Hi there
So I've just had my test drive during lunch at 12 in Prestbury, so plenty of NSL stretches of roads and some nasty bumpy 30mph stretches of road. Roads were bone dry and temperature around 14c. The car specification is:
- Dark Verdant
- Sport chassis
- Goodyear tyres
- Lower black pack
- Black alcantera with yellow stitching
- V6 manual
A few photos I took before and after the drive:
The exterior of the car I'd say is perfect, ride height looks spot on, excuse the arch gap in the rear but the ground was not level, when I parked up in Bulls Head car park the stance and ride height were perfect. The only negative for me is the silver exhaust tips are not a shiny/chrome silver, look a bit nasty if I am honest, I'd want to have them chrome plated ASAP. Apart from that, the car is an absolutely stunner and in the flesh it looks right.
The interior of the car, first of all getting in and out is like any other car, very easy, vastly easier than my Exige 410.
The cabin fit and finish is excellent, straight very nice yellow stitching no wonkiness like you may see in a Corvette, carpeted door bins, OK size glove box, overall plenty of storage space, room behind seats, small boot, this car as a daily would be fine. The only niggle this car had is the drivers side window would come back down after trying to put it up almost like it thought someone had their hand trapped in the window, I took a look and put it down to the weather seal been a bit tight, an easy fix I'd have thought. Overall a nice please to sit, the seats were comfortable, I am 6ft had ample room and felt the car comfortable. The girl who drove the car with me was I'd hazard around 5ft and she could adjust the seat so she could drive no issue as well. A car by Lotus which fits all!
The KEF stereo I setup the bass to max and other settings and have to say I found it a bit of a let down, I had big expectations with it been KEF but felt it was average at best, the Bowers & Wilkins in my 600 LT absolutely is on another level, its better than what is in my 458 though, but the stereo setup in my Exige is better as is the one in my 987.2 Spyder, so somewhat a let down, but it could be worse, it is better than the stereo in the GR Yaris.
So as a car to drive daily, go shopping in the Emira absolutely does it no problem at all and you will look the part whilst doing so, now onto the driving of the car:
So the clutch biting point is low, once your used to that the car is very easy to pull away, or reverse and manoeuvre, rear view camera is OK quality too, better than one in my Mclaren and GR Yaris. It is extremely easy to drive!
The car has a wide look about it from the outside, once your inside the car does not feel big at all, very easy to judge it and it feels no bigger than my Exige. This car was on sports chassis and goodyear tyres, over rough un-broken ground the car was firm ISH, but amazing damping zero crashiness or jarring from the suspension, so the Touring setup must literally be like a magic carpet but I'd only recommend the latter to someone who really has to drive over pretty terrible roads on a regular basis, once out on the A roads and dual carriage ways the sports and goodyear, well it just works! Cup 2 tyres probably add a touch more firmness due to their stiffer sidewall, a tyre I'd only option for those only driving in Summer or warmer climates or planning on a lot of track days.
Brakes are a little over-assisted but this is a Lotus designed to fit all, you get used to them and they work just fine, powerful and effortless, I drove to the test drive in my 987.2 Boxster Spyder which has optional ceramics, they are better, with better pedal feel and more effective but the brakes on the Emira are fine and probably equal to Porsche steels apart from the over-assistance, Porsche brakes always tend to win on pedal travel and feel, but the ones on the Emira are very good, I'd not be looking to change or upgrade them, effective and good brakes.
Steering, again high hopes here but I fear Lotus have added a little to much power assistance, it could do with a little more weighting, but you can feel the texture of the road somewhat, it is no better than my Porsche Spyder hydraulic steering, I'd say not really any worse either but the Porsche weighting is better judged.
I drove the Emira in all three modes, touring, sport (exhaust gets louder and seems to burble) and track mode (exhaust louder still but less burbles). The steering in any mode was not perfect for me, but it is superior to any modern BMW M car, Audi RS etc, but as people keep mentioning Porsche then the Porsche hydraulic setup on 997/987 generation cars is better for a sports car driver, for city driving the Emira is better. I'd say the Emira steering is equal to that of a 981/991 Porsche with slightly more texture to feel but not as good weighting, splitting hairs here but just trying to be as helpful and informative as I can. The Exige is better though, proper go-kart steering, heavy, feelsome, tiny wheel with no stupid buttons.
