My Emira Experience

[Barrykearley]

I’ve seen a few Emiras in the flesh now - absolutely beautiful things and all with scabby tops of doors.

we were promised this wouldn’t be the case with paint and build quality from Lotus - but they have epically failed customers. 

[KennyN]

Agreed, they've clutched defeat from the jaws of victory quality wise with the majority of Emira's that I'm aware of.  It'll be interesting to see how the EV's fare....Made in China Vs Made in Norfolk.

[Barrykearley]

I would suggest sadly the Chinese stuff will be amazing. It would not surprise me at all if the long term plan is to allow the uk manufacturing to fall on its own sword. They sure seem to be doing an incredible job of that and the guy at the top needs a firm kick in the plums as all of his promises so far have been worth feck all

[Bibs]

3 minutes ago, Barrykearley said:

It would not surprise me at all if the long term plan is to allow the uk manufacturing to fall on its own sword

In the last few years they've spent £100m on Hethel, that wouldn't make sense if they were planning on mothballing it. 

[Barrykearley]

I really hope that’s not the case chap. In the grand scheme of things £100M is a drop in the ocean.

[KennyN]

5 hours ago, Barrykearley said:

I would suggest sadly the Chinese stuff will be amazing.

Sadly, I suspect that you might be right  

[C8RKH]

21 hours ago, ewand said:

How's the paintwork holding up on your Evora?

Very well. No issues at all!

[wolf]

I haven't been to the forum in years for the following reasons:

First:
I have a beautiful Lotus Esprit S1. Imperfect, but that's just how she is. I can accept all her weaknesses and have improved her significantly over the years, so that I can now go on longer tours without having to worry about a technical breakdown (although it still happens sometimes 😀)

Secondly:
I had a Lotus Evora. However, due to incurable problems with this vehicle, I had given up my trust in Lotus. After replacing the gearbox, I sold it cheaply and swore to myself that it was my last Lotus.

The Evora era has been over for almost 10 years now.
As a Lotus fan, you probably never lose interest in the way the Lotus company is run. You're pinning your hopes on the new management and perhaps thinking that time has healed all wounds.

That's why I wanted to give Lotus one last and third chance and arranged a test drive for a Lotus Emira at the dealer two weeks ago. I will be there next Friday.
For weeks now I have been intensively studying test reports, forum posts, videos, information from previous and current Lotus dealers, etc. in order to avoid further disappointment from Lotus.

Third:
Well, now that I've read that the customer service is still just as bad as my painful experience was, I'm wondering if it was a good idea to book a test drive.
I think I'll still do the test drive, but then I'll probably have to look for another car manufacturer.

Lotus seems incorrigible - that's a shame and I really hope they read these posts and decide to finally change things for the better.

At least I still have my Esprit S1, so maybe I should give up the idea of selling her. Despite or perhaps because of its technical weaknesses, she still has the pure Lotus DNA in it and I can take care of the problems myself. I am therefore not dependent on customer service, which seems to go on forever without solving problems.

It's a shame, I would have liked an Emira, but trust in the "Lotus quality" has now reached its lowest point again.  😐

[C8RKH]

I'm genuinely saddened by the increased negativity on the internet re the Emira. The reliability/tech issues are constantly being raised and the model is getting battered.

Lotus have, god knows how, really fooked itself over in the UK market. Again. It's unbelievable. Who is being held to account for the debacle at Lotus?

[steamdriven]

I concur with the sentiments on this thread ; I have been a life- long fan of the marque ( like many born in the 50’s 60’s - James Bond and Emma Peel and all that). I am running a ‘98 Esprit GT3 and love every aspect of its ownership from the stunning positivity round B roads to the exhilarating surge ( albeit delayed !) of the turbo, to the garage workshop tinkering. I have been running an LE Evora for track but although the track performance is undeniably good, the seemingly endless ( and expensive) problems which centre on the gearbox are grinding me down and I am losing faith.

The Emira does not interest me apart from its looks from a distance :- too laden for track, and the poor finish when inspected up close, together with the -ve user experiences emerging on- line, make it an unattractive prospect for me ( even if the price slides lower).

I drive past B&C most days and the forecourt is stuffed with the Chinese SUV:- makes me nostalgic for the days when the forecourt was a serried rank of Esprit’s and the occasional Elan.

times they are a changin.

 

 

 

 

[Barrykearley]

3 hours ago, C8RKH said:

Lotus have, god knows how, really fooked itself over in the UK market. Again. It's unbelievable. Who is being held to account for the debacle at Lotus?

Bring back Dany 

[C8RKH]

Isn't he busy rebuilding his M100 @Barrykearley?

[Bruss]

My first Evora was because Lotus said the new Esprit was just around the corner. I’m still waiting. As the Emira was at last the new replacement for the Esprit I decided that the i4 with its amg modern engine/ box would be my current Evora replacement. Three years on from first discussions and still no delivery date I don’t think I will likely have another new Lotus in the garage.  
On the other hand running this Evora for another 5years I could be just in time for a promise of a new electric Emira ‘just around the corner’. 😃

[Akajak]

Seems on PHeads some have had their AmG versions delayed from this month to June 24!

unconfirmed but emissions testing was mentioned.

 

[steamdriven]

 

18 hours ago, Barrykearley said:

Bring back Dany 

I see that his specially commissioned Esprit (the one that was supposedly going to come to market) is on PH'ds - POA.

[JimH]

15 hours ago, Akajak said:

Seems on PHeads some have had their AmG versions delayed from this month to June 24!

unconfirmed but emissions testing was mentioned.

 

Not just some - all UK and Euro i4's - North America i4's until 2025!

[C8RKH]

The Emira debacle is surely now morphing into a laughing stock, but I don't see many prospective customers laughing.

[LotusLeftLotusRight]

Incredible to think that they officially announced the I4 at Hethel in July 2021 and yet American customers won’t see it until 2025. What have they been doing all this time? Haven’t deliveries to China already started? If not, are they buying V6 only?

[Bibs]

It's not an uncommon timescale. Look at the richest man in the world, his cybertruck starts delivery now 4 years after being announced. I believe China does have the i4 but homologation over there is perhaps a simpler affair. 

[C8RKH]

Let's not make excuses, it's not as if homologation was not known about, is not well documented. I think the question "what have they been doing all this time?" is an absolutely valid one.

Lotus created the hype. lotus whooped whooped re the "investment". Lotus bragged about world class quality. Lotus recruited hundreds. The net result. A bit of a shit show really. Who is being held accountable?