📓 Journals Hethel to the South of France!

[TomE]

Great to read you found an enjoyable route through a forum recommendation.

If you get the chance, do start your own journal with experiences and pictures from the rest of your trip. It might inspire someone else to try a new road.

 

[Porter]

@Tiger123 how did the rest of your trip go? Emira make it without further issue?

 

[Headspeed]

Will report further once we've reached our destination

 

[Nick in Sydney]

Emira make it without further issue?

But he hasn't reported any issues? He's been having a great roadtrip.

 

[Porter]

But he hasn't reported any issues? He's been having a great roadtrip.

I mean other than needing roadside assistance on his 2nd day?

 

[EyeFour Eemeerah!]

Any sign of Tiger?? He hasn’t post here since Aug 26th and is very reliable with his daily updates?

 

[Tiger123]

A slight delay in this next update (I’ve been mixing work with pleasure, so remote working has been consuming my days).

So day five with the car and as noted last time, mainly a motorway slog from from Lake Maggiore to our destination between Nice and Cannes.

Leaving the Lakes is not all that fun, Italian drivers and narrow roads not a great mix but a helpful reminder as to how perfectly sized the car is - wide enough to look aggressive but not wide enough to need the wing mirrors folding in every third corner. The size of Cayman was a perfect size to navigate the country roads in Norfolk and the Emira fits into that bracket too. Something that I’ve come to love in recent days are the wing mirrors - again, probably not a big deal for those coming from an Exige but versus a normal car (read Cayman) they make me feel like I’m driving something significantly more exotic.

Not a huge amount to report from the motorway journey - predictably the tunnels on the last 90 mins of Autostrade were utterly joyous, dropping into second and pulling hard every time. Took a detour via Monaco en route. It’s certainly not a hugely exciting drive into the Principality (or arguably around it with so much traffic, but looping the circuit is cool) but the amount of photos that were taken of the car was totally surreal. Monaco being somewhere I’ve spent a fair bit of time over the past nine years or so (and usually on the other side of the camera lens) it felt pretty cool to have a car that got so much attention, albeit the clutch control on the slight incline into Casino Square felt very high pressured with so many phones pointing your way!

Reaching our destination was almost upsetting as it meant part 1 of the road trip was over. As I alluded to at the top, our base for the next week or so was the coast, with not much driving planned!

That being said, it would be rude to be in the South of France and not venture into the hills, so the next post is an interesting one as the car will have been left static for a week following five days of c.300 miles a day…

 

[Tiger123]

Just on my first road trip with my new Emira..... heading for the French Alps. Followed your recommendation for using the D996 to Dijon.....what a road!!! Can't believe I didn't know about it before. Got to Dijon with a big smile on my face!!

Glad you enjoyed - I know the feeling! It was a find from a PistonHeads thread and couldn’t believe I hadn’t known about it sooner! Keen to hear your thoughts from the other roads you hit up in the Alps!

 

[Tiger123]

So six days after the last drive, I couldn’t resist making a trip up into the hills above Nice. Managed to convince my girlfriend into another pre 07:00 start to get onto the roads whilst they were empty and to give us enough time to get back to the pool for the afternoon sun (life’s about compromises, I’m told).

The car had been parked in an underground parking lot below the building we were staying in and to my surprise (given the amount of driving done to date) I had a cold start stall.

It sounded truly awful, like a canal boat. Thankful that the forum has provided me with insight into the issues - namely that others have had the same problem - as otherwise I’d have been nervous to head out for the day. Still understand there is no fix for this, but something needs to be done as quite frankly the noise is embarrassing and surely can’t be healthy for the longevity of the engine.

Roads in the South of France need little introduction, but given the benefit I’ve had from others sharing their routes, I thought I’d do the same. Started with the D3 from just West of Nice to the D2 then onto the Col de Luens. Roads are fantastic, with a great mixture of long sweeping bends and some tight first gear switch backs. Generally the roads are quiet and free from traffic.

Drop down to Castellane for a morning coffee and pastry (make sure you have cash…!) from there the D955 on the D2202. There is a 2km section on the D2202 that is probably my favourite section of road in France - it’s so good we went back and did it twice, affectionately known as red rock road if anyone wants a Google. Into Guillaumes from the D2202 for lunch then the D28 back to Nice, via a few of the ski resorts which had some tasty cars parked up including a GT4 RS in racing yellow.

In general, the Emira is much more enjoyable to drive on these roads at sensible speeds versus the GTS purely because of the sound and the manual gearbox. There are times out of some of the switchbacks where I miss the urgency of acceleration from the Cayman smashing through the gears.

Next journey is the one we all dread, back to the UK via Calais. Albeit much more enjoyable for us as we had a stop off in Orange for a night with Jamiroquai at the Roman amphitheatre in town. So the next (and final!) post of this trip will be the monster 1000km journey we had back home!

 

[hagen111]

Love reading your updates! Very well written and makes me long for my own next road trip, which will be end of September driving my Donkervoort from the coast north of Barcelona via Andorra to Biarritz.

Thanks for taking the time to write about your journeys.