Now the let down, no way this car can do 0-60 in 4.3s, maybe down hill not using the clutch, the car felt no faster than my GR Yaris and slower than my 987.2 Spyder, really quite disappointed in the power, I can feel it is definitely the same engine and gearbox as my Exige 410 but it feels like its missing over 100HP, no doubt because of the weight punishment. Some other points I noticed, rev matching is way easier in the Emira than the Exige, it is same as my Porsche, a quick little stab of the accelerator gives a perfect rev match, whereas in my Exige you have to really mean it and stomp the gas pedal, so the Emira is like other brands in regards to this, a nice improvement. The car also has hill assist in tour and sports, in track mode it is disabled, again a good thing. A bad point is the rev limiter even in track mode seems to be around 6700-6800rpm, in tour it is even lower, kind of annoying as it was too low in the Exige at 7200rpm, but this is disappointing but in 2nd and beyond the car is not particular that quick so it won't catch you out unless your napping. My Exige feels like a rocket ship in comparison though, less weight, small wheels and therefor reducing gearing just makes the Emira feel sluggish and heavy in straight line, compared to an Evora 410 sport I drove the Emira feels nearly as quick as that, but not quite. This car really needs 500HP to put it bluntly for anyone who is coming from an Exige or something like a BMW M2 or other fast hot hatch, sports car will be somewhat unimpressed with acceleration, to the point I will be quite surprised to see anyone hitting 0-60 in sub 5s and I doubt it hits 100mph in sub 10s, the engine however like the Exige has good mid-range torque making 3rd and 4th gear over taking moves in the 50-70mph relative effortless.
The the way the car handles is absolutely fine, immense levels of grip and this comes back to needing more power, in the dry like today booting it off a roundabout or out a tight corner in track mode, in second gear that rear end is planted, I'd even hazard that on Goodyears in the wet it will be planted also, a super grippy chassis and I get the sensation probably also quite a safe car at the limit, of course there was no sideways, skids type stuff on a test drive but I feel its not that kind of car. The steering is good, the front-end is good but and I cannot even say what it is but its not telepathic like an Exige or my Boxster is, I really cannot explain it but the front-end just felt a bit odd and not so feelsome whilst in the turn, this could also be a case of needing to learn the car more, not bad just not amazing, but maybe my expectations are too high. I own an Exige 410, 458, 600LT, GT3, Boxster Spyder, GR Yaris, E36 M3, 4.7 V8 Vantage, which is extremely stiff competition for this car and in no way does make me want to get rid of any of them for the Emira, maybe not what some people want to hear, apologies but I am been brutally honest. My 458 has over fast silly hyper alert steering, the Exige you can't get in and out of and parking is a wrestling match, the 600LT well its kind of perfect as a driving tool but I am sure it will have its issues, the GT3 is a bit harsh for the road, the Boxster Spyder does have a stupid tent for a roof, the Aston has the worlds heaviest clutch and the E36 M3 is just old, and the GR Yaris is just a Toyota that happens to go fast but has an aweful plastic interior. But the driving dynamics, acceleration of the others are in a class above, apart for say the GR Yaris but the others are better sports cars, end of.
The best conclusion I can come to is that the Emira is good, but it is not a master in any area, it is just a good all rounder. Now those who are coming from say a more run of the mill car like a BMW 3 series, an MX5 sports car the Emira is going to blow you away. I'd like it to be a touch louder but it does sound nice, plenty of supercharger whine in the cabin on part throttle and the exhaust sounds OK and burbles nicely, could be louder. Looks wise the Emira pretty much has the entire Porsche lineup beaten, it has those Ferrari looks about it, so the kind of person who drives a Ferrari to be a poser, stop wasting your money, by an Emira it will do it as well, but no it does not drive as good as a Ferrari, certainly not the ones I've driven, is it as fast as some of the older ones, absolutely. For me Lotus have done what they set out to do, make one car which replaces three cars, the downside is that I am afraid it has lost a lot of that special rawness which some of us love, some of us also hate, it has gained weight and its gained bigger wheels making the gearing longer, the result is a nice car. Oh the gearbox was a joy to use, it is identical to my Exige but less notchy and a bit more buttery, no complaints there!
For me I'd like to see an Emira that is 50-100kg lighter with 100HP more, this from a driving dynamics view point would get me excited, but as it is sorry to say it just does not deliver for me but I do have high expectations, but I drove their purposefully in my 12yr old Porsche Boxster Spyder with 320HP which weighs around 1300kg, as a sports car the Boxster Spyder is simply better, much better. As a daily the Emira is better, much better. For me I'd take a Cayman R everytime over the Emira or a GT4, far superior car, end of.
