Lotus Emira I4

[exeterjeep]

1 minute ago, C8RKH said:

What, V6 production no more. Already?

Had seen a similar comment elsewhere, but thought we are expecting a higher power version?

[Simon Bateman]

15 hours ago, UKEmirai4pending said:

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...

Interesting comments re the laggy gearbox. In the Harrys garage video there seemed to be a noticable issue with the gear shift times.

The ZF gearbox in our new M2 is super fast for a torque convertor auto and BMW made a lot of noise about how the gear change speeds have been improved, which I read were around 150 v 100 in say a PDK. I'd assumed that the Merc double clutch box was similar to a Porsche PDK, but there does seem to be a slight disconnect between the paddle click and the actual gear change with the Lotus/Merc set up in the Emira.

[UKEmirai4pending]

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.

 

[Denno]

I have managed to book back to back test drives for v6 and then i4 on Friday. Will report back on my preference. 
 

[UKEmirai4pending]

@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

Edited March 14 by UKEmirai4pending

[Denno]

So just got back from i4 drive. Unfortunately the system to book isn’t very clear as I booked a slot for v6 and i4 but they only had the i4 to try! Weather wasn’t the best, mainly rained during my drive so i couldn’t give it the full beans and feed back on how quick it was which is a shame. It felt pretty urgent though in sport mode, it really hung onto the gears, I preferred it in a manual mode though using the paddles but gear box in auto felt responsive with quick downshifts. The suspension was touring and have to say more than firm enough for the road, not sure how much firmer sports would be. Handling was as I expected with really weighty steering feel, not sure how they’ve managed it but was sublime. The sound was better than I expected, quite a raspy metallic noise when giving it a bit of throttle, plus some nice turbo whoooshs! Did a stretch on the motorway and in the most comfort setting it pootled along nicely with minimum tyre noise, could easily go on a long cruise in it. Only negative in the cabin was a bit of a rattle coming from the dash towards the end of the drive. Overall I would say they have nailed it!

 

 

[UKEmirai4pending]

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).

Edited March 15 by UKEmirai4pending

[Denno]

It depends if they will honour my price from when I cancelled in November. The car I spec’d is apparently landing at the dealer next week though. They had my deposit for the best part of 2.5yrs before I quit. Waiting to hear back.

[UKEmirai4pending]

On 06/03/2024 at 14:27, deano said:

Has anyone threaten to cancel to see if they give any discount or other freebies? 

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!

[Denno]

To update on my recent experience, Lotus must be confident that they will sell all these cancelled order new cars. They eventually came back to me to confirm they wouldn’t honour my original price of approx £82k and it would be £85k+ if I still wanted my cancelled built car. Have told them no thanks. Will keep my eye on the used market and also have my eye on the 992 Gts, not sure why I’m so drawn to them as not exactly like for like comparison to the Emira.

[C8RKH]

It's all about the drivers @Denno