Emira Review Index [I4 FE]

Creating a new thread and index for Emira I4 FE reviews which are scheduled for release on 8th August.
Please let me know of any missing review links and I'll update the index accordingly.

Reviewer	Type	Direct Link
Harry's Garage (Harry Metcalfe)	Video Review
Road and Track	Article	The AMG-Powered 2024 Lotus Emira Gets a Perfect Engine and an Imperfect Transmission To get the perfect engine for the Emira, Lotus had to take an imperfect transmission. It loses the manual and gets an automatic, sealed by AMG and not up to par. www.roadandtrack.com
AUTOCAR	Article	Lotus Emira I4 review | Autocar Sports car maestros’ final combustion model gains an AMG four. It’s an unexpected marriage, but an inspired one? www.autocar.co.uk
EVO	Article	Lotus Emira i4 2023 review – the final combustion-engined Lotus | Evo The AMG-engined Emira i4 is the last new internal combustion engined Lotus sports car, and it's one of the best www.evo.co.uk
Motor1	Article	2023 Lotus Emira I4 First Drive Review: AMG Power Meets British Poise Two fewer cylinders and a turbo replace Lotus’ hallmark V6 in a new take on the Emira. Cheaper, and only a little down on power, is it the pick of the range? www.motor1.com
TopGear	Video and Article	Lotus Emira i4 review: British sports car with an AMG hot hatch heart Reviews 2023 | Top Gear So this is the cheaper Lotus Emira for people who can’t stretch to the V6? It’s the entry-level car in terms of cylinders (four, not six), and power (360bhp, down from 400). But the new Lotus Emira i4 is not a cheap and cheerful door to Lotus ownership. Right now Lotus will only sell you a... www.topgear.com
Car and Driver	Article	First Drive: 2024 Lotus Emira 2.0 Brings Back the Four-Cylinder Lotus With its AMG-sourced 2.0-liter four-cylinder, the 2024 Emira hews to the Lotus tradition of getting more from less. www.caranddriver.com
Auto Express	Article	New Lotus Emira i4 2023 review | Auto Express We get behind the wheel of the last combustion Lotus ever. Is the new 4-cylinder Emira a worthy send-off? www.autoexpress.co.uk
PistonHeads	Article	2023 Lotus Emira i4 First Edition | PH Review The most powerful four-cylinder Lotus ever is also the final combustion model - a fitting farewell? www.pistonheads.com
The Smoking Tire	Video Review
Auto Daily	Article	2024 Lotus Emira i4 Review - Automotive Daily This is the last new internal combustion engined Lotus sports car. The last in a line that started with the Seven, captured the world’s imagination with the www.autodaily.com.au

 

[Tokion]

Car and Driver: "The inline-four is also louder than the V-6, with an exhaust note that turns gravelly at higher speeds and wider throttle openings, overlaid by plenty of induction noise and whistle from the turbocharger."

Could be a real entertainer if you like the whoosh sound of a turbo!

At least no synthetic or “piped” sound around there

 

[Dragoon]

Does the little intake door under the car bother anyone else? It seems like an afterthought. There's also the fan in the engine bay that's just there to blow cool air over the engine/turbo. The i4 just starts to be more complicated than it should IMO.

 

[digilotus]

Does the little intake door under the car bother anyone else? It seems like an afterthought. There's also the fan in the engine bay that's just there to blow cool air over the engine/turbo. The i4 just starts to be more complicated than it should IMO.

Yes i saw that in Harry's video and it looks like a broken metal cover hanging under the car. Very strange.
I hope this isn't normal as it would affect clearance and likely be damaged really easily.

The engine cooling fan seems to operate even after you turn the car off too. That will be a a great ducted heating unit to warm up UK garages in winter! So the I4 engine bay is an airfryer, and the V6 is a convection oven.

 

[digilotus]

The other observation is that ADAS doesn't seem to be a standard feature on the I4 FE as there's no nose cone.

 

[valentinewang]

The other observation is that ADAS doesn't seem like a standard feature on the I4 FE as there's no nose cone.

I am not sure about what ADAS stand for， Chinese i4 has cruise control，limited speed control，rear parking rada. Are they means the ADAS function？

 

[VL3X]

Top Gear video

 

[digilotus]

I am not sure about what ADAS stand for， Chinese i4 has cruise control，limited speed control，rear parking rada. Are they means the ADAS

ADAS stands for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. In the Emira it includes things like adaptive cruise control, road sign information (e.g. Speed sign warnings); lane departure warning; fatigue alert; anti-collision system; rear cross traffic alert; lane change assist...

 

[kitkat]

My friend who both test i4 and v6 AT said，i4 shifting gear box much clever than AT， the article usually compare the benz-DCT with PDK， it’s unfair！ Someone need to compare the emira i4 with a45 instead pdk.

Why is it unfair to compare it with the PDK? It’s a direct competitor and cheaper. Is it unfair because the PDK is that much better? LOL.

 

[kitkat]

Yes i saw that in Harry's video and it looks like a broken metal cover hanging under the car. Very strange.
I hope this isn't normal as it would affect clearance and likely be damaged really easily.