However comparing new to new, Emira or Porsche Cayman S or GTS, that would be a tough choice, the Porsche has the more exciting engine and feels more potent, but the Emira beats it on looks and some ways on sound, plus it is different and in some ways that is the real positive, for now the Emira is rare, exclusive, looks like a 100k plus supercar, sounds good and the interior and the quality of it is top notch.
To put some numbers into things:
Lotus Emira V6
Handling = 8.5
Grip = 9.5
Subjective handling Feel = 7
Acceleration = 6
Looks = 9
Sound = 7
Overall = 7.5-8
As I say it is good, I think most owners will be over the moon and I cannot wait to see more on the road, but anyone coming from an Exige will be disappointed unless your one of those crazy people who daily's an Exige in which case you will probably be so happy to experience comfort and toys.
987.2 Boxster Spyder
Handling = 10
Grip = 8
Subjective handling Feel = 9
Acceleration = 7
Looks = 7
Sound = 7
Overall = 8.5 probably one of the best sports cars with some comfort made for British roads, my car is a hero spec, so bucket seats, manual, carbon ceramics.
Lotus Exige 410 20th Anniversary
Handling = 9
Grip = 8.5
Subjective feel = 8.5
Acceleration = 9
Looks = 9
Sound = 9
Overall = 9 but I'd never recommend one as a daily car, too harsh, too compromised, but as an event, special toy, track car it is just fantastic!
I won't bother rating my other cars as they cost a lot more, the above is where Lotus is coming from and what they are aiming to compete with, just the newer Porsches, what I will say is I prefer my 987.2 Spyder over a 981 Spyder, I am yet to drive a 718 Spyder but I do know the latter is incredibly good as it has the GT4 suspension and 4.0 motor.
Sorry for it been a bit long, just a brutally honest review. For those wondering, I have cancelled my order, I shall await to see what special editions Lotus brings to the table.
Another way to put it, if your buying / looking for a truly special weekend, track car/toy I'd not buy the Emira, 60-80k drops you into a lot of nice metal with warranty. If its your only car or going to be your daily, then absolutely buy the Emira this kind of punter will be very happy with the purchase as long as its reliable.
So I've just had my test drive during lunch at 12 in Prestbury, so plenty of NSL stretches of roads and some nasty bumpy 30mph stretches of road. Roads were bone dry and temperature around 14c. The car specification is:
- Dark Verdant
- Sport chassis
- Goodyear tyres
- Lower black pack
- Black alcantera with yellow stitching
- V6 manual
A few photos I took before and after the drive:
The exterior of the car I'd say is perfect, ride height looks spot on, excuse the arch gap in the rear but the ground was not level, when I parked up in Bulls Head car park the stance and ride height were perfect. The only negative for me is the silver exhaust tips are not a shiny/chrome silver, look a bit nasty if I am honest, I'd want to have them chrome plated ASAP. Apart from that, the car is an absolutely stunner and in the flesh it looks right.
The interior of the car, first of all getting in and out is like any other car, very easy, vastly easier than my Exige 410.
The cabin fit and finish is excellent, straight very nice yellow stitching no wonkiness like you may see in a Corvette, carpeted door bins, OK size glove box, overall plenty of storage space, room behind seats, small boot, this car as a daily would be fine. The only niggle this car had is the drivers side window would come back down after trying to put it up almost like it thought someone had their hand trapped in the window, I took a look and put it down to the weather seal been a bit tight, an easy fix I'd have thought. Overall a nice please to sit, the seats were comfortable, I am 6ft had ample room and felt the car comfortable. The girl who drove the car with me was I'd hazard around 5ft and she could adjust the seat so she could drive no issue as well. A car by Lotus which fits all!
The KEF stereo I setup the bass to max and other settings and have to say I found it a bit of a let down, I had big expectations with it been KEF but felt it was average at best, the Bowers & Wilkins in my 600 LT absolutely is on another level, its better than what is in my 458 though, but the stereo setup in my Exige is better as is the one in my 987.2 Spyder, so somewhat a let down, but it could be worse, it is better than the stereo in the GR Yaris.
So as a car to drive daily, go shopping in the Emira absolutely does it no problem at all and you will look the part whilst doing so, now onto the driving of the car:
So the clutch biting point is low, once your used to that the car is very easy to pull away, or reverse and manoeuvre, rear view camera is OK quality too, better than one in my Mclaren and GR Yaris. It is extremely easy to drive!
