Emira Review Index [V6 FE]

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.

Reviewer	Type	Direct Link
Edmunds	Article	New Lotus Emira Is Worth the Wait | Edmunds The 2022 Lotus Emira, powered by a supercharged 3.5-liter V6, is both the end and the beginning of an era as the automaker transitions to a world of fully electrified supercars and crossovers. www.edmunds.com
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 Review	Published 21st June Bought the Right Car?! LOTUS EMIRA V6 FIRST DRIVE The countdown is on! The folks at Lotus have delivered an Emira V6 First Edition to @TheShmuseum in a near-identical spec to my inbound car, to take for a fi... www.youtube.com
Carwow (Mat Watson)	Video Review	Lotus Emira review - and my BANNED test! Looking to sell your car? Then you've come to the right place. carwow is the free, easy way to change your car online. Check it out here: https://bit.ly/Buy-... www.youtube.com
TopGear	Articles and Video	Published 3rd July Chris Harris talks about the Lotus Emira Chris Harris On… The All-New Lotus Emira | Top Gear Series 32 “I’d feel a bit scared if I were a McLaren or an Aston Martin at the moment” Chris Harris chats to Top Gear Magazine’s Jack Rix about the all-new Lotus Emira... youtu.be Published 20th June Lotus Emira Review 2023 | Top Gear The last ever petrol-powered Lotus looks fantastic and drives with precision, but not quite as much emotion as we might’ve hoped www.topgear.com The big sportscar test: Lotus Emira vs Porsche Cayman vs Alpine A110 www.topgear.com
AutoTrader (Rory Reid)	Video Review	NEW Lotus Emira: The Last REAL Lotus? | 4K Rory reviews the new Lotus Emira, Lotus' last ever petrol sports car. Soon the company will transition to electric cars, but for this last hurrah the Emira p... www.youtube.com
Evo	Article and Video Review	2023 Lotus Emira review – strong showing for Porsche Cayman GTS rival | Evo The first new Lotus for a generation, and the last to be petrol powered, shows great promise but needs some polish www.evo.co.uk
CAR	Article and Video Review	Published 22nd July Lotus Emira vs Porsche Cayman GTS vs Alpine A110 group test review CAR magazine UK compares the Lotus Emira sports car with the Porsche 718 Cayman GTS 4.0 and Alpine A110 S www.carmagazine.co.uk Lotus Emira (2023) review: new 2.0-litre engine driven The brand new Lotus Emira, tested on road and track by CAR magazine. www.carmagazine.co.uk Lotus Emira vs Cayman 718 GTS vs Alpine 110s
Autocar	Article and Video Review	Lotus Emira V6 First Edition 2022 UK first drive | Autocar Most important Lotus in decades heralds a new era and sees out an old one, being the firm's last petrol sports car www.autocar.co.uk
Pistonheads	Article	2022 Lotus Emira | PH Review The Emira is one step closer to production-ready. And the good news (mostly) keeps coming www.pistonheads.com
KHTV	Video Review
The Drive	Article	2023 Lotus Emira First Drive Review: Lotus Grows Up, and Just in Time The Lotus Emira is the last of its kind, the final gas-powered car from the legendary company. And what a thrilling sendoff it is. www.thedrive.com
AutoExpress	Article	New Lotus Emira V6 First Edition review | Auto Express We hit road and track in the new Lotus Emira - the model that redefines the brand as a sports car maker www.autoexpress.co.uk Pictures: New Lotus Emira 2022 review - pictures | Auto Express Pictures of the new Lotus Emira www.autoexpress.co.uk
WhichCar	Article	2022 Lotus Emira review: V6 First Edition, international launch Lotus wants to compete with daily-driver premium sportscars like the Cayman and its new Emira V6 First Edition is a big step in the right direction www.whichcar.com.au
CarBuyer	Article	Lotus Emira coupe review | Carbuyer “The Emira marks a big step on in terms of design and quality for Lotus, and it’s great to drive” www.carbuyer.co.uk
