Lotus Tailor Made Advanced August 3rd

[First Lotus]

I attended too. And despite feeling as sick as a dog all day after going on the skid pan /circle exercise, this is what I sent my car buddies when they asked for a review...

So.... I have been wavering on my commitment to the emira over the last month or so due to some issues and reviews. However...
Before I had stopped my car on arrival I was blown aaay by how good looking the emira is.
There were 4 lined up. Nimbus. DV. Blue. And yellow. All great. Nimbus with black pack just looked epic. Stand out without shouting!
Then came the interior. As I sat in it I thought, yes, this is nice. Exactly what I was hoping for. Its not stunning. But it's 75k.im not benchmarking this car against 200k Porsches.
The position, the feel, the wheel, the materials. All nicer than I expected.
Then then sound. Really great for a v6. Yeah, it doesn't sound as impressive as my 430, but I wouldn't expect it to. But it does sound great at times. Driving mode is important for this.
Then the drive... Not lightening fast by any means. But fast for sure. Useable. But obviously not a patch on something like Lloydy's LT. Probably not as fast as my 430 but I'd be quicker round track in it provided I didn't miss a gear.
Gearbox...good.a couple of glitches in a couple of the cars, but in one of them it was sweet.
As comparable... I haven't driven much to do this. Driven dad's 458, Lloydy's LT, and sat in Phil 's GT4. None of which I'd say were comps. I would probably value a trip to porsche to test drive a 718 GTS. But tbh, the emira is more than good enough for me. Even if I thought the porsche felt better, it couldn't drag me away from the looks. Put the 2 next to each other and the emira looks a stunner.
I loved it. For me, it hits the mark of what I want (within the price bracket that it sits!) Absolutely.

Edit... For those with nimbus like me...

 

[Leonard]

Edit... For those with nimbus like me...

 

[Chris2409]

Having also attended the day, I’ll also add my thoughts:

Like a few of the guys have already said, the cars really do look amazing. I’ll admit that I was a little underwhelmed when I first saw the model that was doing the dealer tours a few months back but seeing them properly out on the road, they all looked great and very mini-super car like.

The cars were pre production spec and so still a few things still to iron out in the final spec cars hopefully some of the issues below were as a result of this.
The powertrain feels very Lotus - if you have experience with a recent Exige, you will likely have a good idea of what to expect. I was left a bit underwhelmed with the gearbox - one car jumped out of first when setting off several times and another would crunch when trying to get 5th at speed. I would say that the gearbox can’t be rushed which I guess is similar to what many road testers previously mentioned.
Brake pedal travel and feel was very different between the cars - this was something that other participants noticed as well. The brakes did hold up well during our sessions.
Sport vs Tour - honestly it is too difficult to judge when you’re only on a smooth circuit - several of us drove both cars and both were very capable. I certainly wouldn’t worry about Tour being too soft.
Colour and spec are all obviously very personal and subjective however my thoughts - the DV is very dark - it really does look black in dull light but has a nice green tint in direct sunlight. The yellow on the callipers was also different to the yellow that was used on the roadshow car. The roadshow car had more of a mustard colour - similar to Hethel yellow but this has now been changed to a bright yellow the same colour as the Lotus badge. I personally preferred the original colour. The silver wheels look really good.
The window tints were not too dark - my spec has clear glass but you can still see the engine even with the tinted glass which is cool.
The pre production seats were fine but one car which had leather seats had very loose leather and creasing - hopefully the final seats will be considerably better finished than this.
Somebody previously asked about height for taller drivers. At 6’2 I still had plenty of room and could move the seat further back.
In terms of the day itself, I would say it’s pretty expensive for what you get. Obviously it’s on a par with things like the Porsche experience centre now but having done the Lotus licence days in the past, I didn’t feel that it was as good value as it was before which is a shame.

 

[Car66]

Thank you for your review and update!

Did Lotus indicate at all when tweaking of cars would end and production would begin?

I keep getting the impression that they're changing things on the fly almost daily (for unknown reasons), which is kind of worrisome, especially at $100K.

Car was type approved at end of June - this was a critical requirement as ADAS became compulsory from July 1st and is only on i4 cars not FE

 

[Leonard]

Car was type approved at end of June - this was a critical requirement as ADAS became compulsory from July 1st and is only on i4 cars not FE

Part of me is happy that I get the chance to buy the last of the non ADAS non Particulate Filter cars and keep it as a forever car.
Part of me worries that as part of the global conspiracy of controlling and monitoring us mere plebs, governments will force these cars off of the road through unreasonable taxation meaning they could actually be a terrible investment.
I guess worst case these systems could be retrofitted to get around that.
I guess I'm also over thinking it.... but then

 

[Leonard]

I was left a bit underwhelmed with the gearbox - one car jumped out of first when setting off several times and another would crunch when trying to get 5th at speed. I would say that the gearbox can’t be rushed which I guess is similar to what many road testers previously mentioned.