The car has a wide look about it from the outside, once your inside the car does not feel big at all, very easy to judge it and it feels no bigger than my Exige. This car was on sports chassis and goodyear tyres, over rough un-broken ground the car was firm ISH, but amazing damping zero crashiness or jarring from the suspension, so the Touring setup must literally be like a magic carpet but I'd only recommend the latter to someone who really has to drive over pretty terrible roads on a regular basis, once out on the A roads and dual carriage ways the sports and goodyear, well it just works! Cup 2 tyres probably add a touch more firmness due to their stiffer sidewall, a tyre I'd only option for those only driving in Summer or warmer climates or planning on a lot of track days.
Brakes are a little over-assisted but this is a Lotus designed to fit all, you get used to them and they work just fine, powerful and effortless, I drove to the test drive in my 987.2 Boxster Spyder which has optional ceramics, they are better, with better pedal feel and more effective but the brakes on the Emira are fine and probably equal to Porsche steels apart from the over-assistance, Porsche brakes always tend to win on pedal travel and feel, but the ones on the Emira are very good, I'd not be looking to change or upgrade them, effective and good brakes.
Steering, again high hopes here but I fear Lotus have added a little to much power assistance, it could do with a little more weighting, but you can feel the texture of the road somewhat, it is no better than my Porsche Spyder hydraulic steering, I'd say not really any worse either but the Porsche weighting is better judged.
I drove the Emira in all three modes, touring, sport (exhaust gets louder and seems to burble) and track mode (exhaust louder still but less burbles). The steering in any mode was not perfect for me, but it is superior to any modern BMW M car, Audi RS etc, but as people keep mentioning Porsche then the Porsche hydraulic setup on 997/987 generation cars is better for a sports car driver, for city driving the Emira is better. I'd say the Emira steering is equal to that of a 981/991 Porsche with slightly more texture to feel but not as good weighting, splitting hairs here but just trying to be as helpful and informative as I can. The Exige is better though, proper go-kart steering, heavy, feelsome, tiny wheel with no stupid buttons.
Now the let down, no way this car can do 0-60 in 4.3s, maybe down hill not using the clutch, the car felt no faster than my GR Yaris and slower than my 987.2 Spyder, really quite disappointed in the power, I can feel it is definitely the same engine and gearbox as my Exige 410 but it feels like its missing over 100HP, no doubt because of the weight punishment. Some other points I noticed, rev matching is way easier in the Emira than the Exige, it is same as my Porsche, a quick little stab of the accelerator gives a perfect rev match, whereas in my Exige you have to really mean it and stomp the gas pedal, so the Emira is like other brands in regards to this, a nice improvement. The car also has hill assist in tour and sports, in track mode it is disabled, again a good thing. A bad point is the rev limiter even in track mode seems to be around 6700-6800rpm, in tour it is even lower, kind of annoying as it was too low in the Exige at 7200rpm, but this is disappointing but in 2nd and beyond the car is not particular that quick so it won't catch you out unless your napping. My Exige feels like a rocket ship in comparison though, less weight, small wheels and therefor reducing gearing just makes the Emira feel sluggish and heavy in straight line, compared to an Evora 410 sport I drove the Emira feels nearly as quick as that, but not quite. This car really needs 500HP to put it bluntly for anyone who is coming from an Exige or something like a BMW M2 or other fast hot hatch, sports car will be somewhat unimpressed with acceleration, to the point I will be quite surprised to see anyone hitting 0-60 in sub 5s and I doubt it hits 100mph in sub 10s, the engine however like the Exige has good mid-range torque making 3rd and 4th gear over taking moves in the 50-70mph relative effortless.
