Jinba ittai
New member
Hey guys, first time poster, long time lurker – pretty much since I ordered the car 35 months ago. I read a lot of criticisms of the car over that time and many were concerning. Now that I’ve had the car for 1 month / 2500 km, I wanted to go over which ones I think are actually concerns for those who are still waiting for their cars. Everyone’s use is different, and to some degree the cars are different, so of course YMMV. Sorry for the novel.
“The steering wheel is bad”. The shape is different, but you quickly adjust and now I don’t mind it at all. The thickness is good.
“The seats are too high”. I have no issue with the height. It feels plenty low to me. I’m 5’9”
“The seats need more padding” I have no issue here and I’ve done 4-5 hr drives. I am 39 and I don’t have a history of back pain.
“The brakes generate too much dust” Confirmed, this one is real. I clean the wheels and they look dirty again after 50 km. I have ceramic coated the wheels and calipers. That doesn’t prevent them from getting dirty, but it’s probably a bit easier to wipe the dust off. I will likely move to the red stuff pads once the stock pads are worn out
“The pedal position/spacing is bad” The offset position felt weird to me at the start, but I don’t notice it anymore. I like that the pedals are tight, but I could see it being a problem with wide shoes. I’m often wearing flip flops during Canadian driving season – I set them aside and drive in bare feet (not necessarily recommending).
“the KEF system is garbage” There is something weird about the stereo. It’s like the volume control for the mid and upper range is very linear. However, the bass is almost zero until about 40% volume. If you like to listen to music at a reasonable level, you will likely think it sounds tinny. If you like to blast your music, you will probably think it sounds great – especially if you listen to bass-forward music.
“the shifter doesn’t feel good” I actually think it’s great. Maybe it’s is a cable adjustment issue, but mine felt very good and easy to shift from the factory. A slight criticism is that I don’t like the play when the shifter is in gear. Mine does not move side to side at all, but can wiggle about 1/2” forward and back while in gear. I installed the GRP short shifter thinking that play was coming from the stock rubber grommet, however it didn’t make a difference. I am keeping it because I like the shorter throw (even if it didn’t really need it). The additional force required due to reduced leverage is not a concern.
“the transmission doesn’t like to be rushed” I can confirm that redlining first gear and slamming into second often doesn’t go well – I’d say a missed shift or grinding gears 30% of the time. I don’t have the issue in any of the other gears and I don’t have it with a slower or lower RPM shift. I have learned to go easy on it. Some may say you shouldn’t be slamming the gears anyway, but I think a car like this should be able to handle that type of driving. Per recommendations on this forum, I am going to add Archoil 9100 to the transmission fluid, but I am not optimistic it will actually make much difference.
“it’s underpowered” This discussion has been so played out I’m not sure I need to go there. My feeling is that if you are chasing speed/track times, there are faster cars for less money. Buy this car if you prioritize driver engagement/enjoyment. From that perspective I think the power is more than enough. If you’re into performance mods and aren’t concerned with residuals, I get that too. More power isn’t going to make the experience worse.
“car won’t start” There seems to be 2 issues people are having: one where the ignition just clicks and one where the car turns over but doesn’t start. I haven’t had the latter and can’t speak to it, other than to agree with others on the forum that it sounds like a fuel pressure issue. I had the first issue at 600km. As recommended by others, I got out, locked the car, unlocked and the problem went away. Since then, I have waited 20s for the infotainment system to load before attempting to start the car and it has not happened again.
“the trunk gets stuck” I can confirm that if you have objects in the trunk putting upward pressure on the lid it will get stuck. It has happened to me about 5 times. The solution is to push down on the trunk while hitting unlock and then remove some objects.
“the trunk gets too hot” I don’t find this is an issue with 30 min drives / trips to the grocery store. On 2-3 hr drives it gets hot. Think black car parked in the sun. I attempted to improve this by putting Second Skin behind the trunk panel next to the engine and under the trunk mat. I didn’t make a difference. That’s likely operator error as it should have been installed outside the trunk, but that seemed like a lot of work.