Hagerty	Article	Lotus Emira first drive review: Will the fab four become the famous five? | Hagerty UK Is the Emira good enough to turn the fab four – Elite, Elan, Esprit, Elise – into the famous five? Read Andrew Frankel's review to find out. www.hagerty.co.uk
Road and Track	Article	Published 1st September Lotus Emira Road and Track Drive The Lotus Emira Is One of the Greats Lotus's final combustion-engined sports car starts a new era for the English automaker, and a prime example of what a well-funded Lotus can build. www.roadandtrack.com The 2023 Emira Is an All-Time High For Lotus The Emira comes from a bygone era. www.roadandtrack.com
Goodwood	Article	First Drive: Lotus Emira 2022 Review | GRR The Emira is the final combustion-engined Lotus, and it might finally be a match for the Porsche Cayman... www.goodwood.com
The Intercooler	Podcast	Reasonably good post-embargo Emira discussion on The Intercooler. Apple Podcasts Web Embed embed.podcasts.apple.com
Motortrend	Article	2023 Lotus Emira First Drive Review: The Porsche Substitute Don’t want a Porsche Cayman? Try this. www.motortrend.com
Drive	Article	2022 Lotus Emira review: International first drive With a reborn and reinvigorated Lotus looking to a new and very different future, is the Emira the first excuse-free Lotus? www.drive.com.au
AFR	Article	Lotus takes on Porsche with its $185,000 Emira This is a street car for buyers who appreciate luxury and great looks – although with a claimed top speed of 290km/h, it’s no slouch on the racetrack. www.afr.com
Parkers	Article	Lotus Emira Review (2024) Lotus Emira (2024) in-depth review. Read our experts' views on the engine, practicality, running costs, overall performance and more. www.parkers.co.uk
CarExpert	Article	2023 Lotus Emira review: First drive We drive the last Lotus without electrification around Mount Panorama to see if it's a worthy contender to the Porsche 718 Cayman. www.carexpert.com.au
Caffeine & Machine	Article	Caffeine & Machine Hitting the Alps in the summer, chasing the #cultofmachine in the brand spanking new Lotus Emira. Soul food at its best, delivered in spades across the myriad of special alpine roads littering the... www.facebook.com Photos on Instagram: Caffeine&Machine on Instagram: "Hitting the Alps in the summer, chasing the #cultofmachine in the brand spanking new Lotus Emira. Soul food at its best, delivered in spades across the myriad of special alpine roads littering the region. It would be 1,056 likes, 8 comments - caffeineandmachine on June 13, 2022: "Hitting the Alps in the summer, chasing the #cultofmachine in the brand spanking new Lotus Emira. Soul food at its best, delivered in spades across the myriad of special alpine roads littering the region. It would be so easy to... www.instagram.com
The Sunday Times Driving	Article	Lotus Emira V6 2022 on-track review: Lotus's last petrol car is more than significant ... it's good This isn't going to be one of our usual reviews, because our test drive of the new Lotus Emira wasn't usual, either, having experienced just three and a half laps behind the wheel around Goodwood Motor Circuit,. www.driving.co.uk
Car and Driver	Article	2023 Emira Is a Grown-Up Lotus The last gas-powered Lotus also may be the first you don't have to make excuses for. www.caranddriver.com
The Sun	Article	I've driven the Lotus Emira - you can use it every day and it's saving BRITAIN THERE’S only one type of person who wouldn’t fall in love with the Lotus Emira. Those Twitter-dwelling keyboard warriors who think they know more about cars than everyone else. I’ve seen a few comm… www.thesun.co.uk
AutoCar UK	Article	Published 2nd July Lotus Emira vs Porsche 718 Cayman | Autocar Lotus’s new sports car is a great car in its own right - but can it hold its own against the class leader? www.autocar.co.uk

