Lotus Eletre Reviews

[exeterjeep]

As the embargo has been lifted we may hear the views from Lotus dealers who have also driven the Eletre, and then it is a few weeks until the views from test drives  here.

The reviews I have seen seem to agree it's a good car, well finished and a quality product. And Lotus need it to do well to keep them producing new sports cars.

[Sport220]

[cdco]

21 hours ago, jimichanga said:

But which view is more believable?

No idea... Not being aware of the Autocar journo but I've always found Sutcliffe a balanced source of info over the years.  

[Sport220]

 

[DarrylV8]

On 11/07/2023 at 18:35, Sport220 said:

Was going to wait to have this month's evo delivered but decided to skim through the autocar review, and... surprise surprise

"most importantly, the hardware and software is developed in a new engineering centre in Raunheim (...) And that German origin shows almost as soon as you begin turning a wheel. The Eletre doesn’t feel like an old Lotus at all."

"if you come expecting family DNA, by which I mean overtly communicative steering, tremendous agility and poise and yet a mysteriously pliant ride, you won’t find it."

"The Eletre feels like an EV first and a Lotus not at all."

 

Yes you can say I’ve bit if you want, but please if you’re going to quote from a magazine let’s try and stay impartial.

But yes what a surprise from your Autocar review quote above “the Eletre doesn’t feel like an old Lotus at all”, possibly cos it is an SUV & an EV at that and not a sports car?

Just to quote some nice bits;

Car magazine “the Eletre is a fuss free precision tool, and highly impressive”

AutoExpress “this is a great new car from Lotus, no mistake”…… “it’s extraordinarily well made and features a seriously high quality hi-tech cabin”……….”most of all though the Eletre feels like a Lotus it has great steering” …..”Out of nowhere Lotus has nailed it with the Eletre”

Top gear “mainly thanks to the steering which is neat, quick, accurate and talkative” …….”High riding SUV - but it’s also a really very convincing one”…”the Eletre is probably the best handling electric SUV in this sector”.

 

[webfoot]

Detailed interior review

 

 

and the tech bits (not just audio)

 

[Footie]

On 12/07/2023 at 21:56, Sport220 said:

 

An incredible review, Steve thinks the Eletre is on another level to everything else. Lotus are on to a winner.

[electro_boy]

Yep very positive reviews so far!  Looking good for Lotus, hope its a great success! 

[Sport220]

On 13/07/2023 at 17:48, DarrylV8 said:

Yes you can say I’ve bit if you want, but please if you’re going to quote from a magazine let’s try and stay impartial.

But yes what a surprise from your Autocar review quote above “the Eletre doesn’t feel like an old Lotus at all”, possibly cos it is an SUV & an EV at that and not a sports car?

Just to quote some nice bits;

Car magazine “the Eletre is a fuss free precision tool, and highly impressive”

AutoExpress “this is a great new car from Lotus, no mistake”…… “it’s extraordinarily well made and features a seriously high quality hi-tech cabin”……….”most of all though the Eletre feels like a Lotus it has great steering” …..”Out of nowhere Lotus has nailed it with the Eletre”

Top gear “mainly thanks to the steering which is neat, quick, accurate and talkative” …….”High riding SUV - but it’s also a really very convincing one”…”the Eletre is probably the best handling electric SUV in this sector”.

 

Could be that I chose those quotes because they’re about what is relevant in a Lotus to me and not because I wanted to rattled other forum users. 
 

Could also be that I said “surprise surprise” because of exactly what you mentioned.
 

Ridiculous

Edited July 14, 2023 by Sport220

[JB]

Have to say it drives brilliantly!! Handles far better than 2.5 tons would suggest, goes round corners, changes direction quickly and will stop and turn from 120kph like very few other 'big' cars. The pull out of tight corners is very impressive and will do 165mph 4 up no problem at all and doesn't scoff through leccy when 'on it'

Feels big on smaller roads but when pitched against the best from BMW and Audi in the sector it makes both look, poor quality, poor handling and like they were designed by people who only do half days!

