Final Production Seats: A Deeper Dive

[Lotustoronto]

Porsche = Wife
Lotus = Mistress

 

[Cachaco131]

Btw, I’d bet money that the current Cayman GTS is unquestionably a “better” car than the Emira, in probably every quantifiable way (performance, reliability, resale, comfort, quality, even infotainment, luggage space, etc., etc.) but yet here we are on the Emira forum. Is that because we’re all dumb, or just because we irrationally prefer the Emira and thus have apparently joined the Emira cult?

Exactly, we follow Lotus blindly. Accept delays, quirks, non existent customer service enough to disregard the P car.

 

[Cutting42]

Tesla is by no means perfect (FSD is insultingly overpriced/hyped, the yoke steering a joke, etc), however, a slight drop in cosmetic build quality is worth it for better range & performance, the supercharging network, vastly superior software and battery tech, no dealership nonsense, and all the various other benefits Tesla's currently offer over the competition. I'm glad the Germans are releasing some quality alternatives, but Tesla is going nowhere but up in value at least for the next 3-5 years. Saying anything otherwise is denying the obvious.

Most people focus on their cars, but their number one advantage will be in manufacturing (vertical integration) and eventually energy generation/storage.

I disagree completely on the dealership experience. I dream of my old BMW dealer rather than the disinterested, completely unreachable Tesla people who won’t even bend down to pick up a dropped fiver unless you hand over your credit card details first.

The cars are worth about £30k, but the charger network is worth £15k and the battery worth £15k so the £60k bill is just about worth it. I will be leaving Tesla as soon as my lease is up.

 

[Cachaco131]

I still daily a Saab. Maybe I belong here given my proclivity for punishment.

Next Decade, shall we expect the summary of your visit this decade or next decade?

 

[FlyNavy01]

I disagree completely on the dealership experience. I dream of my old BMW dealer rather than the disinterested, completely unreachable Tesla people who won’t even bend down to pick up a dropped fiver unless you hand over your credit card details first.

The cars are worth about £30k, but the charger network is worth £15k and the battery worth £15k so the £60k bill is just about worth it. I will be leaving Tesla as soon as my lease is up.

Bummer, it must be different in the UK. I've owned mine for 4 years and haven't had an issue. Dealerships in the US are miserable. I've been happy to leave behind spending an entire afternoon haggling over the price of a car and that whole dog and pony show. Literally bought my Tesla on my phone and they delivered it to my house 2 months later. BMW peaked about 10 years ago so I've left them for good. The cars they're putting out right now are mostly laughable. The new M2 looks like a child's toy to me. Guess we should be happy we all have these choices haha.

 

[Hapkin]

Next Decade, shall we expect the summary of your visit this decade or next decade?

Hurricane Ian flew through his neck of the woods. Hopefully he is ok. Give him a bit to recover from that and a busy return to work week.

 

[TomE]

Here are pictures of production seats in red leather from the dealer demo car at B&C today.

The finish is to a very high standard - leather quality, stitching lines, no bagging. The seat was comfortable and the right level of firmness and bolstering for me. But only sitting in it and not driving it, so not the full story.

 

[digilotus]

Thanks for sharing these @TomE! Has anyone else noticed the change in colour design on the door compared to the configurator?

I think it looks cleaner just having the colour leather down the armrest and not going up the door, so thumbs up from me.

Configurator design:

Final production:

 

[CoryC]

Pardon my interruption but I hope Lear is not pronounced Lier or Lotus will be in serious trouble. I've been dealing with Lotus since 2005 so stories does not do much for me anymore. I, like every customer out there want to start seen results! I recently purchased a 2021 Evora GT with 3500K miles and less than a year old and the $5K seats are coming undone, have a water leak (14 years in the making) the AC stopped working twice, the pillar covers are ungluing, for a customer coming from Porsche or even KIA these series of events could be devastating. I just can't understand how Lotus all of the sudden is this state of the art company with great craftsmanship. The interior on the Emira reminds me so much of a Tesla (a car I would never buy) Can't wait to see the three beautiful indentations on the seats coming unglued like my eye bags, you're going to have to use that cream on TV to put it back together!
I also feel sorry for those of you that are planning to seriously track your car, you will have to put some serious money to make it full track ready or buy the GT4 instead....
I am seriously deviating whether I should keep my deposit or just weight until the I4 3.0 comes out with more power and new and improved seats or even hold on until the electric in 2026. Nuff with my rant, have a good evening!