 

[Lotustoronto]

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.

True... I think that the new year being around the corner and knowing I won't be getting an Emira in 2023 (and depositing in Sept '21) has left me a little more bitter than usual on the forum. Maybe I am just reading too much into it. I have definitely learned this year to lower some expectations going into 2023 when it comes to everything Lotus. I really hope the next batch of UK guys and then hopefully the US customers report back with glowing results. Not just from the car itself, but that Lotus is improving in other metrics, I will leave it there as not to derail the reviews thread.

 

[TomE]

It’s hard for reviewers to be completely dispassionate and just review how the car is to drive and live with.

A particular model, variant and badge will always have connotations of history, sporting success, reliability, image, customer service, quality etc. New brands like Tesla and Polestar have to create those from scratch. Cars like the 911 draw on a big foundation. Lotus has prior strengths to draw on and weaknesses to overcome.

It’s an interesting thought experiment to consider how the Emira would have been received if it had been the Evora Series 3, a Polestar or Lynk ICE sports car or the new base model Aston Martin.

 

[AndyHB]

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.

Great place to be for the average aging petrol head!

 

[Lotustoronto]

We'd Like To Argue That The Lotus Emira Is Leagues Ahead Of the Porsche Cayman

Would you agree?

www.topspeed.com

 

[frazzer]

We'd Like To Argue That The Lotus Emira Is Leagues Ahead Of the Porsche Cayman

Would you agree?

www.topspeed.com

bit of a rubbish opinion piece, author clearly has not driven one and just done internet research. Not that I disagree, but it's just not a qualified article.

 

[Lotustoronto]

bit of a rubbish opinion piece, author clearly has not driven one and just done internet research. Not that I disagree, but it's just not a qualified article.

yes it is - puff piece

 

[Porter]

I watched the STG podcast and listened to Tony's take on this.

I think the guy is really interesting. Not because I think his opinions are good, but rather as a sort of avatar for the most highly opinionated but lowest-information man that you might meet on the street. You may know the type... "vibe" takes only, with very little substantive info or experience at work in the formation of an opinion.

He isn't actually interested in the car itself as a thing to be driven and evaluated on its own merits. On the contrary, he's focused on what it "means" within his narrow set of incentives, and what it represents, both as a thing he can (or can't) make a consistent commercial business out of reselling as used product, and also as a person who is clearly more motivated by ego than by dynamic experience.

He doesn't like Lotus because he didn't like what they failed to do for him a decade ago, or two decades ago. In his mental model the brand is poison to his perception of the product. For Tony it's apparently not about whether the Emira is a good or worthwhile automobile in terms of engineering, construction, or driver feedback; it's about whether the consensus market perception says that it's good, including both current and past brand reputation. And for him to say good things about a Lotus in this particular case would require the market perception of the new product to so exceed his expectations that it soothes over and makes up for all the ways he has ever been disappointed or unimpressed by a Lotus product.

The guy loves Porsche because he doesn't have to do any work to sell one. People know what it is, and they want to have that, and they come to him to seek it out. The "vibe" of demand exists without supply. Therefore it's a "good" car because a mass of people think it's desirable, and any car that doesn't meet the same level of automatic mass-market desirability is "shit" in his opinion because it doesn't have the same automatic appeal. So by extension, in his mental model, any product that appeals primarily to niche customers was always going to be regarded as "shit", no matter how good it might be on technical merit, because if it was "good" then everyone would already want one, it wouldn't be niche, and there would be nothing to explain. Easy money is good, and not-so-easy money is shit, and that's the end of the discussion.

It's a bit like watching a dog try to do a math problem. It's simply not in the dog's capacity to operate outside his narrow set of incentives. The dog wants food, not math.

For those of us who love cars because of what they do, and how we feel when we drive them, Tony's whole perspective feels sort of crass and dismissive. Because, well, it is.

 

[Dommo]

 

[scoates]

Just watching now, good video so far! Only thing I noticed which I could easy be wrong with, but when he shows the dipstick and says "you can't easily see it but you'll just have to believe me that it's tucked down in there", I'm pretty sure it is missing! Looks like there is a tube with nothing in it roughly where I remember mine being...

 

[Dommo]

Just watching now, good video so far! Only think I noticed which I could easy be wrong with, but when he shows the dipstick and says "you can't easily see it but you'll just have to believe me that it's tucked down in there", I'm pretty sure it is missing! Looks like there is a tube with nothing in it roughly where I remember mine being...

It's a great watch with some far more in-depth details about the car but I won't spoil it for you if you're still watching it!

 

[scoates]

It's a great watch with some far more in-depth details about the car but I won't spoil it for you if you're still watching it!

Finished it now, great video and I agree with basically everything he has said!

 

[Dommo]

Finished it now, great video and I agree with basically everything he has said!

And, me!

Pretty much summed up everything we've learnt from the early car owners on here and gave a few interesting insights into more mundane parts of the car that don't normally become apparent until you own one.

The only new negatives that I could pick from it was that the plastic areas to access the dipstick looked very flimsy and the access to the battery could be a bit better considering it needs to be on trickle charge when not in use regularly.

 

[dzernski]

Finished it now, great video and I agree with basically everything he has said!

