Emira Review Index [V6 FE]

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For those looking for the latest Emira V6 FE reviews scheduled to be released today, I've self-volunteered to maintain a quick reference index here.
Please let me know of any missing articles and I'll update accordingly. (y)

ReviewerTypeDirect Link
EdmundsArticle
Harry's Garage (Harry Metcalfe)Video Review

Harry drives the Sports and Tour suspension back to back on the same road and shares his thoughts.
Schmee150 (Tim Burton)Video ReviewPublished 21st June
Carwow (Mat Watson)Video Review
TopGearArticles and VideoPublished 3rd July
Chris Harris talks about the Lotus Emira

Published 20th June

AutoTrader (Rory Reid)Video Review
EvoArticle and Video Review
CARArticle and Video ReviewPublished 22nd July


Lotus Emira vs Cayman 718 GTS vs Alpine 110s
AutocarArticle and Video Review
PistonheadsArticle
KHTVVideo Review
The DriveArticle
AutoExpressArticle
Pictures:
WhichCarArticle
CarBuyerArticle
HagertyArticle
Road and TrackArticlePublished 1st September
Lotus Emira Road and Track Drive

GoodwoodArticle
The IntercoolerPodcastReasonably good post-embargo Emira discussion on The Intercooler.
MotortrendArticle
DriveArticle
AFRArticle
ParkersArticle
CarExpertArticle
Caffeine & MachineArticle
Photos on Instagram:
The Sunday Times DrivingArticle
Car and DriverArticle
The SunArticle
AutoCar UKArticlePublished 2nd July

 
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Tony does speak out of his arse he hates every car in the whole world except Ferrari's and BMW's surprising that when he's a car salesman. He wanted to go in on the Emira from the start and then contradicted himself by saying its just an old crappy Lotus and then saying they had to improve it to keep up with the competitors and be a car for the masses lol, he hasn't even driven it or spent anytime around one, he also played out that he didn't even know or care what the Eletre was called ha ha what sort of car salesman is that, I suppose YouTube is getting to his head. Sam is a decent guy when he talks I listen.
 
The Exige had been tested on rather old semi-slicks which had the best of life already behind iirc. Otherwise it had been faster for sure.
What about the Emira, cup2 tires in winter?
 
“The most accurate car Lotus has ever produced”

Google translate…

“We have always had horrendous fitting qualities, now they are simply poorly fitted”

I guess Lotus wasn’t lying, every judgement is relative….. 😂

I’m still in…… I too pray that my car will have these issues ironed out. It is a £75k car after all.
 
Tony does speak out of his arse he hates every car in the whole world except Ferrari's and BMW's surprising that when he's a car salesman. He wanted to go in on the Emira from the start and then contradicted himself by saying its just an old crappy Lotus and then saying they had to improve it to keep up with the competitors and be a car for the masses lol, he hasn't even driven it or spent anytime around one, he also played out that he didn't even know or care what the Eletre was called ha ha what sort of car salesman is that, I suppose YouTube is getting to his head. Sam is a decent guy when he talks I listen.
Just goes to show the Emira is a bit like marmite you either love it or you don’t. I do think, and have observed from test drives of the Emira, that the general public wlove the car. I couldn’t say that about a BMW M2 or plain Porsche Cayman.

Perhaps we are the special people Tony alludes too, the social misfits.. lol
 
I find it interesting that all the journalists have slated the gear change, yet the overwhelming comments on here and on FB are that the gear change is great, and adds character to the driving experience.... Some are out due to seats and other small bits but rarely is it the drivetrain...

The Emira I test drove recently had a fantastic shifter. Tight with very short shifts. Not sloppy at all like my Elises and Exige.
 
Just goes to show the Emira is a bit like marmite you either love it or you don’t. I do think, and have observed from test drives of the Emira, that the general public wlove the car. I couldn’t say that about a BMW M2 or plain Porsche Cayman.

Perhaps we are the special people Tony alludes too, the social misfits.. lol

If I can be unkind to myself for a moment, the Emira is made for poseurs. I am attracted to a car that looks like $200k but only costs $100k, a car that lets me casually mention that I drive a boutique brand low production mid-engined sports car with a manual transmission without taking on much of the hassles and risks of doing so. The Emira has enough performance bona fides to make me proud as an owner, even though I will likely not test its limits beyond spirited on/off ramp squirts. I will never lose a race because I won't be entering any, and I will never lose a car argument because I won't argue with other poseurs. :ROFLMAO:
 
Tony lost me at the Evora is a pile of crap, and the mere mention of an F-Type. That’s fine, he wants comfort and doesn’t care at all about driving dynamics. f-types exist for people like him, and they’re fine. Me, I like my sports cars to be sporting.

It’s true though that Emira lives in the space between Lotus purists who think it’s too soft and heavy and Porsche purists who think it’s not refined or clinically competent enough.
 
Just goes to show the Emira is a bit like marmite you either love it or you don’t. I do think, and have observed from test drives of the Emira, that the general public wlove the car. I couldn’t say that about a BMW M2 or plain Porsche Cayman.

Perhaps we are the special people Tony alludes too, the social misfits.. lol
I would safely guess if you put an Emira next to a Cayman/911 and BMW M2, did the equivalent of the Pepsi challenge where you picked 10 people off the street to look at all three, and sit in them all, then started the engine in all three cars. Told them they all within 15k of each other, and asked which car they would pick. 8/10 would say the Emira
 
I would safely guess if you put an Emira next to a Cayman/911 and BMW M2, did the equivalent of the Pepsi challenge where you picked 10 people off the street to look at all three, and sit in them all, then started the engine in all three cars. Told them they all within 15k of each other, and asked which car they would pick. 8/10 would say the Emira

Ok who has taken delivery and wants to test this out for science.
 
