Emira on Top Gear Mag Podcast

[Porter]

Posted yesterday (April 13th), episode entitled:

• Issue 358: Norfolk-ing Brilliant Lotus Emira!

Emira content starts at 14:25.



Available on multiple platforms from the list here:

The Top Gear Magazine Podcast

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[Eagle7]

Hearing these guys gush over the Emira like schoolboys seeing their first sports car was fun. At no point do you get the impression that they're trying to pump up the excitement; it's real. For the one guy who got up at 4 a.m. for a full day filming at Hethel, then drove the car to Wales, and stayed up to continue doing more filming and driving.... that says it all. As they said, it's the right car at the right time for Lotus. Couldn't agree more!

 

[GetawayDriving]

I'll take anything at this point, but I was hoping for some new insights, not a rehash of the video they released a month ago. All I really got is it feels like a Lotus, but more refined. We knew that already (as far as driving impressions go, it's one of the only things we know).

 

[Eagle7]

Well they did talk about how the big difference is refinement in how the car feels to be in and drive. Obviously the handling and all that was expected, but they were very impressed at how refined and finished the car was, and it's not even a pre-production car; it's a VP car specifically for developing ADAS features. They clearly had very high expectations going in, so If there was anything that would have let them down they could have easily said so, and you'd hear it in their tone of voice when talking about the car. There was none of that.

This car is something special, and everybody can sense it. Except for needing to get their communications act together, this is a great way for Lotus to gather global awareness of its name as a brand. They're definitely going to need to do more in the customer interaction department though. People are by and large being understanding for the most part right now, with everything going on in the world, but that won't last. When things get sorted out, and they will, they need to be ready.

 

[Elisesquared]

Nice interview, but like any other interview I've heard, I've still yet to hear anyone just answer one question:

Is it as good or better of a driver's car as the Evora GT? That's all I want to know and I haven't heard anyone say it yet. All I've heard is "It has all the familiar driving qualities you know from Lotus, but with the refinement." To me, that's a discounted way of saying it's a refined GT car, not an outright driver's car...which is what I don't want.

I want the Emira because I want a better looking Evora. I've heard EVERYONE talk about how great the Evora drives, but all I've heard regarding the Emira is how refined it is. Can one of these reviewers just reassure us that it's as good to drive as an Evora?? I honestly don't give a shit about the rest of it.

 

[VL3X]

Nice interview, but like any other interview I've heard, I've still yet to hear anyone just answer one question:

Is it as good or better of a driver's car as the Evora GT? That's all I want to know and I haven't heard anyone say it yet. All I've heard is "It has all the familiar driving qualities you know from Lotus, but with the refinement." To me, that's a discounted way of saying it's a refined GT car, not an outright driver's car...which is what I don't want.

I want the Emira because I want a better looking Evora. I've heard EVERYONE talk about how great the Evora drives, but all I've heard regarding the Emira is how refined it is. Can one of these reviewers just reassure us that it's as good to drive as an Evora?? I honestly don't give a shit about the rest of it.

Agreed 100%. I think it's a given that it'll be equally as good as the Evora GT to drive seeing as it's the same engine/drivetrain (the v6 at least), roughly the same weight, and nearly identical brakes and suspension too. It would be nice to get some real comparisons though! These YouTubers need to hurry up an release the content... I'm betting Lotus has another embargo on the production car reviews (non 007 proto adas test car) until we've all gotten our orders in and paid the second deposit through the end of this year.

 

[Eagle7]

Nice interview, but like any other interview I've heard, I've still yet to hear anyone just answer one question:

Is it as good or better of a driver's car as the Evora GT? That's all I want to know and I haven't heard anyone say it yet. All I've heard is "It has all the familiar driving qualities you know from Lotus, but with the refinement." To me, that's a discounted way of saying it's a refined GT car, not an outright driver's car...which is what I don't want.

I want the Emira because I want a better looking Evora. I've heard EVERYONE talk about how great the Evora drives, but all I've heard regarding the Emira is how refined it is. Can one of these reviewers just reassure us that it's as good to drive as an Evora?? I honestly don't give a shit about the rest of it.

Well isn't refinement the definition of improved and better?

