I'm in - the buyers thread

[richbrown]

Great!!!
What have you had previously and what made the Emira right for you?
Nice to hear that the car is a great fit for some!

current car is an RS5 V8 but have had C63, 911 (997 carrera), TVR Griffith. For me it has the looks, 400 horses is more than enough for fast road use, lovely noise, smart interior and pricing seems reasonable vs the Evora. It’s a keeper for me and will never be sold ! My electric station car awaits in 4-5 years and the Emira will be stored somewhere. Congratulations to the Lotus team!

 

[Evotion]

Nice cars all!! I have a C63 Edition 507 at present. Love it. What a BEAST!

For me it has the looks, 400 horses is more than enough for fast road use, lovely noise, smart interior and pricing seems reasonable vs the Evora.

Bang on!!

Many people think it should have 500HP, weigh 1200Kg and yet still be one of the best looking sports cars ever made for £80k

 

[richbrown]

Nice cars all!! I have a C63 Edition 507 at present. Love it. What a BEAST!


Bang on!!

Many people think it should have 500HP, weigh 1200Kg and yet still be one of the best looking sports cars ever made for £80k

Nice I had the C63 2012 plate on a super cheap 2 year lease and loved it! The noise was incredible. Sorry missed the fact the seats were comfortable (maybe seating slightly higher than I’d like but hey who cares!). Best of all it’s made in . What spec have you gone for ?

 

[Wake]

I’m still in, been trying to keep off the forums and stuff as it causes me to overthink the situation too often. The last I heard was that I was a January production, February delivery. It now being the 23rd of Jan, should I be concerned that I haven’t heard anything else? Or do they not tell you when the car starts production?

 

[Magicman]

I’m still in, been trying to keep off the forums and stuff as it causes me to overthink the situation too often. The last I heard was that I was a January production, February delivery. It now being the 23rd of Jan, should I be concerned that I haven’t heard anything else? Or do they not tell you when the car starts production?

You'll need to call them, I'm Jan build and Feb delivery, I've heard nothing from them so called Friday and they estimated middle of Feb build for me now. No one was going to bother telling me I feel.

 

[Hell4Leather]

You'll need to call them, I'm Jan build and Feb delivery, I've heard nothing from them so called Friday and they estimated middle of Feb build for me now. No one was going to bother telling me I feel.

January build with February delivery? Seems awfully tight with fit and finish and QC. Heck the paint takes a week to cure

 

[Magicman]

January build with February delivery? Seems awfully tight with fit and finish and QC. Heck the paint takes a week to cure

I can only say what they tell me its likely a complete fairy tale as per the last 5 times they've told me a build.

I'd be amazed if there's cars just sat there for a week for paint to cure, not something I've heard of tbh.

 

[TomE]

I’m still in, been trying to keep off the forums and stuff as it causes me to overthink the situation too often. The last I heard was that I was a January production, February delivery. It now being the 23rd of Jan, should I be concerned that I haven’t heard anything else? Or do they not tell you when the car starts production?

It still seems to be a bit random when they issue the protect/enhance and checkout emails versus where the car is in the build process.

Some have had checkout as the car goes into build, others only once it has finished build and gets to PDI

Hopefully as they iron out the processes it will get more predictable.

 

[TomE]

I can only say what they tell me its likely a complete fairy tale as per the last 5 times they've told me a build.

I'd be amazed if there's cars just sat there for a week for paint to cure, not something I've heard of tbh.

The panels are painted off the car then bonded to it, so they can let them cure before assembly.

 

[VL3X]

I’m still in, been trying to keep off the forums and stuff as it causes me to overthink the situation too often.

Smart move.

 

[Superman]

I'm in!

Deposit for an i4 placed first week of Jan 2023 (hoping for FE spec still by the time I get a build slot, but if not, will be a well spec'd Base model).

CS told me roughly 18 months expected wait time, but I'll take that with a pinch of salt and see how things pan out over the next year or so - Would love to get the car asap, but to be honest don't mind the wait. Will be reading lots of others' early impressions and feedback on their new cars whilst I wait for mine

 

[Evotion]

but I'll take that with a pinch of salt

A pinch!?
Might need a bucket

I think you are right. By the time you get the i4 it will be not only sorted but most likely improved too.
They might have even lifted the power by then - perhaps in the face of competitors.