Well... a $100 million dollar influx / enhancement of their facility for the Emira with an all new, state of the art development and assembly process might have a bit to do with those claims. As mentioned previously, this is an entirely different vehicle than the Evora.

 

[Leonard]

Here are pictures of production seats in red leather from the dealer demo car at B&C today.

The finish is to a very high standard - leather quality, stitching lines, no bagging. The seat was comfortable and the right level of firmness and bolstering for me. But only sitting in it and not driving it, so not the full story.

View attachment 9317View attachment 9320View attachment 9318
View attachment 9319View attachment 9321

Still doesn't appear to be much lateral support? Or gripper than they look?

 

[CoryC]

Btw, I’d bet money that the current Cayman GTS is unquestionably a “better” car than the Emira, in probably every quantifiable way (performance, reliability, resale, comfort, quality, even infotainment, luggage space, etc., etc.) but yet here we are on the Emira forum. Is that because we’re all dumb, or just because we irrationally prefer the Emira and thus have apparently joined the Emira cult?

I might actually question that... "unquestionably" is a bit strong/premature if you ask me. Porsche Cayman quality & infotainment, etc. over the Evora IS unquestionable, though I'm not so sure it CLEARLY out drives / performs it. That said, imho there isn't enough first hand experience with the Emira yet to make such a claim; This is an entirely new car from and entirely new facility - the disparity in every quantifiable way you mentioned may no longer be there. Further, as mentioned, the market is so saturated with Porsche (for an earned reason of course) for both enthusiasts and non enthusiasts alike (status seekers). The Emira appeals to those looking to be a bit more of an individual, rather than a follower of the masses. Now that there seemingly aren't nearly as many compromises needed to be made to justify Lotus over Porsche, that choice seems far MORE rational, though I'm still a proud member of the "cult"!!

 

[DerTheDer]

Thats my spec...nice.

 

[Pops68]

Here are pictures of production seats in red leather from the dealer demo car at B&C today.

The finish is to a very high standard - leather quality, stitching lines, no bagging. The seat was comfortable and the right level of firmness and bolstering for me. But only sitting in it and not driving it, so not the full story.

View attachment 9317View attachment 9320View attachment 9318
View attachment 9319View attachment 9321

Wow that looks like great quality! Thanks for the pics, and I'm glad I picked the red interior it looks good imo..

 

[Lotustoronto]

The leather does look to be of high quality. But I have always said, British cars do some of the best trim work in their vehicles interiors.

 

[GetawayDriving]

Here are pictures of production seats in red leather from the dealer demo car at B&C today.

The finish is to a very high standard - leather quality, stitching lines, no bagging. The seat was comfortable and the right level of firmness and bolstering for me. But only sitting in it and not driving it, so not the full story.

View attachment 9317View attachment 9320View attachment 9318
View attachment 9319View attachment 9321

Any other pics of this car? That's my spec...

 

[Mark.]

Still doesn't appear to be much lateral support? Or gripper than they look?

Having sat in the car at Bell & Colvill I was quite surprised how wide the seat felt. Bolsters not even close to my sides.

I didn't try to adjust anything. Is this something that is adjustable?

 

[TomE]

Still doesn't appear to be much lateral support? Or gripper than they look?

It felt like it had enough depth to the bolsters on the seat base and on the wings of the seat back to hold me comfortably. But the real test is going to be driving it and doing some brisk cornering.

 

[TomE]

Any other pics of this car? That's my spec...

Here:

Bell and Colvill Opening (Surrey UK)

Brilliant! The view is blurred by the hundreds of noses that have already pressed against that window! See you tomorrow - remember the special Emira Forum handshake :) Meet-up protocol: 1st person challenge: For the Driver 2nd person response: Worth the wait Handshake and chime: Soon!

www.emiraforum.com

And here:

Live from the Bell & Colvill launch

Official launch today of the newly refurbished showroom. B&C’s Nimbus demo Emira is here for the weekend (back to factory for some fettling on Monday). Lots of deposit holders popping in - nice to meet you all. Also an Eletre show car and several other interesting Lotus cars. Some pics for...

www.emiraforum.com

 

[TomAce]

Having sat in the car at Bell & Colvill I was quite surprised how wide the seat felt. Bolsters not even close to my sides.

I didn't try to adjust anything. Is this something that is adjustable?

Sadly not, there ist no adjustment for the side bolsters.

 

[Mark.]

Sadly not, there ist no adjustment for the side bolsters.

Hopefully the alcantara option will give more grip