles start when you begin to drive the Evora as it's supposed to be driven.

The original Toyota gearbox control unit has been reprogrammed to give it more feel, more thump and more rawness. And it certainly has those qualities, especially in Sport mode, when there's a noticeable thwack on up-changes and a throttle blip assigned to every downshift. It's also designed to specifically avoid shifting gears mid-corner.

The idea of that, as you may know, is to prevent an ill-timed gearshift jolting the chassis and throwing the car off course while it's on the limit of grip. Sadly, the threshold has evidently been set on a racetrack, so you've got to be pulling some serious g-force for the system to work - the sort of g most occasions don't call for. The result: mid corner gear changing and post corner vexation when you're one gear higher than you want to be.

Of course, shift to manual mode and you override the problem. The paddles feel good, too, with a heavily damped clack.

What you get for your Money:

Despite Lotus having hit its current sales target for the Evora, shifting around 2,000 so far, you can't help but feel that it's very ambitiously priced. IPS is a £1,500 option, which represents pretty good value, but the car itself is around ten thousand pounds more than a Porsche Cayman with PDK, and with nothing like the German's build quality.

Plus, it's very easy to spend big on options, with all kinds of packs including stuff like a reversing camera, bigger wheels, more leather for the interior, various styling bits and bobs, Bluetooth and a cinema-spec stereo.

Worth Noting

If you're wondering why Lotus didn't go down the twin clutch route, it wasn't just down to cost. Weight, durability and refinement were behind the decision: the Toyota unit is mechanically proven, weighs only 50kg and as anyone who's driven early DSG knows, a twin clutch design can very occasionally put the neck of a braking driver in harm's way by downshifting aggressively.

Summary

The IPS gearbox fits the Evora like OJ's glove: not that well, but clearly well enough to do the job in hand. It handles the two extremes excellently - both the languid and the track day stuff - but it has a problem with the middle ground. That ground, the reasonably quick back road stuff, is, we'd guess, occupied by most Lotus Evora drivers in this part of the world.