I think this is still my biggest concern.
Not because I think the box is inherently bad, but just the inconsistency between different boxes.
Why do they differ so much anyone know? Is it because the tolerances are hand set?

 

[TomE]

The gearbox itself isn't so much the issue, it's the cable linkages used between the shifter and the gearbox that are tricky to get adjusted correctly and consistently . They are long (from cabin to engine bay) and were susceptible to heat in the Evora. Many early Evora owners found the cars were transformed by upgrading to version 2 cables and improving heat shielding, which Lotus should have factored in for Emira. They still need careful setup and could vary car to car if Lotus haven't got a repeatable and consistent way of doing the fine tuning of the setup.

The gearbox doesn't like being rushed. But being deliberate and precise works fine. They do benefit from some bedding in and then re-adjustment. An uprated gearbox oil may help too - it eliminated a slightly sticky 3rd to 2nd shift in my Evora.

 

[Leonard]

The gearbox itself isn't so much the issue, it's the cable linkages used between the shifter and the gearbox that are tricky to get adjusted correctly and consistently . They are long (from cabin to engine bay) and were susceptible to heat in the Evora. Many early Evora owners found the cars were transformed by upgrading to version 2 cables and improving heat shielding, which Lotus should have factored in for Emira. They still need careful setup and could vary car to car if Lotus haven't got a repeatable and consistent way of doing the fine tuning of the setup.

The gearbox doesn't like being rushed. But being deliberate and precise works fine. They do benefit from some bedding in and then re-adjustment. An uprated gearbox oil may help too - it eliminated a slightly sticky 3rd to 2nd shift in my Evora.

Are there any pay to win upgrades offered by 3rd parties to help the situation Tom? (Just thinking absolute worst case scenario)
And do Lotus 'fix' any misaligned boxes FOC or has it always been a case of it is what it is?

 

[TomE]

Keep a sense of proportion on this issue, it doesn't affect many cars and in the vast majority of cases is sorted by re-adjusting the cables, which Lotus can easily do at 1000 mile service or annual service. Worst case, the cables might need to be replaced, which would be a warranty issue if it's that bad. A lot of early S1 Evoras were updated to gen 2 cables under warranty.

Heat shielding should be improved on Emira (it was improved on the Evora 400/410 compared to Series 1) and gearbox oil may have been uprated anyway.

The setup has a certain character, which rewards a precise and deliberate change. You soon get used to it.

The LDA cars have a tough life and should be being checked and serviced much more frequently, so I'd hope the issues mentioned by participants were fed back to Lotus and they would sort them out.

Komotec and JUBU do gearbox upgrades, but that's an expensive route to go. They are usually combined with a V6 power upgrade and/or converting the V6 manual to the Getrag DCT or Xtrac sequential gearboxes.

 

[Leonard]

Keep a sense of proportion on this issue, it doesn't affect many cars and in the vast majority of cases is sorted by re-adjusting the cables, which Lotus can easily do at 1000 mile service or annual service. Worst case, the cables might need to be replaced, which would be a warranty issue if it's that bad. A lot of early S1 Evoras were updated to gen 2 cables under warranty.

Heat shielding should be improved on Emira (it was improved on the Evora 400/410 compared to Series 1) and gearbox oil may have been uprated anyway.

The setup has a certain character, which rewards a precise and deliberate change. You soon get used to it.

The LDA cars have a tough life and should be being checked and serviced much more frequently, so I'd hope the issues mentioned by participants were fed back to Lotus and they would sort them out.

Komotec and JUBU do gearbox upgrades, but that's an expensive route to go. They are usually combined with a V6 power upgrade and/or converting the V6 manual to the Getrag DCT or Xtrac sequential gearboxes.

Yes fair comment. Will await a test drive. I just like a consistent gearbox is all. It is something that ruins the manual driving experience for me personally.
It didn't help sitting in the Exige final edition a few weeks back and that car refusing to go from 3rd to 4th even after multiple attempts (admittedly from cold). Apart from that I did like the feel and shift action

 

[emiraspain]

Having also attended the day, I’ll also add my thoughts:

thanks for the honest review. I didnt do the previous lotus bronze silver etc, but agree, they seemed to offer better value and at 1000, its more than porsche I think and their food was fantastic and free refills for cookies haha.
We shall have to see re the gear box, the problem could be, will the dealers be able to do much about it if adjusting is needed and for those of us later 8 9 hours away from a dealer, this becomes a huge issue as indeed does any other issue, but I am sure dealers will pop up, or well, maybe not, but at least technical solutions / mechanics should. You would think these issues have some kind of a mechanical solution that Lotus would have looked into over the last 10 years, but it is what it is.
I am also quite surprised they have now not/ dont swap these cars for final spec cars. Who as a potential Lotus Emira customer wants to see any faults with the cars at all, be it seats or trim or whatever. They really need to get the best cars in there asap in every sense as look at the feedback people give, which is welcomed.
Its a shame the looks have to compensate for any aspect of the car, but I accept they do. However, after 3 6 12 months, I am not sure they will.... time will tell, just like delivery, time will tell...

