Everyday driver love it, but they own a Couple of Lotus so may be tolerant, they just did a nice little vid
Used Emiras now sit in my budget window for next car, but it'd be my main car, needs to be reliable, reading forums etc, does seem patchy in places which wouldn't bother me too much, dealer is down the road from my office, but slow repair times would.
As an only / daily car the Emira is a great option but buy one used that is 2-3yr old with around 10,000 miles plus, then with any luck any issues will be ironed out, not sure if they offer extended warranties but if not too expensive probably worth having.
Main reason I cancelled my order was that as a fun weekend car it did not tick the boxes, I was a little somewhat disappointed, it felt really slow compared to my Exige 410 and even slower than the car I drove to the test drive my 987.2 Boxster Spyder, in fact the Porsche beat it on every driving dynamic, handling, brakes, performance and gear change, which I did not expect, where the Lotus was lovely is of course the looks, the interior is a game changer to Lotus of old and modern technology, but I love driving and I like driving fast and for me the Emira was a disappointment. It just felt heavy and slow to me.
Still as a car to use every day it is certainly a great choice.
All I would say anyone who has 60-70k to drop an Emira be sure to drive its main rivals:
- Porsche Cayman / Boxster, GT4 now also in budget (987.2 / 981 / 718) - More storage than an Emira, better extended warranties (tried & tested) and a Cayman GT4 has hit bottom, a 981 GT4 would be a great place to put 60-65k now, cannot see them ever been under 50k whereas if Lotus keeps pumping out Emiras they will potentially be 30-40k cars in a few years....
- Lotus Elise / Exige - give it a try yes very raw and not ideal as a daily but such an event - too raw as a daily but maybe you like a challenge
- Alpine A110 or A110S - A110 better ride, more comfort and more Lotus than an Emira with far superior gearbox (7sp DCT), A110S similar to sport suspension and quite a bit faster than Emira, very cheap to run, just buy well as they depreciate very hard, 35-40k for A110 and 45-55k on A110S is good used price, extend the warranty but no major issues reported.
- Audi R8 V8/V10 Manual - Gen1 cars are timeless classics now and absolute bargains, but don't go buying a budget nasty high mile sub 30k car it will cost you more in long run unless its had everything done. V8 not crazy fast, but they feel mega quick to drive (if healthy), which I believe is most important if your getting the frills and feel like your flying but looking down and still at double digit speeds your not heading to jail (NSL roads). The V10 only feels a little quicker but is a whole lot quicker, the V10's really pile on speed and you could easily end up in trouble. The V8 and V10 cost similar to own and run, though check insurance but V10 is no more thirsty than V8 but I prefer the V8 as you can drive it so hard and enjoy all the power without fearing for your license now of course it can still go 100+ easy but you truly have to try, whereas a V10 does 100 without trying. I'd personally stick gen1 for the better looks and either go V8 at around 35-40k for a really low mileage car in ideally a unique spec to help residuals or an equally low mile strong spec V10 but that will cost you 45-60k, keep around 10k aside as though R8's are generally reliable they can throw big bills if you want to keep it Audi OE, magnetic dampers failing is costly to replace with OE, around 5-6k, can be rebuilt for less or even less to replace with passive. Oil lines can leak and need replacing, bushes need to be good as expensive to replace but on a car with under 40k miles should be well and on V8's make sure the AC blows ice cold and you always run with it on as an AC compressor is an engine out job....Other than that I've had mine coming on a year now, put around 4000 miles on it and its cost me £350 for a service with no issues found. I'd not bother with warranty just self insure (cash in bank) and if it breaks see Ricky at RE Performance. Gen2 are bonkers quick, V10 only and based on the Huracan, gen1 is Gallardo I personally find the gen2 a bit boring to drive, all too easy and need big numbers on the speedo to enjoy.
For me if I was dropping 60k on a daily car the plus points for each would be as follows:
Emira: Supercar looks, sounds decent, nicer place to sit, Touring is comfy though can be jiggly at times, Sport is harsher but more me, still comfier than an M2. I feel in another year they will be 50k, so be prepared to lose a further 10-20k on one if owning for a couple of years.
Porsche Cayman GT4: You could also go Boxster Spyder but roof is a faff, the 981 GT4 is quite comfy car, engine is great, chassis is class leading, its only real downfall is though amazing the manual is the gearing is so long it makes the car hard to enjoy and also blunts the performance, for example its quicker than my R8 but it feels slower. Reliable and Porsche extended warranty is about 1k a year which covers entire car pretty much.
Lotus Elise / Exige - Hardcore, probably not ideal.
Alpine A110: Go MY22 or later, this included CarPlay/Android auto, the fastest sub 300HP car you will ever drive bar a Caterham/Atom, amazing road manners/comfort once the alignment is sorted (£100), good storage, mega cheap to run, 30mpg possible on daily commute, upto 50mpg on a run, little less with A110S, just go drive one is all I can as its far more Lotus than an Emira and shockingly good. People like to say how a GR Yaris can keep up with supercars on a B road, well the Alpine does the same but unlike the GR it has supercar handling dynamics been a mid-engine lightweight RWD car, it has really impressed me just how good it is at everything.
R8: All about the engine, V8 for the sound and instant hit anywhere in the rev range been such a high compression NA engine, 8250rpm redline, grumpy gargling V8 down low which turns into a screaming exotic high up the range, V10 if performance numbers matter to you, all year round amazing traction (quattro) but has a RWD bias feeling, you can still skid it as its 85% RWD. Great comfort, rides better than Emira, GT4 and A110S, only regular A110 trumps them all, infact the regular A110 pretty much trumps any car in ride quality.
It is a buyers market again and 60k gets you some incredible metal, so do test drive stuff otherwise I'd had ended up in an Emira and not been happy as have to say for me the R8 and A110 really do have the Emira beat, but I get it some people dislike A110 looks, but do see one in person I too felt they were ugly until seeing one in flesh and of course R8's are ten a penny as are Porsches but hey if you cannot beat them, join them and I buy a car soley for myself and how I enjoy the drive, not to please or impress anyone else.
so the 6700 of the Emira feels like my shopping Car. Still I didn't mind i0t, just a little disappointing everything else suits me. 
