Emira Road Tests & Reviews

[Rambo]

Very appropriate these days with our Goverment's upside down thinking 🤔

[Cooper]

20 hours ago, hedgerley said:

Another email from EVO - next issue delayed a few days due to manufacturer embargo. Emira i4?

Wishful thinking, probably the Boxster 718 RS.  Or both?!

[JimH]

If it's both a pound to a penny says that EVO favours the Porsche......🙄

[simonb]

18 hours ago, fmxa said:

If I'm not mistaken the Union Flag is upside down!

 

yes, a symbol for being in distress!

https://www.thelotusforums.com/latest-news/reviews/lotus-emira-v6-first-edition/#jp-carousel-27438

[Jack Stone]

Jay likes it 

 

[Jon Fuller]

 

[Mark Blanchard]

Very depressing reviews on the i4 in Autocar and Pistonheads this morning.

The last ICE car Lotus makes and the British press have a go .

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/lotus/emira-i4

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-driven/2023-lotus-emira-i4-first-edition-ph-review/47513

[jonwat]

8 minutes ago, Mark Blanchard said:

Very depressing reviews on the i4 in Autocar and Pistonheads this morning.

I disagree, Autocar didn't rave about it but were definitely complimentary 

By the standards of genuinely usable sports cars in 2023, it also still feels deliciously compact on country roads. I would like a touch more spine in the steering (less assistance, perhaps a smaller front tyre), but the dynamic personality could only be Lotus. The driveline is also impressive. Not only is it amazingly linear for its type, but it also seems to think it’s one of Honda’s VTEC zingers for that final, fizzing stretch to the high-set, 7200rpm redline. 

[C8RKH]

@Mark Blanchard I've only read the Autocar one and thought it came across as an honest review so not sure the problem.

I think Lotus have made a mistake pegging the performance of the I4 BELOW the V6. To me, the manual V6 should have been the true GT car. The auto I4 the screaming hooligan.

I do think the best Emira will be a more focused, lighter Sports I4 with c. 420bhp. I might be tempted.

[Rambo]

25 minutes ago, Mark Blanchard said:

Very depressing reviews on the i4 in Autocar and Pistonheads this morning.

The last ICE car Lotus makes and the British press have a go .

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/lotus/emira-i4

https://www.pistonheads.com/news/ph-driven/2023-lotus-emira-i4-first-edition-ph-review/47513

Oh dear, not as glowing as I was expecting 🤔

[exeterjeep]

Agree, Also Harry's comments in his video about the selection of drive etc. Still think I'd go for a manual V6 if I was going to change. But then I'm old fashioned.

Can't see a cheap base version coming along to really bring loads of new customers to Lotus. this is more expensive than I was expecting.

[jep]

A mistake to give journalists sports suspension car at Pistonheads but perhaps they think that audience leans that way.

I suspect entry level car will be £70k if not a tad more. 

Justin 

[Vipers]

Not sure if already mentioned but Evo review in this months copy, 4.5 stars.

[Bibs]

https://www.evo.co.uk/lotus/emira/206048/new-lotus-emira-i4-review-the-final-combustion-engined-lotus

[Jon Fuller]

I see the claimed performance has changed, yet again.  Only 171 mph now. and originally, wasn't the I4 predicted to be a sniff quicker to 60 than the V6?  Now a sniff slower.

 

 

[Jon Fuller]

 

[C8RKH]

So reading Pistonheads it just feels as though Lotus have either (a) tried to be too clever with the I4 engine and transmission "tuning", or (b) screwed up the engine/transmission and should have just bolted it in from the crate with no changes.

Also, they seem to have learned nothing from previous "fook ups" when they have delivered cars to journalists for review in the wrong specs - in this case, LHD for a RHD scenario with sports suspension. This just rings true from so many past "releases" of Lotus cars in the past 10 years or so, and as we said then, we'll say now, this is just the sort of detail that Porsche ALWAYS gets right and is probably why they always get very favourable reviews. It's just bloody amateur hour all over again, and whilst we could forgive Lotus 1.0 due to the pressures they were under, I do not feel that Lotus 2.0 can be forgiven. What a crazy way to execute a business. Utter madness. They deserve the reviews they get if they just cannot get this stuff right.

Having been upfront and personal for 5 days with someone in an Alpine, I'd take that (disastrous front design or not) over the Emira I4 and pocket £20k for a Caterham Seven or old Elise for even more fun.