 

[exeterjeep]

 

45 minutes ago, JB said:

Have to say it drives brilliantly!!

Will probably talk to the Hendy guys at a coffee thing tomorrow and get their views, as I know they have all had a drive, and I suppose you are now allowed to talk....

[JB]

On 15/07/2023 at 15:54, exeterjeep said:

 

Will probably talk to the Hendy guys at a coffee thing tomorrow and get their views, as I know they have all had a drive, and I suppose you are now allowed to talk....

Kind of, we were not allowed to say we had driven it before the 'biased' journos drove it. Apparently the delicate little sausages get upset if lowly salesman drive cars before them!!

[Footie]

https://youtu.be/NcvYeBOV6aA

Fastest SUV around Zhejiang Circuit

Electre R 1:37.792

Cayenne GT 1:39.540

[Bibs]

https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/first-drive-lotus-905-hp-120000921.html

[webfoot]

 

[auRouge]

Congratulations Lotus, looks like you’ve nailed it.

Unashamedly stark design that’s ultra contemporary and leading despite starting this project almost a decade ago!

Just watched Sam from #SeenThroughGlass first drive in the Eletre.. 

“Class Leading”

”Awesome” 

“I like it all”

”State of the art SUV”

”Fun to drive”

”Brilliant vehicle”

His words, not mine. 

Bravo Lotus 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽..  

I think quite a few of us were nervous for you given the enormity and importance of this car. Not only have you made it.. you’ve made it work with individuality and style.

Of course big heavy electric SUV’s wont be for everybody but when the time comes to change my XC90 T8 Plug in, I’ll look forward to test driving Lotus Eletre! 🙌🏽

 

[auRouge]

@webfoot good review 👍🏽

[hedgerley]

Pretty positive review by Tom Ford in the new Top Gear mag. They happened to have a Tesla Model X Plaid with them in Norway for some initial comparisons. Turned out well for the Eletre which made the Tesla feel like a London bus when hustling along the twisty bits apparently. Putting all the politics and xenophobia from some of the more vocal critics aside, it's clear the Eletre is a damn fine car in its own right and will help secure Lotus' future. And funding for the Type 135 😊

[Bibs]

 

 

[hedgerley]

Over an hour long review from Pebble Beach, The Quail. Pretty comprehensive and yes, they reckon Lotus has smashed it. Interspersed with other exotic machinery including Jenson's Evija manouvoring in the car park!

 

[electro_boy]

Really really happy with the responses that the Eletre is getting in the press!  Just wish the reviews for the Emira were similar and not mixed feelings.

[exeterjeep]

From FB. electre owners ...a guy with an R. Sounds pleased.

Hi from Kazakhstan!

Wanted to share some points on Eletre.

Had been driving Eletre R for about 1,000 km.

The car is fantastic. Acceleration,driving,turning all is godlike. Driving Lotus brings plenty of emotions. When you push gas pedal it feels like going to space))))

Real range depends on your driving manner. To be honest, with rapid acceleration its hard to get 400+km range. My experience shows 350-370km range.

Home charging station looks awesome. It is really beautiful and

What I don't like as for now:

1. Ventilation holes in bad weather is hell. See photos. I have serious fears,what should I do in winter time.

2. Rapid acceleration makes keycard and phone fly over car,because charging pad doesn't properly hold my keycar or Samsung galaxy fold4.

3. Music from phone doesn't start automatically in some cases. Sometimes I need to select sound inputs,and choose phone as a source.

Besides these 3 points the car is awesome. When I was buying Lotus I had plenty of questions and doubts. But now I believe that I would buy it again))))

[Bravo73]

On 28/08/2023 at 19:44, exeterjeep said:

 When you push gas pedal…

I don’t think that he has been paying attention… 🤣

[jonwat]

Eletre R is a 900-horsepower SUV that weirdly slays the competition

[Footie]

Harry’s Garage