It’s the door that jams shut until you pull the handle just so, stick your tongue out of the corner of your mouth… and then give it a gentle wiggle.
And so it was that I was troubled – but not overly – with the way that the window in the brand new Lotus Europa S had a habit of jamming open.
My test drive came at that time of the year when it used to be winter.
Yet remarkably, ‘freak’ weather conditions meant that there was a touch of frost covering the glass of the stunning new GT in my drive.
The easiest (OK, the laziest) way of clearing the frost of the side windows was to press the button, which is included on the Europa S along with a whole host of luxuries because it is meant to be a much more comfortable car than its raw and raucous stable mates.
I knew that there was a fair chance it wouldn’t wind back up again.
But I also knew that if I drove over a bump, scratched my ear and recited the alphabet backwards, it would eventually close.
And so it did.
Endearing
It was quite endearing, really, and with a name like Europa – one which conjures images of pointless cross-border song contests and silly moustaches – that was a good thing.
Suitably won over by the Europa’s closet Englishness, I set about discovering what other secrets lay under its enticing exterior.
As the name suggests, this latest Lotus is designed to revisit the halcyon days of the first Europa.
That car was introduced in 1966 and finished production just nine years later.
But the fact that I was only four years old at the time renders me immune to any wave of nostalgia.
I was simply keen to know whether Norfolk-based Lotus could really have produced a car that was as practical and comfortable as it’s reputation is track-ready.
Lotus say the Europa has a bigger boot than its other cars and that it is easier to get in and out as a result of lower sides and a higher roof.
If that really is the case – and I honestly couldn’t tell – then it doesn’t spoil the overall appeal of the Europa S.
Let’s face it, you don’t buy a car which looks like that if you’re on the waiting list for a hip replacement operation.
I was certainly taken with its looks.
It appears positively futuristic when compared to the already space age Elise and Exige. (is space age old hat now, I’m not sure?)
Most cleverly, it weighs five kgs less than 1,000kg and owes that fact to the use of the clever way in which more bits and pieces of the car – many sourced from the Malysian home of Lotus’s parent Proton – have been made from lightweight bits and pieces.
Bolting such a fly-weight body to such a chassis boasting such a powerful engine is what gives the Europa more poke than an Ariane rocket.
Two litres and 200 bhp might not sound like a lot, but believe you me, the Europa S can really shift.
Incredible
And I can vouch for is the Europa’s incredible, rock hard handling and performance – how it howls like a Formula 1 car from a standing start and is as steady as congealed sticky toffee pudding into the corners.
Elsewhere, the Europa has more comfortable seats than an Elise and a leather interior.
And if that’s not enough for you, Lotus has just announced a £1,250 luxury touring pack, which will buy you saddle tan leather and a walnut and tulip wood gear-knob.
You’ll still compromise to a certain extent when it comes to passengers and luggage, but if that’s a problem then maybe you should go and buy a pick-up truck.
But don’t worry about being shown up as a Europhile if you buy a Europa, it’s not that sort of car. I’m no monarchist, but I’d rather have the Queen’s head on my 50 pence piece than a euro with a picture of a straight banana on it any day.
And that’s why I’m willing to accept the slightly faux way in which Lotus has tried to inject a little Europhile chic into its nom.
It might be called the Lotus Europa S and it might have bits and pieces which were made and assembled by people who eat dogs.
But coupled with raw power and tongue-dropping good looks, that quirky window has convinced me that this latest Lotus is still a quintessentially English car.
TECH SPEC
Model: Lotus Europa S 2.0litre
Price: £32,995
0 to 60mph: 5.6 secs
Top speed: 150mph
Insurance Group: N/A
Emissions: 220g/km-31 per cent
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