 

[Elisesquared]

Well isn't refinement the definition of improved and better?

View attachment 4523

Not necessarily for a sports car. I guarantee a mercedes S-class is more refined than the Emira, but it's certainly not an "improved or better" sports car.

As it relates to the Evora, refined also doesn't necessarily mean better. What I think of when I hear refined is "soft" or "numb." Two things I don't want in my car. Will I take the nicer interior? Of course! But not at the expense of the driving experience - and that's all I want to hear from these reviewers, and I haven't yet. Honestly, not hearing that confirmation yet makes me worried it's a dumbed down Evora in terms of the driving experience.

I think it's funny that many people initially complained that the Emira is just a reskinned Evora. Well, that's actually exactly what I want haha.

 

[EM33RA]

M

Well they did talk about how the big difference is refinement in how the car feels to be in and drive. Obviously the handling and all that was expected, but they were very impressed at how refined and finished the car was, and it's not even a pre-production car; it's a VP car specifically for developing ADAS features. They clearly had very high expectations going in, so If there was anything that would have let them down they could have easily said so, and you'd hear it in their tone of voice when talking about the car. There was none of that.

This car is something special, and everybody can sense it. Except for needing to get their communications act together, this is a great way for Lotus to gather global awareness of its name as a brand. They're definitely going to need to do more in the customer interaction department though. People are by and large being understanding for the most part right now, with everything going on in the world, but that won't last. When things get sorted out, and they will, they need to be ready.

Mate we know you are a huge Lotus fan boy. There’s no need to always defend them at every opportunity and to wits end. They said nothing new is all he was saying. You’d think you’re the MD of lotus …

 

[Eagle7]

M

Mate we know you are a huge Lotus fan boy. There’s no need to always defend them at every opportunity and to wits end. They said nothing new is all he was saying. You’d think your the MD of lotus …

He asked a question; I assumed he wanted an answer. They did say something was new; maybe it just wasn't what you wanted to hear so you discount it.

I don't always defend them, but just because somebody says something positive about Lotus, there's no need to always feel the need to counter it. That works both ways. Considering the majority of comments come from those who are unhappy for whatever reason, I'm one of the very few to offer a counter balance to try and help people keep things in perspective. Not everyone wants that, and they get irritated if somebody tries to take away their moment of complaint. There are people who like to be upset; it gives them a feeling of power to complain. The last thing they're interested in is having somebody rob them of that, so I can understand why some think I'm a fan boy and get irritated at my responses.

This was actually about the TG guys and their reaction to the Emira though. It was very positive, and they commented on how even though this is a new Lotus, it still feels like a Lotus which is a good thing. If you haven't listened to it, do so. I thought it was good.

 

[Eagle7]

Not necessarily for a sports car. I guarantee a mercedes S-class is more refined than the Emira, but it's certainly not an "improved or better" sports car.

As it relates to the Evora, refined also doesn't necessarily mean better. What I think of when I hear refined is "soft" or "numb." Two things I don't want in my car. Will I take the nicer interior? Of course! But not at the expense of the driving experience - and that's all I want to hear from these reviewers, and I haven't yet. Honestly, not hearing that confirmation yet makes me worried it's a dumbed down Evora in terms of the driving experience.

I think it's funny that many people initially complained that the Emira is just a reskinned Evora. Well, that's actually exactly what I want haha.

It depends on what is refined. For a Lotus, refined handling means better feedback, more precise steering and handling, better tracking over road surface irregularities, better grip. All the TG guys said the touring suspension was great.

I have no idea of exactly what kind of driving experience you're hoping for that you're worried might not be there, but the Emira is probably going to handle better; it's just likely to be more refined and less track car raw. That's what they need to compete with the Cayman, so look at a Cayman to get an idea of what Lotus is aiming the Emira at.

 

[ARA]

Just listened to it, thanks for sharing the link. I thought it was very positive. I think I heard Ollie say it was as brilliant on the track as you would expect it to be and even more impressive on the road. In the YouTube clip I recall he didn't really express a view on whether he favoured it over the cayman, but in this podcast it sounded like they had not yet done the group test to draw a conclusion just yet. Overall, I feel even better about it after listening.