I'm not pre-disposed to like Schmee, albeit that's a personal prejudice, but given he has a certain following and his words carry some level of weight with the greater fraternity, I will say his couple of pieces on the Emira have seemed rather good and generally positive. I'd rather he'd driven it a bit more before delivering an initial verdict but he has at least been honest about that and noting things like the 4K "limit" for the first 1K miles. He has touched on a lot of the practicality issues that have been debated here and makes probably the best point of all being that, at the price it is, it's the options cost on some of the stuff he has and he's still planning on doing quite a lot with it.

 

[DaaS]

The dip stick is there. It's the yellow ring looking thing with the black mark on it.

 

[Lotustoronto]

Good overview, once again didn't really learn anything new. I am waiting for the next round of US YouTube/Car Mag's to start dropping reviews and getting some opinions from this side of the pond. I think we have seen everyone's verdict on the car and 90% of journalists have been on the same page, so I don't expect any major revelations, although interested in some of their points of view.

 

[scoates]

The dip stick is there. It's the yellow ring looking thing with the black mark on it.

You're right, I rewatched it just now (in fullscreen and HD this time... ) and what I thought was a tube in roughly the right spot is in fact the dipstick, the black mark is what I thought was the hole in the tube! Should've worn my glasses before commenting

 

[James DG]

Anyone seen this yet? I'm not in the UK at the moment (although I have asked the other half to pop out to the newsagents for me...).

 

[Pugwash]

Mine literally just arrived through the letterbox.
The seven drivers are
Clive Chapman
Paul Matty
June Matty
Rich Duisberg (current Elise owner)
Scott Winterberg (currently on the waiting list)
Thomas Woolley (classic lotus owner)
Adam Wilkins (magazine editor)
without giving too much away, they seemed to quite like it!

 

[Nova]

I watched the STG podcast and listened to Tony's take on this.

I think the guy is really interesting. Not because I think his opinions are good, but rather as a sort of avatar for the most highly opinionated but lowest-information man that you might meet on the street. You may know the type... "vibe" takes only, with very little substantive info or experience at work in the formation of an opinion.

He isn't actually interested in the car itself as a thing to be driven and evaluated on its own merits. On the contrary, he's focused on what it "means" within his narrow set of incentives, and what it represents, both as a thing he can (or can't) make a consistent commercial business out of reselling as used product, and also as a person who is clearly more motivated by ego than by dynamic experience.

He doesn't like Lotus because he didn't like what they failed to do for him a decade ago, or two decades ago. In his mental model the brand is poison to his perception of the product. For Tony it's apparently not about whether the Emira is a good or worthwhile automobile in terms of engineering, construction, or driver feedback; it's about whether the consensus market perception says that it's good, including both current and past brand reputation. And for him to say good things about a Lotus in this particular case would require the market perception of the new product to so exceed his expectations that it soothes over and makes up for all the ways he has ever been disappointed or unimpressed by a Lotus product.

The guy loves Porsche because he doesn't have to do any work to sell one. People know what it is, and they want to have that, and they come to him to seek it out. The "vibe" of demand exists without supply. Therefore it's a "good" car because a mass of people think it's desirable, and any car that doesn't meet the same level of automatic mass-market desirability is "shit" in his opinion because it doesn't have the same automatic appeal. So by extension, in his mental model, any product that appeals primarily to niche customers was always going to be regarded as "shit", no matter how good it might be on technical merit, because if it was "good" then everyone would already want one, it wouldn't be niche, and there would be nothing to explain. Easy money is good, and not-so-easy money is shit, and that's the end of the discussion.

It's a bit like watching a dog try to do a math problem. It's simply not in the dog's capacity to operate outside his narrow set of incentives. The dog wants food, not math.

For those of us who love cars because of what they do, and how we feel when we drive them, Tony's whole perspective feels sort of crass and dismissive. Because, well, it is.

Spot-on analysis. As a business person engaged in reselling second-hand cars, he must have the mentality of quickly assessing a wide range of brands and models. Unless his business is especially data-driven, which is unlikely, he will mostly rely on gut feeling or simplified impressions. This is a very useful tactic for his business, which I am sure he is very successful at. However, it can be a poor fit for impressions of a car/brand like Lotus' Emira.

 

[GetawayDriving]

"Not only goes head to head up against the Porsche and up against other cars in this segment, but absolutely destroys them all. It's wonderful" - Schmee

Strong words!