View attachment 29902

The engine cooling fan seems to operate even after you turn the car off too. That will be a a great ducted heating unit to warm up UK garages in winter! So the I4 engine bay is an airfryer, and the V6 is a convection oven.

Finally, I can make some Brussels sprout chips on the go.

 

[digilotus]

The topgear video says 0-60 in 4.4s. Down under the lotuscars website says 0-100km/h in 4.3s (0-62mph) as the "target performance". So what is it?

 

[valentinewang]

ADAS stands for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. In the Emira it includes things like adaptive cruise control, road sign information (e.g. Speed sign warnings); lane departure warning; fatigue alert; anti-collision system; rear cross traffic alert; lane change assist...

Ask the owner of i4，only cruise control & rear alert radar

 

[PsymonR]

Pistonheads review is out

 

[valentinewang]

Why is it unfair to compare it with the PDK? It’s a direct competitor and cheaper. Is it unfair because the PDK is that much better? LOL.

Ugly truth…

 

[virtualmacho]

Yes i saw that in Harry's video and it looks like a broken metal cover hanging under the car. Very strange.
I hope this isn't normal as it would affect clearance and likely be damaged really easily.

It does look like an afterthought, but not to worry, as people will soon be printing more discreet color/shaped vents, maybe even in carbon... I've seen ads for aftermarket ducts designed to improve cooling for the Alpine A110 (mid-engine turbo) at the expense of a slight clearance disadvantage.

So the I4 engine bay is an airfryer, and the V6 is a convection oven.

Beef, deer and kangaroo may not be that bad, but chicken, pork and bear is going to stink. Not to mention fish... I'll stay away from food and just dry my laundry.

 

[Nova]

I went to bed yesterday after watching Jay Leno and Harry's videos. Got up this morning... looks like my day's productivity is going to be shot.

 

[GetawayDriving]

From Pistonheads:

What remains inescapable regardless of spec, however, is the price. Just two years ago this was going to be the £60,000 Emira; it launched last month as the £81,495 First Edition, an incredible increase in such a short space of time. A PDK Porsche 718 Cayman S starts at £63,999; a GTS 4.0 with the automatic comes in at comfortably under £80,000. An Alpine A110 S is almost £20,000 less before any options. Even allowing for the good looks, smart interior and a more affordable entry point in time, the Emira currently carries an unenviable premium. Should the Lotus eventually prove itself to be a better driver’s car than either of its main four-cylinder rivals, £20,000 remains a lot. (For reference, the V6 now carries a £4,500 premium over the 2.0, at £85,995.)

I'm noticing a lot of reviews are making it sound like the I4 has had a £20k+ price hike. They mention the original starting price, then they mention the FE price (which has inflated) as if it's the new starting price, and then compare it to the starting price of the Cayman. Not terribly fair on the part of the reviewers. Here Pistonheads makes passing reference to a cheaper version but they are not comparing spec to spec with the rivals.

Sure, you can't buy the base right now. But you also can't buy this unless you're already on the list. Those joining the list based on videos like this will likely have the option of the base car.

 

[digilotus]

I'm noticing a lot of reviews are making it sound like the I4 has had a £20k+ price hike. They mention the original starting price, then they mention the FE price (which has inflated) as if it's the new starting price, and then compare it to the starting price of the Cayman. Not terribly fair on the part of the reviewers.

Sure, you can't buy the base right now. But you also can't buy this unless you're already on the list. Those joining the list based on videos like this will likely have the option of the base car.

I agree, that's not a fair comparison.

However based on the price hikes of the I4 FE, I4 Base won't be 60k, more likely 72+k or thereabouts. So more likely a 20% increase. In fairness to Lotus, the competition raised prices by about the same amount during this time as well.

 

[PsymonR]

Yes i saw that in Harry's video and it looks like a broken metal cover hanging under the car. Very strange.
I hope this isn't normal as it would affect clearance and likely be damaged really easily.

In the Top Gear video I wasn't able to make out anything similar, so fingers crossed it's something specific to the car Harry was given.
With an ADAS pod being expected for all I4s I'm thinking the test cars can't be the final production spec (though from an interior and engine performance perspective probably close enough for the purposes of review).

 

[digilotus]

In the Top Gear video I wasn't able to make out anything similar, so fingers crossed it's something specific to the car Harry was given.
With an ADAS pod being expected for all I4s I'm thinking the test cars can't be the final production spec (though from an interior and engine performance perspective probably close enough for the purposes of review).

View attachment 29904

Good pick up, I hope so!

 

[PsymonR]

I agree, that's not a fair comparison.

However based on the price hikes of the I4 FE, I4 Base won't be 60k, more likely 72+k or thereabouts. So more likely a 20% increase. In fairness to Lotus, the competition raised prices by about the same amount during this time as well.

I'd also agree that it's not the fairest of comparisons but I guess the reviews do need to mention the price and at the moment there is no information on what the base model will cost so in some ways Lotus are hurting themselves in the price comparison by not having revealed how much it will cost (but I expect they only want to do a single price hike for the base model than to have to hike it a second time when orders can be made for it)