 

[robrmon]

Just read the whole thread. Great read, following

 

[First Lotus]

My advance thanks for the nod towards the 996...if the weather holds I will be driving that end of September on the way to the Furka etc.
Unfortunately not in an emira. As much as I wanted to follow through with my purchase I lost faith at the last hurdle.
I still regularly check back on this site as I'm sure I will own one eventually. Just got to be happy the time is right.
Sounded like you had a great time in yours.

 

[EyeFour Eemeerah!]

My advance thanks for the nod towards the 996...if the weather holds I will be driving that end of September on the way to the Furka etc.
Unfortunately not in an emira. As much as I wanted to follow through with my purchase I lost faith at the last hurdle.
I still regularly check back on this site as I'm sure I will own one eventually. Just got to be happy the time is right.
Sounded like you had a great time in yours.

I echo your sentiments exactly. I had wanted to hold out faith in the company and rollout, but the entire gestalt of process and vehicle, left me very uncomfortable with going forward. I’m watching what the future brings for Lotus, and if they eventually get through this asteroid belt of issues plaguing them. TBD. I also just added another vehicle I had my eye on instead of the Emira, and saved some dinero to boot!! Need to get it coated and protected before she hits the streets though! Enjoy your choice!

 

[Tiger123]

Home time!

Huge slog heading from Orange (via) Calais to London. For those interested, Jamiroquai were excellent, nearly three hours of magic in the amphitheatre.

Started the day at the hotel having woken everyone up with a (non lumpy!) cold start. There is always a pretty noticeable lag on the screen when turning the car on, especially when it’s been left overnight. Opening the driver’s door doesn’t always fire it into life as promptly as you’d expect. Straight onto the Autoroute from our overnight stop and a reminder how helpful the Bip&Go is for the French toll roads - I would argue a must have if you’re heading to France.

The Emira has really impressed me in the Tour setting. I love the noise as much as the next person but nine hours at 130kph is not well suited to Sport. It’s a great touring car and it feels like there is much less drone from the tyres and the engine/exhaust versus the Cayman. Fuel economy is still slightly disappointing even on the long trip back.

The seats have predictably softened up over the course of the last few thousand miles and whilst not quite as good as Stuttgart’s offering, there are no complaints on comfort. They do, however, get warm. There’s no escaping the heat of the engine behind you and consistently I’ve been getting out on this trip (especially after the spirited drives) with a slightly wet back. Granted, it’s been warm outside but it often feels like you have your heated seat on.

Whilst we are on engine heat, let’s talk about the boot. I’ve mentioned it before, but it gets hot. Feel like it’s worth noting again, as when you’re packing up and moving between hotels, you’re consistently, on a daily basis, having to remind yourself to leave liquids/creams/food out of your ‘big bag’, and putting them in the cabin. Unpacking your clothes after a long day driving genuinely gives them the aura of ‘tumble dryer’ warm. In fact, at our Italian stop off the hotel concierge actually commented how hot the bags were as they assisted with the unpacking!

The KEF system is excellent - like really good. Following the bedding in process unquestionably will have helped, but I am really impressed at the quality of sound. Music files have been via CarPlay/Apple Music and there is a really rich tone to the music. It is leagues ahead of the Bose speakers in the Porsche.

The car has been faultless for the trip. I was genuinely slightly nervous about taking it straight on a Euro tour from Hethel but after day two the excitement of driving it usurps any worries about niggles/issues that may or may not appear. It looks so much more exotic than the price tag and feels like a new, but old school, sports car. It’s such a pretty design, sentiments clearly echoed by the other passers by encountered, that even the many petrol station stops were met with excitement as I could stare at the car whilst buying my coffee.

After a long pretty long day, and a very busy Eurotunnel, I pulled into a London car park with 2258 miles on the clock and unloaded the car from two week’s of debris and (warm) luggage. The irony was not lost on me when I then started the car to park it, and I was greeted by the ‘faulty parking brake’ warning light (hence the red triangle in the attached). I couldn’t help but chuckle (and frantically revert to the forum to see if others have had the same issue). Haven’t been out in the car since but it has been started and the warning was nowhere to be seen.

In summary, it’s a joyous machine and I feel extremely lucky to have one and be able to use it. My move out of the Cayman is not one I regret in the slightest and I expect to keep the pocket rocket from Hethel for some time to come. Already scoping out the next big trip and will endeavour to continue posting updates on here from notable drives!

 

[ADC]

This was a great series of posts... thanks so much for sharing your tour with us

Reading stuff like this, I am on the verge of letting myself get a little excited, as my delivery date inches closer.

 

[DPB]

I really enjoyed reading the story of your maiden journey in the Emira. It sounds like an amazing trip and really captures everything I am hoping for with the experience of owning and driving an Emira. All of us in the USA are anxiously awaiting our turn and this thread was a bright spot during the long wait. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Tiger123]

This was a great series of posts... thanks so much for sharing your tour with us

Reading stuff like this, I am on the verge of letting myself get a little excited, as my delivery date inches closer.

Glad you enjoyed! Every reason to be excited...!