My Emira has arrived!

[Rambo]

Thanks for the update Heiner 👍 

I too was interested to hear your Emira vs Evora noise comparisons. I would have thought the exhaust noise might get quieter with age due to carbon build up but, then again, you won't be limited by revs so you will be giving it more right pedal.

[hml_xy]

@RamboThe car got quite a bit louder or myself a lot braver than on the first two days of ownership. 😅

Still somewhat respecting drive in guidelines and not flooring it to the max, but I had my first blast in it yesterday.

Went to the Ring, which was far too busy on the second to last weekend of the season. But the weather was actually so nice that it was no surprise. 
Hung out on a parking lot and catched up with some likedminded Lotus enthusiasts, while many people took pictures of the car.

Then mounted a GoPro and tried to capture all sorts of noises and tones of the Emira while semi-blasting (4000-ish rpm run in limit in mind!) around some b-roads of the Nürburgring area.

Here's the video - it has different mounting positions of the GoPro in it, all with windows closed and in Sport mode (exhaust open) besides at the cold start. That was with valves closed.

Hope it delivers some impressions and helps to stay excited about the Emira deliveries ☺️
It is definitely not a "quiet" car and far from boring sounding. What it has less is the in-cabin drone that the Evora had and I'm very sure that is an improvement.

 

[Evotion]

Have you found anything wrong with the car yet?

I couldn't find a single flaw in the car myself - except for the USB socket 😀

[Rambo]

13 hours ago, hml_xy said:

@RamboThe car got quite a bit louder or myself a lot braver than on the first two days of ownership. 😅

Still somewhat respecting drive in guidelines and not flooring it to the max, but I had my first blast in it yesterday.

Went to the Ring, which was far too busy on the second to last weekend of the season. But the weather was actually so nice that it was no surprise. 
Hung out on a parking lot and catched up with some likedminded Lotus enthusiasts, while many people took pictures of the car.

Then mounted a GoPro and tried to capture all sorts of noises and tones of the Emira while semi-blasting (4000-ish rpm run in limit in mind!) around some b-roads of the Nürburgring area.

Here's the video - it has different mounting positions of the GoPro in it, all with windows closed and in Sport mode (exhaust open) besides at the cold start. That was with valves closed.

Hope it delivers some impressions and helps to stay excited about the Emira deliveries ☺️
It is definitely not a "quiet" car and far from boring sounding. What it has less is the in-cabin drone that the Evora had and I'm very sure that is an improvement.

 

Heiner - are you sure that was sub 4000 rpm? Sounded more like 5500/6000 rpm in 1st/2nd to my untrained Emira ear?

Edited October 31, 2022 by Rambo

[hml_xy]

@RamboNot an english native speaker so hopefully I phrased it correctly 🙂 I said that I had the 4000rpm run-in limit in mind. Didn't say that stuck to it all the time. 😂 

[TomE]

Heiner, you need to update the cars in your profile ... it's no longer "soon"  

[Rambo]

9 hours ago, hml_xy said:

@RamboNot an english native speaker so hopefully I phrased it correctly 🙂 I said that I had the 4000rpm run-in limit in mind. Didn't say that stuck to it all the time. 😂 

Yes, you did phrase it correctly Heiner. And you have a British sense of humour 🤣

She sounded great by the way 👍

[hml_xy]

On 31/10/2022 at 15:14, Evotion said:

Have you found anything wrong with the car yet?

I couldn't find a single flaw in the car myself - except for the USB socket 😀

Saw your video, looks like you had a great day at Lotus!! Congrats, it must have been a great experience!

I'd say yes, I found a few negative things.

Most prominently the gearbox topic. The shift itself is oozing character in my opinion. Its beautiful, the weight of the shifter is often overlooked but adds so much to the experience. Surprised not more people mention it. Very analog, gated shifter style.
 

So where is the negative? I don't need the perfect shift quality. But after now 1100km in less than a week, I can say that sometimes the shift is a bit inconsistent (or I am a bit less precise at shiftling). Absolutely no worries for me but I could see why people say that other gearboxes are easier to handle.

I also noted on the other forum that you didn't recognise the gearbox noise during your day at Lotus. Have to say I heard it in your video briefly. To me it sounds like a race car gearbox and I can identify with it as a small manufacturer flaw. But others would "expect" a gearbox to not make these kind of rattleing sounds at low revs under load. 

Testdrivers - shift into second gear very early after rolling off and give a little load on the accelerator. You'll hear the rattle from 1300-2500rpm. Every single person who drives with me for the first time commented on the noise and asked what that is. 
 

Again, I take it as character and a sympathic flaw of an otherwise unbelievably exciting and fun car. I love the Emira so far, but I can't ignore the gearbox noise topic when asked if I found anything wrong. Bet Lotus did not dial this rattleing into the car intentionally and would have prefered to not have it. 😄

Next negative: The front parking sensor has a life on his own. If you stand somewhere in the middle of nowhere with nothing around it starts going of and beeps as if you are calling somebody on the phone 😅. Not sure if it is triggered by my registration plate or what that is. 
But yes, that could be improved via software updates at some point. And also doesn't substract anything from the fun I have with the car so far.

And then the squeaking bootlid when opening. That is just cheap plastic flexing from the force of lifting the lid up. I don't really care that much but it is not the same level of haptic quality the car has in general.

KEF soundsystem could be stronger. I am a a music nerd and have a proper Hifi at home, so my expectations were high. Even higher because I also have a pair of KEFs in another room which is really a good system. Would have prefered a more powerful amp in the Emira. Sound quality is good (lightyears better than Evora) but not amazing.

Last but not least: Couple more physical buttons would have been nice instead of the touch stuff. But I like the whole design face of the screens. Looks like a very expensive and stylish Naim Hifi interface in a way.

As you can see: Everything that really matters is not on my list of negatives. Driving the Emira is so much fun and I think people should stop being so worried about the fact that it didnt turn out as the technically perfect and gold standard defining car on the road. Instead, they should take the car as what it was intended to be. A everyday sportscar with supercar looks but ease of use and overall reasonable (for a luxury car) costs.

So let's appreciate the overall package and the accessibility of her. It is a very big "well done Lotus" from me. 
 

(not mentioning any of the communication and delays and all related issues, focusing only on the final car in that statement)