You will also have more colours and spec options (like carbon and seats) to choose from!

 

[Wake]

You'll need to call them, I'm Jan build and Feb delivery, I've heard nothing from them so called Friday and they estimated middle of Feb build for me now. No one was going to bother telling me I feel.

Emailed as not in the country to call, been told there is a “slight movement” of my order and it has now moved into Feb. I’m told they are waiting on an update from the factory to determine when the checkout process can be initiated. I’m assuming this also means delivery has been shifted into March. We shall see I guess.

 

[FrenchBred]

I'm still in, for now.
Since my Emira test drive in November 21, i've now tried a 718 GTS 4.0 and a TT RS. Thanks Lotus, I would never have walked into either of these situations 12 months ago.....

Quite different experiences where it felt like Porsche wined and dined me, I was there for ages before and after. I had an accompanied ~30 min drive on a defined route with £500 excess. Audi sent me straight out on my own with a £250 excess undefined route and a loose time limit. Both dealerships had very busy lots and at Porsche I couldn't even park on site, one of my biggest gripes buying any £value car, you should feel like you and your vehicle are valued not penned in like battery hens IMO. Lotus Bristol win that part of the experience hands down their lot was empty obviously!!

Both cars were good in their own ways but not ticking any more boxes than the Emira in terms of driving experience for me. Note that both were auto and I am a staunch manualist. I have requested a test drive of a manual GTS 4.0 but am told they're pretty rare, I'm not holding my breath.

 

[Wake]

Both cars were good in their own ways but not ticking any more boxes than the Emira in terms of driving experience for me. Note that both were auto and I am a staunch manualist. I have requested a test drive of a manual GTS 4.0 but am told they're pretty rare, I'm not holding my breath.

Do I read that to understand that you felt the autos on the Porsche was an on par driving experience to a manual Emira? That’s quite some praise for the PDK

 

[Aero]

Do I read that to understand that you felt the autos on the Porsche was an on par driving experience to a manual Emira? That’s quite some praise for the PDK

Have a 911 with a PDK since its the wife's car mainly. I hate auto trans and the PDK drives great (for an auto).
IF had a choice I wouldve still got the manual 911.

 

[FrenchBred]

Do I read that to understand that you felt the autos on the Porsche was an on par driving experience to a manual Emira? That’s quite some praise for the PDK

Sorry no, my original statement is badly written!! The pdk and dsg both left me feeling cold as I missed the engagement of swapping cogs myself.
Oddly I felt more at ease in the audi but maybe that's because I didn't have a chaperone to be embarrassed infront of.

The manual emira is obviously slower, but infinitely more rewarding.

 

[VL3X]

Sorry no, my original statement is badly written!! The pdk and dsg both left me feeling cold as I missed the engagement of swapping cogs myself.
Oddly I felt more at ease in the audi but maybe that's because I didn't have a chaperone to be embarrassed infront of.

The manual emira is obviously slower, but infinitely more rewarding.

VW's DSG is amazing. Especially when tuned and optimized for sporty driving. I didn't realize you could tune the transmission control unit (TCU) as you can the ECU until I got my VW GTI in 2017 and started tinkering. You can increase clamping force, modify up/down shift points, auto kick down times, specifically tune different driving modes (D, S, S+), increase rev limits, and minimize response time when using the flappy paddles. Plus there's all sorts of launch control settings. It's really amazing!

All that to say, I still prefer the driver engagement of a manual transmission. DSG/PDK is fun and extremely fast to respond and shift (plus my better half can drive it on long road trips), but it's not my preference for a dedicated weekend or track toy.

 

[Porter]

I had an accompanied ~30 min drive on a defined route with £500 excess. Audi sent me straight out on my own with a £250 excess undefined route and a loose time limit.

Sorry for my ignorance (I'm American)... what do you mean by "excess" and what is the value in reference to?

 

[FrenchBred]

Sorry for my ignorance (I'm American)... what do you mean by "excess" and what is the value in reference to?

If any prangs on the test drive, I'm liable for that amount off of the cost of repairs. I can't recall if lotus was £500 also. I guess it's designed to reduce the amount of test pilots.
I just found it odd that audi was less given their roughly the same cost and performance vehicles.