“the infotainment is laggy” I’ve had no problems. When I first go the car, I struggled with the radio presets and finding things, but I’m onto it now.
“the drive mode selector shouldn’t have to be hit twice” This doesn’t bother me at all.
“the clutch feel is poor” I’ve not experienced this at all.
“the brakes are very touchy” I did struggle with this a lot at the start. I’m not sure if they are getting better now or if I am.
“this car gets too much attention” I have had people take pictures in parking lots, ask questions at gas stations, and even someone who followed me into my driveway to talk about it. I’m not someone who normally talks to strangers or likes a lot of attention. However, as many people have advised on this forum, I put on a smile and answer every question. The people are generally very excited and if you don’t match that level of enthusiasm and friendliness, I could see it confirming negative stereotypes about owners of high-end cars. If you don’t view this as a negative, it won’t be. I’ve had all positive interactions.
Other thoughts:
-the high beams are the best of any car I’ve driven. I do find the blue high beam indicator doesn’t catch my eye next to the blue tour mode background. I often put it into sport at night so there is more contrast and I’m less likely to high beam people.
-I’ve not seen anyone else mention it, but there is a weird function with the cruise control button where you can set a max speed. I accentually set it to 50kph one time and briefly thought I had broken something when it wouldn’t go faster
-I like that the cruise control doesn’t cancel with the clutch. I frequently downshift ahead of passing someone and I don’t necessarily want to slow down.
-I know Lotus handing is legendary, but I wasn’t really sure what to expect. The biggest thing I notice is that steering doesn’t load up in corners. The car feels eager to turn in because there’s no resistance in the steering wheel. I’ve heard some say that makes it more difficult to feel when you’re at the limits of adhesion and I could see that. Currently I’m not comfortable enough to try and break out the tail end anyways. Prior to this my fun car was a supercharged 10AE Miata, so this is a bit of an upgrade in terms of speed and performance. I passed 22 years and 300 000km with that car this summer. I hope I can have a similar run with the Emira, but that may be wishful thinking. Overall I’m very pleased with the car and I think it’s a relative value.
“The steering wheel is bad”. The shape is different, but you quickly adjust and now I don’t mind it at all. The thickness is good.
“The seats are too high”. I have no issue with the height. It feels plenty low to me. I’m 5’9”
“The seats need more padding” I have no issue here and I’ve done 4-5 hr drives. I am 39 and I don’t have a history of back pain.
“The brakes generate too much dust” Confirmed, this one is real. I clean the wheels and they look dirty again after 50 km. I have ceramic coated the wheels and calipers. That doesn’t prevent them from getting dirty, but it’s probably a bit easier to wipe the dust off. I will likely move to the red stuff pads once the stock pads are worn out
“The pedal position/spacing is bad” The offset position felt weird to me at the start, but I don’t notice it anymore. I like that the pedals are tight, but I could see it being a problem with wide shoes. I’m often wearing flip flops during Canadian driving season – I set them aside and drive in bare feet (not necessarily recommending).
“the KEF system is garbage” There is something weird about the stereo. It’s like the volume control for the mid and upper range is very linear. However, the bass is almost zero until about 40% volume. If you like to listen to music at a reasonable level, you will likely think it sounds tinny. If you like to blast your music, you will probably think it sounds great – especially if you listen to bass-forward music.
“the shifter doesn’t feel good” I actually think it’s great. Maybe it’s is a cable adjustment issue, but mine felt very good and easy to shift from the factory. A slight criticism is that I don’t like the play when the shifter is in gear. Mine does not move side to side at all, but can wiggle about 1/2” forward and back while in gear. I installed the GRP short shifter thinking that play was coming from the stock rubber grommet, however it didn’t make a difference. I am keeping it because I like the shorter throw (even if it didn’t really need it). The additional force required due to reduced leverage is not a concern.