[C8RKH]

On thinking about my above comment, and the 5 days with an Alpine for company, the Alpine A110 IS THE CAR Lotus should have built. Price point. Performance. Size and Packaging. I was shocked when it was parked up next to my Evora in how "dainty" and "tidy" it looked side by side.  Quicker and lighter than an Emira I4 for £25k less. Wow. You would be crazy not to to be honest.

[Arregueti]

I think I agree with you. 1100 kgs are a good thing. I haven’t driven any Emira yet (despite some offers from the local dealer) but I test drove an A110S a couple of weeks ago and I liked it quite a lot. Steering feeling aside, I doubt the Lotus can be worth “30,000 euros more fun” than the Alpine. It is going to be a hard sell at that price point. Alpine will have to reduce output as from mid next year, so maybe now is the time to jump onboard before they start increasing the price. And, as you said, one could still afford an Elise or an Opel Speedster for the days when you miss the steering feeling…

[Bee]

It needs more oomph. but it can't do that without treading all over the V6.

 

It's a little depressing that the 2016-2017 four-door hatchback A45, weighing 56kg more and boasting 376bhp, does 0-60mph in 4.2s. Delimited, they outstrip the i4's top speed, too. I'm sure the Emira 'S' or 'R' will be considerably quicker; I would have thought that a 440-460bhp version will drop the 0-60 time to under 4s and the top speed should start to look like supercar territory. Given that we're still on the launch editions, though, with base models coming in 2024 (at a guess), then I would imagine that an Emira S/R model is going to be 2025 at the earliest, as a last ICE hoorah before Lotus's electric sports car.

 

I think the £81,500  price is a bigger issue, though. I appreciate that Lotus has been seriously hit by inflation but the Alpine S and GT are both £62,500 (and the base model £52,500, being only 0.1s slower to 60 than the Emira i4). A Cayman GTS with added leather and PDK comes in at £77,500, leaving you free to spend another £4000 of options. None of these would matter too much for a Lotus enthusiast, but for an unbiased customer considering their first Lotus...

[Jon Fuller]

 

[Matt W]

2 hours ago, Bee said:

It needs more oomph. but it can't do that without treading all over the V6.

 

It's a little depressing that the 2016-2017 four-door hatchback A45, weighing 56kg more and boasting 376bhp, does 0-60mph in 4.2s. Delimited, they outstrip the i4's top speed, too. I'm sure the Emira 'S' or 'R' will be considerably quicker; I would have thought that a 440-460bhp version will drop the 0-60 time to under 4s and the top speed should start to look like supercar territory. Given that we're still on the launch editions, though, with base models coming in 2024 (at a guess), then I would imagine that an Emira S/R model is going to be 2025 at the earliest, as a last ICE hoorah before Lotus's electric sports car.

 

I think the £81,500  price is a bigger issue, though. I appreciate that Lotus has been seriously hit by inflation but the Alpine S and GT are both £62,500 (and the base model £52,500, being only 0.1s slower to 60 than the Emira i4). A Cayman GTS with added leather and PDK comes in at £77,500, leaving you free to spend another £4000 of options. None of these would matter too much for a Lotus enthusiast, but for an unbiased customer considering their first Lotus...

Do you really think lotus will bother with further versions of the Emira. It was a cash cow whilst they move to the luxury market. Why would they create themselves a support and development headache when they’re moving to EV saloons and suvs which will make them more money? MG are doing a great job in the mid range sector, I can’t imagine Lotus will do anything other than cockup their move, they’re clueless with service and support and show no signs of resolving the issues, richer customers will be even more demanding.

[C8RKH]

15 hours ago, Matt W said:

richer customers will be even more demanding.

Maybe that should say "more understanding" as richer Range Rover customers still seem to throw their money at Range Rover despite the reported appalling reliability and customer service....

[Jack Stone]

With an "Emira 400" (V6) manual in my garage and a long-standing order for an I4, I've been interested to hear the comparisons being made in these I4 reviews. Disappointed that Lotus has tried to carve its own path with the automatic interface (side-to-side manual shifts - what's that all about?) and has somehow managed to sustain its reputation for questionable gear-changes even with a DCT box!  I was already not a fan of the fussy switching between tour/sport/track in the V6 (why make two switchings necessary for each mode change?). I view the double selection automatic arrangement Harry and Charlie talk about in the same vein - fussy for fussy's sake. 

Has anyone compared the I4 with a V6 auto yet?

(By the way, despite the grumbles, I do absolutely love my Emira!)

[JimH]

The Emira auto gear selector (which is basically an electric switch with no mechanical connection to the gearbox) is the same in the V6 Auto and the i4 DCT. It's a based (along with some other interior bits) on items from the Lynk & Co 01 parts bin.....