The the way the car handles is absolutely fine, immense levels of grip and this comes back to needing more power, in the dry like today booting it off a roundabout or out a tight corner in track mode, in second gear that rear end is planted, I'd even hazard that on Goodyears in the wet it will be planted also, a super grippy chassis and I get the sensation probably also quite a safe car at the limit, of course there was no sideways, skids type stuff on a test drive but I feel its not that kind of car. The steering is good, the front-end is good but and I cannot even say what it is but its not telepathic like an Exige or my Boxster is, I really cannot explain it but the front-end just felt a bit odd and not so feelsome whilst in the turn, this could also be a case of needing to learn the car more, not bad just not amazing, but maybe my expectations are too high. I own an Exige 410, 458, 600LT, GT3, Boxster Spyder, GR Yaris, E36 M3, 4.7 V8 Vantage, which is extremely stiff competition for this car and in no way does make me want to get rid of any of them for the Emira, maybe not what some people want to hear, apologies but I am been brutally honest. My 458 has over fast silly hyper alert steering, the Exige you can't get in and out of and parking is a wrestling match, the 600LT well its kind of perfect as a driving tool but I am sure it will have its issues, the GT3 is a bit harsh for the road, the Boxster Spyder does have a stupid tent for a roof, the Aston has the worlds heaviest clutch and the E36 M3 is just old, and the GR Yaris is just a Toyota that happens to go fast but has an aweful plastic interior. But the driving dynamics, acceleration of the others are in a class above, apart for say the GR Yaris but the others are better sports cars, end of.
The best conclusion I can come to is that the Emira is good, but it is not a master in any area, it is just a good all rounder. Now those who are coming from say a more run of the mill car like a BMW 3 series, an MX5 sports car the Emira is going to blow you away. I'd like it to be a touch louder but it does sound nice, plenty of supercharger whine in the cabin on part throttle and the exhaust sounds OK and burbles nicely, could be louder. Looks wise the Emira pretty much has the entire Porsche lineup beaten, it has those Ferrari looks about it, so the kind of person who drives a Ferrari to be a poser, stop wasting your money, by an Emira it will do it as well, but no it does not drive as good as a Ferrari, certainly not the ones I've driven, is it as fast as some of the older ones, absolutely. For me Lotus have done what they set out to do, make one car which replaces three cars, the downside is that I am afraid it has lost a lot of that special rawness which some of us love, some of us also hate, it has gained weight and its gained bigger wheels making the gearing longer, the result is a nice car. Oh the gearbox was a joy to use, it is identical to my Exige but less notchy and a bit more buttery, no complaints there!
For me I'd like to see an Emira that is 50-100kg lighter with 100HP more, this from a driving dynamics view point would get me excited, but as it is sorry to say it just does not deliver for me but I do have high expectations, but I drove their purposefully in my 12yr old Porsche Boxster Spyder with 320HP which weighs around 1300kg, as a sports car the Boxster Spyder is simply better, much better. As a daily the Emira is better, much better. For me I'd take a Cayman R everytime over the Emira or a GT4, far superior car, end of.
However comparing new to new, Emira or Porsche Cayman S or GTS, that would be a tough choice, the Porsche has the more exciting engine and feels more potent, but the Emira beats it on looks and some ways on sound, plus it is different and in some ways that is the real positive, for now the Emira is rare, exclusive, looks like a 100k plus supercar, sounds good and the interior and the quality of it is top notch.
To put some numbers into things:
Lotus Emira V6
Handling = 8.5
Grip = 9.5
Subjective handling Feel = 7
Acceleration = 6
Looks = 9
Sound = 7
Overall = 7.5-8
As I say it is good, I think most owners will be over the moon and I cannot wait to see more on the road, but anyone coming from an Exige will be disappointed unless your one of those crazy people who daily's an Exige in which case you will probably be so happy to experience comfort and toys.
987.2 Boxster Spyder
Handling = 10
Grip = 8
Subjective handling Feel = 9
Acceleration = 7
Looks = 7
Sound = 7
Overall = 8.5 probably one of the best sports cars with some comfort made for British roads, my car is a hero spec, so bucket seats, manual, carbon ceramics.
Lotus Exige 410 20th Anniversary
Handling = 9
Grip = 8.5
Subjective feel = 8.5
Acceleration = 9
Looks = 9
Sound = 9
Overall = 9 but I'd never recommend one as a daily car, too harsh, too compromised, but as an event, special toy, track car it is just fantastic!
I won't bother rating my other cars as they cost a lot more, the above is where Lotus is coming from and what they are aiming to compete with, just the newer Porsches, what I will say is I prefer my 987.2 Spyder over a 981 Spyder, I am yet to drive a 718 Spyder but I do know the latter is incredibly good as it has the GT4 suspension and 4.0 motor.
Sorry for it been a bit long, just a brutally honest review. For those wondering, I have cancelled my order, I shall await to see what special editions Lotus brings to the table.
Another way to put it, if your buying / looking for a truly special weekend, track car/toy I'd not buy the Emira, 60-80k drops you into a lot of nice metal with warranty. If its your only car or going to be your daily, then absolutely buy the Emira this kind of punter will be very happy with the purchase as long as its reliable.
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