911T vs Emira

[JonFuller]

Apologies if this has already been posted.

Lotus Emira V6 vs. Porsche 911 Carrera T

Manual, rear-drive sports cars are brilliant - and very rare now. Which of the best is better?

www.pistonheads.com

 

[daSchtick]

The 911T is really interesting, however at 50% more cost than an Emira, it loses appeal for me. On a related note, although my local dealer is friendly enough, it is of no help if you cannot get an allocation for anything interesting (911T, Cayman GTS4.0, etc). Sure, I can buy a used one, but why should I have to? I like that any normie (like me) with enough money can walk in off of the street to purchase as Emira.

 

[sonor8s]

The 911T is really interesting, however at 50% more cost than an Emira, it loses appeal for me. On a related note, although my local dealer is friendly enough, it is of no help if you cannot get an allocation for anything interesting (911T, Cayman GTS4.0, etc). Sure, I can buy a used one, but why should I have to? I like that any normie (like me) with enough money can walk in off of the street to purchase as Emira.

This is the same reason I bought an Emira over a GTS 4.0. No ADM and I got to spec it.

 

[ShootingSight]

I bought a 2019 911T last May, and a 2025 Emira last week. I got the 911 used with 30k miles, and paid about the same as I did for the Emira.

Dunno about outright acceleration, as I am still breaking it in, so cannot go above 4k RPM, but the driving is better in the Emira. Suspension has a little less sway, steering feels lighter, cornering is flatter. I like!

911 is a little bigger inside, so more comfortable with a minimal back seat. This was important for me, as I always travel with my two dogs. I pulled the passenger seat, and put in a dog bed. I pulled the rear seats and put in a second dog bed, so the size is perfect, and the car is low enough my 16 year old does not need to jump up to get in. Door is longer, so ingress/egress is easier for me. Emira has a little shelf in the back, OK for a couple of bags of groceries, but no way to fit a dog. Dogs do not get to go in the Emira anyway - I bought them a 911, they should be content with that.

911 is more common, Emira is more exotic, and looks better than just about any other car out there.

Infotainment on the Emira seems a lot more complex, though 6 years of evolution between the two might be to blame. The 911 still has 5/6 analog gauges, versus the all digital trend almost all new cars have.

I like the manual Emira 6-speed better than the Porsche 7-speed. The 7-speed uses springs and double springs to manage shift gates, and if you are not careful, you can do a 7-4 shift, or 6-3, instead of a 7-6. Flip side is that I have gotten really used to the Porsche 'auto-blip' rev matching that you get in Sport mode, so when you go into a corner, you can focus 100% on brake pressure without having to toe-heel. The Emira also has pedal placement close enough and pedal travel matched so toe-heel is quite easy, just no auto blip.

 

[OppositeLock]

I drove a friend's 911T (since dealers don't allow test driving these around here) and also Cayman GT4 when I was cross shopping cars last summer, and I preferred the Emira for two major reasons. The front end feels much more "alive" than in the Porsches and it takes a squat in a turn similar to my Elise, with good feedback. The second reason is that the interior of the Emira is a much more pleasant place to be, it's more open and airy, and I really liked that.

Without a doubt, the Porsches are better built, and the GT4 has a nicer transmission feel, while the 911T is just a much higher quality feel overall, but somehow, the Emira just felt comfier. (I also decided against a Mac 600LT because I felt claustrophobic inside).

 

[ShootingSight]

Edited my above to add a few more thoughts.