Ok who has taken delivery and wants to test this out for science.

Assuming you let them know the Emira is available in both manual and auto (so the shifter doesn't scare anyone away), I'd bet 9/10 would pick the Emira on looks and sound alone.... and the 1 who picked the 911 would be a dentist.
 
Tony made some solid points, mostly that Lotus is attracting Porsche buyers, and not looking at the current Lotus customers as the future.

Where I disagree is that the Emira is less sports car than an Evora. While the Emira is more refined, better looking and higher quality interior/tech, it’s not a huge amount different in terms of envolvemnt, speed etc. It is dialed back of course, especially comparing a Evora 430 Cup, but that is no different than comparing a 991 GT3 and saying the Base 992 911 feels soft comparatively.

I just got the over all feeling that he never liked Lotus, and feels it is not up to par with a Porsche or whoever. That no matter what Lotus makes it is still a level / step behind and that Emira is a re-bodied, dialled back Evora with the same old power train, that nobody really wants. While I objectively see his point, I don’t necessarily agree.

Evora was a great cad and Emira IMO fixed the majority of its problems, while the exterior styling is far and above class leading. Visually, I can’t see someone taking a 718, Alpine or any other sub 100k sports car in the looks department.

The biggest draw backs to Lotus, is not the Emira, but Lotus themselves. Fix the dealer network, better comm’s and make sure the Emira is high quality and it should all work out. Easier said than done and TBH, they are probably losing more customers due to the these issues than the actual Emira itself or reviews.

Hardest car under 200k I have ever tried to purchase, by far. Shouldn’t be this frustrating.
 
Assuming you let them know the Emira is available in both manual and auto (so the shifter doesn't scare anyone away), I'd bet 9/10 would pick the Emira on looks and sound alone.... and the 1 who picked the 911 would be a dentist.
Anti-dentite! (For the Seinfeld guys) hahahaha
 
Anti-dentite! (For the Seinfeld guys) hahahaha
ChubbyFrailImago-size_restricted.gif
 
The biggest draw backs to Lotus, is not the Emira, but Lotus themselves. Fix the dealer network, better comm’s and make sure the Emira is high quality and it should all work out. Easier said than done and TBH, they are probably losing more customers due to the these issues than the actual Emira itself or reviews.

Hardest car under 200k I have ever tried to purchase, by far. Shouldn’t be this frustrating.

100% agree! Lotus needs to work on their image and customer relations the most and just let their amazing vehicles speak for themselves.

I remember when Hyundai first came out (at least here in the states). They were cheap economy cars and didn't last too long. Eventually Hyundai had the bright idea to offer a 10 year warranty and sales went through the roof. Then they finally had enough money to fund more R&D, enhance manufacturing, and improve quality. Now their vehicles are praised for being some of the best in class.
 
Assuming you let them know the Emira is available in both manual and auto (so the shifter doesn't scare anyone away), I'd bet 9/10 would pick the Emira on looks and sound alone.... and the 1 who picked the 911 would be a dentist.

The irony is the only dentist I know personally drives a Lotus.
 
Tony does speak out of his arse he hates every car in the whole world except Ferrari's and BMW's surprising that when he's a car salesman. He wanted to go in on the Emira from the start and then contradicted himself by saying its just an old crappy Lotus and then saying they had to improve it to keep up with the competitors and be a car for the masses lol, he hasn't even driven it or spent anytime around one, he also played out that he didn't even know or care what the Eletre was called ha ha what sort of car salesman is that, I suppose YouTube is getting to his head. Sam is a decent guy when he talks I listen.
Just " good cop/bad cop" scenario for the benefit of the podcast and entertainment, one of them has to be a "dick", I think we know which one has fulfilled that brief!
 
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Does anyone else feel that if the Emira had a different badge it would have been received by the journalists in a different light?

Who here thinks if the Emira was badged by a bigger manufacturer say as a VW sports car -like it's w12 concept from decades ago. Basically what I am asking is; Are the journalists just evaluating the Emira for what it is - or Lotus the car manufacturer vs the other manufacturers in the sports car segment?
 
Does anyone else feel that if the Emira had a different badge it would have been received by the journalists in a different light?

Who here thinks if the Emira was badged by a bigger manufacturer say as a VW sports car -like it's w12 concept from decades ago. Basically what I am asking is; Are the journalists just evaluating the Emira for what it is - or Lotus the car manufacturer vs the other manufacturers in the sports car segment?
Why is it one or the other? Reviewing a car also involves comparing it to other cars as well as the value proposition it offers.
 
Does anyone else feel that if the Emira had a different badge it would have been received by the journalists in a different light?

Who here thinks if the Emira was badged by a bigger manufacturer say as a VW sports car -like it's w12 concept from decades ago. Basically what I am asking is; Are the journalists just evaluating the Emira for what it is - or Lotus the car manufacturer vs the other manufacturers in the sports car segment?
Car reviewers in the golden age of automotive journalism were a fun bunch. They realized that aside from objective test data, their personal preferences are just that, personal preferencs. They relayed those preferences but remained generally neutral about the cars they were reviewing. But more recently, they have become insufferable. They now fancy themselves knowledgeable and especially endowed, the arbiters of not just truth but good taste. In this regard, they are closest to food critics - most are just full of sh*t.
 

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