“the transmission doesn’t like to be rushed” I can confirm that redlining first gear and slamming into second often doesn’t go well – I’d say a missed shift or grinding gears 30% of the time. I don’t have the issue in any of the other gears and I don’t have it with a slower or lower RPM shift. I have learned to go easy on it. Some may say you shouldn’t be slamming the gears anyway, but I think a car like this should be able to handle that type of driving. Per recommendations on this forum, I am going to add Archoil 9100 to the transmission fluid, but I am not optimistic it will actually make much difference.
“it’s underpowered” This discussion has been so played out I’m not sure I need to go there. My feeling is that if you are chasing speed/track times, there are faster cars for less money. Buy this car if you prioritize driver engagement/enjoyment. From that perspective I think the power is more than enough. If you’re into performance mods and aren’t concerned with residuals, I get that too. More power isn’t going to make the experience worse.
“car won’t start” There seems to be 2 issues people are having: one where the ignition just clicks and one where the car turns over but doesn’t start. I haven’t had the latter and can’t speak to it, other than to agree with others on the forum that it sounds like a fuel pressure issue. I had the first issue at 600km. As recommended by others, I got out, locked the car, unlocked and the problem went away. Since then, I have waited 20s for the infotainment system to load before attempting to start the car and it has not happened again.
“the trunk gets stuck” I can confirm that if you have objects in the trunk putting upward pressure on the lid it will get stuck. It has happened to me about 5 times. The solution is to push down on the trunk while hitting unlock and then remove some objects.
“the trunk gets too hot” I don’t find this is an issue with 30 min drives / trips to the grocery store. On 2-3 hr drives it gets hot. Think black car parked in the sun. I attempted to improve this by putting Second Skin behind the trunk panel next to the engine and under the trunk mat. I didn’t make a difference. That’s likely operator error as it should have been installed outside the trunk, but that seemed like a lot of work.
“the infotainment is laggy” I’ve had no problems. When I first go the car, I struggled with the radio presets and finding things, but I’m onto it now.
“the drive mode selector shouldn’t have to be hit twice” This doesn’t bother me at all.
“the clutch feel is poor” I’ve not experienced this at all.
“the brakes are very touchy” I did struggle with this a lot at the start. I’m not sure if they are getting better now or if I am.
“this car gets too much attention” I have had people take pictures in parking lots, ask questions at gas stations, and even someone who followed me into my driveway to talk about it. I’m not someone who normally talks to strangers or likes a lot of attention. However, as many people have advised on this forum, I put on a smile and answer every question. The people are generally very excited and if you don’t match that level of enthusiasm and friendliness, I could see it confirming negative stereotypes about owners of high-end cars. If you don’t view this as a negative, it won’t be. I’ve had all positive interactions.
Other thoughts:
-the high beams are the best of any car I’ve driven. I do find the blue high beam indicator doesn’t catch my eye next to the blue tour mode background. I often put it into sport at night so there is more contrast and I’m less likely to high beam people.
-I’ve not seen anyone else mention it, but there is a weird function with the cruise control button where you can set a max speed. I accentually set it to 50kph one time and briefly thought I had broken something when it wouldn’t go faster
-I like that the cruise control doesn’t cancel with the clutch. I frequently downshift ahead of passing someone and I don’t necessarily want to slow down.
-I know Lotus handing is legendary, but I wasn’t really sure what to expect. The biggest thing I notice is that steering doesn’t load up in corners. The car feels eager to turn in because there’s no resistance in the steering wheel. I’ve heard some say that makes it more difficult to feel when you’re at the limits of adhesion and I could see that. Currently I’m not comfortable enough to try and break out the tail end anyways. Prior to this my fun car was a supercharged 10AE Miata, so this is a bit of an upgrade in terms of speed and performance. I passed 22 years and 300 000km with that car this summer. I hope I can have a similar run with the Emira, but that may be wishful thinking. Overall I’m very pleased with the car and I think it’s a relative value.
