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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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Shmee is back with a 6 month review
Great balanced review, points out daily the issues and the good parts. Certainly the sport/tourer, mine is the tourer.
He mentioned also the getting in and out, when I picked mine from Hethel, Sam/Scott said set the memory seat to your driving position and the other for getting in and out, it really works well.

Roland
 
set the memory seat to your driving position and the other for getting in and out, it really works well.
I am afraid to ask you that, how long does she take to move the seat? Especially when moving it from the very front to very back.
 
I'm 6ft with size 10 feet and not had/noticed an issue with that tbh. Maybe I have bendy ankles 😄

Or maybe being taller than schmee my seat is just further back 🤔
 
I'm 6ft with size 10 feet and not had/noticed an issue with that tbh. Maybe I have bendy ankles 😄

Or maybe being taller than schmee my seat is just further back 🤔
Good point, I've not got the longest legs so I fit a way into the tub.

The way it works, with the door open it will make the full moment of the setting with pressing the memory button, if the door is closed you have to hold the button in till it completes the moment.

Roland
 
Smoking tire podcast has some Emira content.

Comparing this to Shmee's video of driving around, you can clearly see the difference in the smoothness of the ride quality of the touring suspension versus the sport in Shmee's video. Seems quieter too. When you see the stupid twist in the seat belt going over their shoulders, it bugs me every time I see it. I can't believe Lotus thinks this is okay. I also noticed on the weather seal behind Zack, there's a slight pucker in the rubber seal, whereas behind Matt it's properly installed.

Little things, but their comments about how the Emira makes a good daily driver reinforces what I noticed with Shmee and Harry Metcalf. They have all these expensive cars they can drive, but both of them have gravitated towards the Emira as the car they want to drive on a daily basis. I see this as a very good thing for the long term enjoyability of owning and driving an Emira, especially if you have the touring suspension.

Interesting podcast format, like spending an hour and a half as a passenger in an Emira, hanging out with these two.
 
I've got sports with Cup2s and find it totally fine for longer trips, plus I love the extra steering feel. Isn't choice a good thing?
 
hmm Shmee making me nervous about picking the sports suspension. i sure wish I could experience both before dropping 100k on a new car...crazy talk i know
 
hmm Shmee making me nervous about picking the sports suspension. i sure wish I could experience both before dropping 100k on a new car...crazy talk i know
I drove the touring and switched to sports based on my very limited experience and others' feedback in the US who had the chance to drive the sport suspension on U.S. roads. I think the UK roads merit touring but from most of the people I've talked to in the US, they say sports is better. I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it but personally I'd rather it be a little 'too stiff' than 'too spongy' so that was my decision-making methodology.

If you go watch the Throttle House Emira review on YouTube, they love the sport suspension.
 
Comparing this to Shmee's video of driving around, you can clearly see the difference in the smoothness of the ride quality of the touring suspension versus the sport in Shmee's video. Seems quieter too. When you see the stupid twist in the seat belt going over their shoulders, it bugs me every time I see it. I can't believe Lotus thinks this is okay. I also noticed on the weather seal behind Zack, there's a slight pucker in the rubber seal, whereas behind Matt it's properly installed.

Little things, but their comments about how the Emira makes a good daily driver reinforces what I noticed with Shmee and Harry Metcalf. They have all these expensive cars they can drive, but both of them have gravitated towards the Emira as the car they want to drive on a daily basis. I see this as a very good thing for the long term enjoyability of owning and driving an Emira, especially if you have the touring suspension.

Interesting podcast format, like spending an hour and a half as a passenger in an Emira, hanging out with these two.
I couldn't help but think the same thing. If these guys daily the Emira more than the stable of other much more expensive cars at their disposal, we're in for a real treat :)
 
I drove the touring and switched to sports based on my very limited experience and others' feedback in the US who had the chance to drive the sport suspension on U.S. roads. I think the UK roads merit touring but from most of the people I've talked to in the US, they say sports is better. I wouldn't lose too much sleep over it but personally I'd rather it be a little 'too stiff' than 'too spongy' so that was my decision-making methodology.

If you go watch the Throttle House Emira review on YouTube, they love the sport suspension.
I think the problem that most of us are running into is that what companies like BMW and others have engineered into their "sport" suspensions to give obvious experiential feedback is not the sort of thing that actually helps handling. But we've been conditioned to expect a "sportier" ride to be harsh over high frequency road features and bumps.

That's not what Lotus has done here. The difference in damper tuning seems to affect the way the car rides over undulations in the road, not pebbles and cracks. The pebbles and cracks are well-damped in both cases.
 
hmm Shmee making me nervous about picking the sports suspension. i sure wish I could experience both before dropping 100k on a new car...crazy talk i know

I think the advice has pretty much always been the same:

- Daily driver? Touring
- Weekend car with bad roads? Touring
- Weekend car with good roads? Sports
- Sometimes track? Sports
- Track all the time? Sports or Touring it doesn't matter you're replacing your suspension anyways.
 
hmm Shmee making me nervous about picking the sports suspension. i sure wish I could experience both before dropping 100k on a new car...crazy talk i know
Don’t worry. Sports is not teeth rattling hard either. It is harder, but not to the point you can’t tour with it, even on rough roads. If you’re Shmee and you have X other cars that are of the harder kind, you can understand why he could wish for a softer suspension for his daily.

You’ll love it. Don’t worry - look forward to the amazing car you’ll get. ;)
 
hmm Shmee making me nervous about picking the sports suspension. i sure wish I could experience both before dropping 100k on a new car...crazy talk i know
If you can test drive a GT4 somewhere and are ok with that suspension set up you will like the sports suspension. It is a bit more compliant / softer than GT4 suspension and far superior IMO. I am going sport/goodyear after driving both. I originally thought I would go tour and am surprised by my own choice lol. I can see how many people would prefer tour and if you daily the car I would go that way as well.
 
Might give a better idea of the Sports suspension:
The Everyday driver guys are great reviewers, may be one of my favourites. I feel like the British press were critical of the Emira, perhaps because they were getting pre-production cars that were not final spec and full of gremlins. So far the US reviews have been extremely positive. Just watched a top gear GT4 vs M2 vs M1 manual and thought how is the Emira not apart of this... one of the last manual British made sports cars. Crazy to me.
 
Might give a better idea of the Sports suspension:
I noticed that 2nd gear goes to around 65mph but it seems lots of the 0-60 runs I've seen they shift into 3rd prematurely. I'd be interested to see a 0-60 pull without a 3rd gear shift. Might be a bit closer to the 4.3 seconds claimed.
 

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