UKEmirai4pending

Mine was Lotus Technology Innovative Limited.

Well I picked mine up today and have been super happy with it. I do have one annoying frustration with it though, forget three point turns! Moving from drive to reverse is a nightmare, put aside the need to go from 1st to neutral and then reverse, it seems often the reverse doesn’t engage leaving you half way through a three point looking like a pillock. Other than that it’s been an immense joy this afternoon!

Nice feedback @Denno, think you’ll go for one? My delivery day is next Thursday but I’ve had an absolute nightmare trying to pay, I should have heeded their warnings but I’d never thought it could be so hard to pay (I do blame Barclays at least partly).

@Denno look forward to hearing what you think, not a bad way to spend a Friday regardless Just to confirm, as I've tried to pay for the "Emira Turbo" I've been told the 50:50 deal is only on stock v6 (got the 3 years free servicing though) But looks like I'll be picking it up next Thursday

I have to say I’m not an expert, I was pondering if it was more related to turbo lag than gearbox but there wasn’t the same sense of power response the manual/v6 combination gave. I think I’m leaning towards completing my original order for the i4 (apparently it’s now referred to as Emira Turbo). If I do get it next week I’ll really be able to get a sense for it and feedback.

I'd been told that by my local dealer last week and the Hethel guys stated it too today, however I don't believe the configurator for v6 has been taken away so I'm not entirely sure as to what this means atm. I am guessing there's inefficiencies to running both on the same production line, and thus a choice to focus on the i4 exclusively maybe? (I need a strapline that states, I know nothing, am nobody, don't quote me)

An awesome afternoon at the hospitality of the guys at Hethel, you'll likely know better than me that they're great guys, know their stuff and passionate about Lotus (no question unanswered, no ask unfulfilled). I tried both the i4 touring and the v6 sports, both were an assault on the senses (exactly what I would have hoped) and took me the 2 hour drive home to really gather my thoughts (I'm obviously not an expert in these matters either). I don't think you could go wrong with either car and I have been left with even more indecision than when I started the day (some of the new colours on offer for the i4 are super nice too, personally zinc grey a winner). It's hard to summarise but I think they're different cars for different purposes, it wasn't until I got home that I realised that in the v6, I didn't once look at anything else in the cockpit, the drive was so all consuming (in a good way ofc) that I was just emersed in the symbiotic relationship between man and machine (hoping my Lotus passenger doesn't comment on my gear changes). The i4 was certainly a little more relaxed, and I engaged more with the cockpit, it was much easier to cruise and have a chat in the i4. The touring chassis on the i4 certainly felt great and I'd suggest comparative to the sports chassis in the v6 but without the hardness when it comes to bumps. I really missed the gurgle of the v6, the sound track of the i4 less engaging perhaps inevitably. I wasn't overly impressed with the i4 gearbox, it felt a bit laggy, less pronounced and I think I would have needed a lot more time with it to really understand its personality and get the most out of it. My conclusion then (and I suspect not surprising), if you want a true daily driver, or you'll be doing a lot of miles then the i4 likely the best choice. However if you're going out for an hour or two on the weekend to get the blood racing, the v6 does that a bit better (and as my Lotus passenger told me, my smile was much larger in the v6). Again though, the i4 will too but with optionality ... One other comment that stuck with me was that the production of the v6 was stopping/stopped, thus likely to create an interesting situation with residuals, as demand would assumedly exceed supply. However I'm now in a (wonderful) dilemma myself...

Hey mate, so the guys at Hethel confirmed the 50:50 deal and 3 years free servicing, it appears to be limited to cars delivered in March and certainly for my i4. It was a little unclear if this extended to v6, I'm guessing it's any stocked cars they can get out in March. I did speak to my local dealer who has some (presumedly cancelled) v6's where he said he could offer the 50:50 but the servicing deal.

It's been a crazy week for me for many reasons but this morning I got a surprise ... - A reminder that on 26th Feb I called Lotus, basically can you give me any indication if/when the car might come as I'm about to cancel my order and pickup a used v6 instead. - Monday 4th I get the surprise invite to "review and confirm" my order - Obviously been arranging the test drive in the meantime. - This morning I get an email saying my car has been delivered to my local dealer!! I think I'm in shock ...

Maybe it was just meant to be ...

@deano get yourself on a test drive at Hethel mate, it has been a real bumpy ride for customers on the Emira but the arrival of the i4 test drives has reignited all the passion I first had when seeing the Emira on the roadshow back in 2021. I spent my fair share of time in large corporates and do have a lot of sympathy for the growing pains of Lotus but I remind myself, its largely the same people there that have been there for years, and after all it's the people that make it what it is.

@Bibs the forum merge completely confused me, was just browsing trying to figure out where my post was So unfortunately I had to reschedule, my son was taken ill suddenly (nothing serious but a sleepless couple of nights), it was re-scheduled for today but I can hardly type I'm that exhausted so just re-scheduled for Monday I'm gutted (and wanted to share here) but family first right ...

Yeah I'll do my best to report back (as a mere mortal rather than a pro car reviewer), I have a bunch of things I want to check out on the i4 (feel free to suggest others): - Gear box performance over all, responsiveness, paddle positioning - Heat from turbo in the "boot" - Exhaust sound ... - How much I grin like a Cheshire cat when driving it

It wasn't actually, didn't want to name the guy publicly (I'm sure a lot of them are on here anyway). I've finally got that feeling again I had when I first placed my deposit, the pending divorce triggered by the purchase now feels worth it again

Got a (unexpected) call from a really nice guy at Lotus Hethel, confirmed I'd booked for the i4 and made me feel like a customer. Now I'm super excited, bring it on!!