 

[emiraspain]

b

Yes fair comment. Will await a test drive. I just like a consistent gearbox is all. It is something that ruins the manual driving experience for me personally.
It didn't help sitting in the Exige final edition a few weeks back and that car refusing to go from 3rd to 4th even after multiple attempts (admittedly from cold). Apart from that I did like the feel and shift action

ut with the exposed gear shifter (if the exige has it, cant recall) its a simple allen key that would fix that issue I am sure. My Elise, brand new had serious issues from 3rd to second and on a 12 mile journey with no allen key, it was not a good start to Elise life and the allen key often came loose and repeated the issue over the next few months..... but thats not going to be the case here with the Emira as Tom has explained. You would assume Lotus have done everything possible to fix this.... but would seem there is no simple/cheapish solution for all. Surprising.....

 

[Toomanyloti]

when i collected the Taycan from the dealer I opened the drivers door and the inside door top end trim fell off.

Ticket price £117,000.00

 

[TomE]

In the past Lotus have been pretty good about dealing with warranty-type problems that affect particular clusters of cars. Examples include the Evora S1 cable upgrades and a batch of early Evoras with poorly-built clutch assemblies, which Lotus replaced.

The starter motor on my Evora jammed and Lotus replaced it free of charge despite being outside warranty. They accepted my and my dealer's argument that failure after 4 years and 20k miles was premature. The only other part that's failed in 11 years is a £70 heater control panel.

 

[emiraspain]

when i collected the Taycan from the dealer I opened the drivers door and the inside door top end trim fell off.

Ticket price £117,000.00

they seen you coming.. haha
\
i had a mercedes and the inside door card fell off three times from new... fixed it..and yes fell off another 2 times.

i do like the taycan, cross tourismo even more so, but am happy with my ionic 5.... "no" real issues yet

 

[emiraspain]

In the past Lotus have been pretty good about dealing with warranty-type problems that affect particular clusters of cars. Examples include the Evora S1 cable upgrades and a batch of early Evoras with poorly-built clutch assemblies, which Lotus replaced.

The starter motor on my Evora jammed and Lotus replaced it free of charge despite being outside warranty. They accepted my and my dealer's argument that failure after 4 years and 20k miles was premature. The only other part that's failed in 11 years is a £70 heater control panel.

yes, thats good, but lets see which road they take now after changing from a "small" manufacturer to a "mass" ish... one.
Dealer coverage, outside the UK, needs to be accelerated, or some other solution found. Finding and training well located mobile mechanics on the cars seems an easy and relatively cheap solution.... one they are not looking at I am sure, but its the road I've chosen haha, been here before.

Anyway, moms just pulled up.. must be time for lunch .

 

[Toomanyloti]

they seen you coming.. haha
\
i had a mercedes and the inside door card fell off three times from new... fixed it..and yes fell off another 2 times.

i do like the taycan, cross tourismo even more so, but am happy with my ionic 5.... "no" real issues yet

CT 4S
its not charging correctly overnight either but I cant be arsed to take it back just now!

 

[Leonard]

CT 4S
its not charging correctly overnight either but I cant be arsed to take it back just now!

Yummy
You optioned the correct wheels as well congratulations

 

[emiraspain]

CT 4S
its not charging correctly overnight either but I cant be arsed to take it back just now!

its fantastic, the wheels are great too. Im sure you will get it sorted. At 5m long I guess its a bit of a pain in regular parking spaces too?
However, it is for my taste the best looking EV around and I hope all companies take this once in a lifetime chance to leap forward with their designs, something not many seem to be doing...

 

[emiraspain]

Re Photos... I took a bit of issue with this and got an answer back from Lotus, which makes sense, although there must be a wall or a direction to take photos in where there is zero risk of infiltrating any other companies products.... We will figure something out.

"
Unlike other brands experience centres and locations, the Lotus driving academy is based in the heart of the Hethel Site.

Hethel has always been a no photography site but unlike many locations we do not make people leave their phones in lockers or place stickers on cameras, as we trust our guests.



The reason for the no photography is that we do sometimes have our new vehicles on site before launch, but is mainly because we do work for many other manufacturers and we are bound by them to not leak their new vehicles, therefore staff and guests are not allowed to take pictures.



Having said this, there are some inside locations where photos can be taken especially whilst at Classic team Lotus. We are all aware that a photo of your day is a good memory and therefore we will if appropriate take a photo or two with your camera of you. We can then ensure that we have not captured anything we should not have.



Whilst this process works we can continue to do this but breaches will mean that we have to take further actions.



I hope you understand and we will do our upmost to ensure you have memories to take home"